Ghazals

Praise and endless thanks to God, whose craft brought us into being. O God, all-powerful, our Lord, generous, giver of every gift, forgiver of all. What would it cost you, King of kings, to show mercy to a handful of beggars? Lord, by your grace you granted us faith and the confession of belief. And so from your kindness we still hope you will never take back what you have given. It is no wonder, from the goodness of a Lord like you, if you strike a line through our sins and faults. Lord, by the robe of honor you bestowed upon the prophets and the saints, by those champions in the arena of worship who broke the power of Satan and desire, by the truth of the devout, do not turn me, the undevout, away from your door. Muslims, say amen with sincere hearts, for amen gives strength to a prayer. God, we found no cure and no defense against Satan or against fate. Since we have fallen far, wretched and luckless, grant us to those who are close to your presence. God, if you drive Saadi away, the soul of Mustafa will come as his intercessor, Muhammad, the master of all the world's masters, the lamp and the very eyes of all the prophets.

We drew a line through our own will and let it go; true free will is to share your portion with the poor. Whoever wants more wealth than the share allotted to him, tell him to want less: the more you have, the more the trouble. The wine of this world comes with a hangover, the rose with a thorn. So you want the sweet sip? Then be ready for the sting. You who dozed off and fell behind the caravan, make the effort to catch up with your companions again. I don't see in you the courage to break an infidel; if you are truly a man, break the infidel that is your own craving self. The ignorant man wakes up only after he is ruined, like the shepherd who stirs only once the wolf has downed the sheep. If you wish yourself well, then wish others well too, for a soul that means good to people will never come to harm. Being human means having mercy on the helpless, for a real person's body shudders at the sight of another's wound. The men of God spoke the truth and gave this counsel: O scholar, first give your own soul the advice you preach. Whatever you would forbid for your own self, Saadi, don't wish it on the stranger either, or on your own kin.

You who deny the world of the dervishes, you have no idea what passion and purpose live inside them. The treasure of freedom and the corner of contentment form a kingdom that no sultan can win by the sword. A wise person does not chase perishable rank; the wise one is the one who thinks about the end. They gathered and hoarded, then left in regret; what is there in this world worth leaving behind with such longing? One leaves the garden heartbroken and scarred, while another, arms strong with joy, shatters his prison. Owning nothing, why should the fear of judgment day trouble him? He is a water bird; why would he dread the storm? The angel of death seizes a stranger's soul by force, but no force is needed for the lover who gladly gives his life. The wandering, love struck mystic sets his sights neither on this world nor the next. The pledge of love was sealed in eternity; a true man will not break that promise, even if it costs his head. I saw a lover burned out, ruined and homeless. I said, my friend, do not throw your life away over a fixation. He drew a cold breath, weak with pain, and said: Leave me be, homeless and undone as I am. Your sweet advice reaches my ear, but no use; I who crave the pain, what would I do with a cure? Saadi, life is precious; do not waste it in heedlessness. Only a fool lets the moment of opportunity slip away.

Those drunk on sleep are blind to what life is. What is real living? A drunkenness deeper than wine. Don't think I meant ordinary wine: this one fills your house with light and tears reason down instead. Get drunk on the wine of longing for the Beloved, for whatever robs you of reason for that is pure loss. If you want nearness, don't turn your neck from obedience; if you want your wages, don't look away from the work. You sleep in the valley while the caravan has moved on; I fear you'll only reach the destination in a dream. Until you sow the seed of devotion, you'll harvest no joy: bear the hardship first, then find the treasure. The fountain of life lies in the dark; the pearl is in the sea, the treasure in the ruins. Whoever keeps knocking, hammering steadily on the anvil, will one day find the door swing open. You must set out to reach your heart's desire; you must sit through the night for the sun to rise. Saadi, if you expect a reward without doing the work, a whole caravan can die of thirst chasing a mirage.

What a shame for that old friendship, for a bond we knew and honored, that the stone of time's separation was thrown between us. Two friends never got to rest for a single breath of life before the sky came galloping down on them at full speed. If in the end the heart must break away in anger and cut love off, lucky is the one who never gave their heart or staked their love at all. As for those who emptied their hearts of us, my heart still cannot empty itself of loving them. I had arranged a feast of joy for my close companions, but time would not go along with what I had arranged. From that day on, Saadi stopped keeping company with people, once he came to know the sky's treachery. If this base age draws you close to its chest like a harp, don't trust it too much: the moment it plays you sweetly is the moment it strikes.

