In the Name of the Wise God

At the start of the book, in the name of the wise God: the Maker, the Sustainer, the Living, the Powerful. Greatest and most exalted, God of the world and of Adam, who shaped fine forms and gave them a beautiful nature. Out of pure generosity and care for his creatures, he gives the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea their share. The rich man and the beggar each eat their allotted portion; the gnat and the great phoenix both receive their daily bread. By his knowledge of the unseen he knows even an ant's need, deep at the bottom of a well, beneath a solid rock. He draws a living creature out of a drop of seed, sugar from the reed, fresh leaves from dry wood, and a spring from hard stone. He created sweet honey from the honeybee, and raises a towering palm tree from a single date. In need of no one, yet tender toward all, hidden from the whole world, yet plain to all of it. The radiance of the light behind the curtains of his glory is, in its greatness, beyond the reach of even the wisest thought. It is not only the tongue in the mouth of the awestruck mystic that praises him: every hair on his body praises him too. Whoever fails to give thanks for today's blessings forfeits any right to tomorrow's mercy. My Lord, you are the Protector and the Governor of all, pure and free of every flaw. We could never voice the praise you truly deserve, not even with all the angels of the world above. Saadi has spoken only as far as his understanding reaches; otherwise, how could imagination ever grasp your perfection?