My beloved, the one I cannot live without, my heart longs for you; and my life too, if you'll accept it, is yours. The clamor of the mystics, the yearning of lovers: it isn't greed for paradise, it's the longing to see your face. If you offer a crown, all I want is your acceptance; if you strike with the sword, all I seek is your pleasure. Whether you caress your servant or kill him, whether pain or tenderness, whatever you do is your will alone. Even caught in an enemy's snare, even in the lion's jaws, blessed is the life of anyone who knows you. Wherever a living heart bows, it lays its face on your ground; wherever a grieving hand rises, it rises in prayer to you. I'm not the only one left captive in your bonds; on every side a broken heart is smitten with you. Some crave the riches of this world, some crave the next, but my only craving is you. The souls of the enraptured feed on your attention; the hearts of the living find peace in your welcome. If we have failed, you are endlessly merciful; any excuse we offer rests on the hope of your faithfulness. Perhaps our sins won't even be counted, there where your grace and mercy have no end. No one has lasting life or an unbroken promise; eternal kingship and everlasting life belong to you. Wherever there is a throne, a seat of honor, a crown, it depends upon the threshold of your majesty. Saadi cannot fully describe your praise; falling silent before you is the limit of all praise.

The goal of lovers in both worlds is to see your face; what seekers truly want is nothing but your favor. Wherever there is a king, a ruler, or a lord, he bends to your command, a servant at your door. I meant to hide my love for you, and yet the whole city is loud with talk of it. Wherever there is a throne, a high seat, or a crown, it waits at the threshold of your greatness. Some long for the riches of this world, some long for the next; my longing is for you. Every head is wounded by the sword of your love; every heart is bound to your affection and desire. No one has lasting life or an ancient covenant; only your kingship is eternal, only you endure. Whether you kill me with kindness or with fury, we are content; whatever you decide is your right. Everyone pins their hope on some need or request; our hope rests on your boundless mercy. Others place their hope in their own deeds; Saadi's hope is set on your grace and giving.

The pain of love is sweeter than good health; the realm of poverty is sweeter than owning the world. They value reason above all creation, yet the mystics say that intoxication is sweeter. Self-worship is born from wealth and rank; letting go of the self and worshipping God is sweeter. Since those weighed down move only with hardship, traveling light and nimble is sweeter. Saadi, since power and command never last, living with empty hands is sweeter.

The home of love belongs to another world; the true lover carries a different mark. In the marketplace of love's brave soldiers, under every gallows stands another young man. Reason keeps asking where this secret comes from, for these people bear a sign of their own. In the humble heart of every helpless one, the King has hidden a different treasure. These beggars who cry out at this moment, each of them is really a different king.

The heavens are forever at war with my luck, for both fate and the age hold a grudge against me. One moment the world calls me close, the next it drives me away; sometimes it is one way, sometimes another. Who can say which brick of any house was once some lovely, graceful beloved? In every garden where a jasmine leaf now grows, a beautiful face has sprung up from the dust. If you find no loyalty in a friend, don't give your heart, even if it's a gallery of Chinese beauties. Don't look for faithfulness from this bloodthirsty world; seek loyalty only from someone truly trustworthy. Saadi, this world holds no dignity in the eyes of the one who can see the true path.

The one who has no home has the whole city for a home; wherever night finds the dervish, that is his house. Do not call a beggar the man who owns nothing but God, for the king of beggars is his own true master. The man of God is a stranger nowhere, in east or west; however far he goes, all is God's kingdom, and so his own. The one who has broken free from wealth, rank, and lordship becomes a friend to everyone he meets. The shortsighted all chase after comfort, but the one who knows finds his comfort within his suffering. Once a lover reaches the sight of the beloved, whatever else he looks at becomes a dragon to him. Let go of all you have and move on, for it is nothing: these five short days of life, with death close behind. Any person slain by the sword of love, tell them not to grieve, for eternal kingdom is the price paid for their blood. Whatever you take from the beloved's hand is sweet; Saadi, seek not your own will, since his will is enough.

Better that someone like me never reaches union with the beloved, so he can blame his own weakness on the beloved's perfection. Again and again I grow jealous of the pupil of my own eye: how dare this bold eye keep gazing on the beloved's beauty? What is a moth, that it should cling to the candle? the splendor of the beloved's glory would burn it up at once. My friend, spend your days of pleasure in fasting; perhaps the Night of Power, union with the beloved, will fall your way. Stay far from the cravings of the self, for it is not possible to find room for the beloved in the narrow space of an enemy's company. If the beloved asks for my life and my head, I stand ready; this much, at least, true friends will bear for the beloved. Happy is the body that gives up its life in loyalty to the beloved; fortune belongs to the head that is trampled beneath the beloved's feet. If I have any complaint against you, it is meant for you alone; one cannot speak of the beloved's affairs before enemies. Saadi has shut his eyes to the whole world, so that the whole world now appears to him as the image of the beloved.

I am joyful in this world because the world takes its joy from him; I love the whole universe because the whole universe is his. My friend, seize the dawn's reviving breath like the breath of Jesus, for perhaps you can bring your dead heart to life, since this breath too is from him. Neither the heavens can claim it, nor do the angels possess it: what lies in the deepest core of the human heart is from him. I will drink poison as if it were sweet, because the cupbearer is the beloved; I will gladly bear the pain, because the cure is also from him. If my bleeding wound never heals, all the better; blessed is the wound whose balm, at every moment, comes from him. To the one who truly knows, what difference is there between sorrow and joy? Cupbearer, pour the wine, in joy that even this sorrow is from him. Kingship and beggary are all the same to us, for at this door everyone bows in worship, and that too is from him. Sadi, if the flood of oblivion sweeps away the house of your life, keep your heart strong, for the foundation of lasting life is firm, and it is from him.

You have not left your own self behind, yet you long for the Beloved. You have not cut the pagan's cord, yet you long for faith. At a threshold where the divine call 'Behold Me' resounds, you are not even an ant, and yet you long for Solomon's kingdom. You are not even an ant, and you have done no service worthy of one, yet you long to stand in the front rank of true men. Like Pharaoh you boast, 'I am the Truth,' and then you long for the closeness that Moses son of Imran enjoyed. Like children who make a horse of their own coat-hem, you have made a mount of your hem and now long for the battlefield. In all fairness, you have honestly abandoned your own path; the pain has not even reached you, yet you long for the cure. At the spider's table, where a roasted fly is the only dish, you long to have Gabriel's mighty wing as your fly-swatter. Every day, to feed the dog of your appetite, dear Abu Said, you long for a bowl of soup and a couple of loaves. Sa'di, in this world where you exist, be humble as a speck of dust, if your heart truly longs to reach the presence of the King.

Whoever sits with someone new each morning has a fresh craving in his head by nightfall. Don't set your heart on the loyalty of his company; someone like that has plenty of partners like you. He shows you kindness and affection only as long as you have wealth and can be of use. He says: in all the world, today it's only you, if I have a friend and a confidant at all. Then he says the very same to someone else: without you this world is a cage upon my heart. Like a bee, he hurries door to door; wherever there's a scrap of food, there's a fly. All claims and empty of meaning, he's exactly like a hollow bell ringing. To one he mocks the other as an ass; before the other he calls the first a worthless wretch. Wherever you meet a person like this, pay him no mind, for he is nobody at all.

No days are sweeter than the days of love; for lovers, the morning never turns to night. The musicians have gone, yet the mystic still whirls in ecstasy: love has a beginning, but no end. Every seeker's desire has its limit, but for those who truly know, desire is boundless. Out of thousands, only one is stirred by the music, for not everyone is fit to hear the message. Only the intimate ones grasp this meaning; in the private chamber there is no room for the crowd. The aloe gives off no fragrance until it burns: the seasoned one knows these words are not for the raw. Everyone speaks the name of the beloved they have; our beloved has no name at all. For all the cypress's grace, beside your form it has no form worth naming. Ask me about intoxication, about the fever of love; how could one who has never tasted the wine of pain ever know? The morning breeze and the soil of Shiraz are a fire: whoever it catches finds no rest. It is your untimely sleep that leads you astray, not the call of dawn, which never comes too soon. Sadi, now that you have broken the idols, do not become one yourself; worshipping your own self is no better than worshipping idols.

No royal life in this world matches the ease of beggars; no realm is more complete than the kingdom of contentment. If anyone has real standing, it belongs only to the one who seeks no standing at all in anyone's eyes. Everyone has a trait, a color, a mark of their own; give up your traits, for there is no finer trait than that. The one you see clothed will be exposed on Judgment Day, for today they are naked and wear nothing but borrowed things. Who is the person who truly knows? It is the one who claims acquaintance with no one. A stone or a plant that holds some usefulness is better than a human being who offers none. Poor soul, you cannot judge your own good; be glad, for nothing that happens to you is without purpose. One who complains about a friend is no friend at all; if the beloved sheds your blood, no compensation is owed. This is the way of manners that Saadi has taught you; if you truly listen, there is no better upbringing than this.

The human body is noble because of the human soul; beautiful clothes alone are not the mark of being human. If a person is just eyes, mouth, ears, and nose, what difference is there between a painting on a wall and a real human? Eating, sleeping, anger, and lust mean chaos, ignorance, and darkness; a beast knows nothing of the world of humanity. Be truly human, or else you are just a parrot that can only mouth the words of humanity. Were you not human, that you stayed a captive of the demon? Even an angel cannot enter the place true humanity holds. If this predatory nature dies out of you, you will live forever through the human spirit. A person can rise to a place where they see nothing but God; see, then, how high the station of humanity reaches. You have watched a bird take flight; break free of the chains of lust and come out, so you may see how humanity soars. I did not show off my learning, I simply offered you advice; I too heard the meaning of humanity from a human.

At dawn, when I lift my eyes to your light, I knock at heaven's gate as one who knows you. A servant would not bow to a royal throne, even grown rich, he'd rather beg one turn at your door. If you lift the veil, what chaos would break loose, since even hidden, your beauty steals every heart. Cast one merciful glance toward the ranks of lovers, so the travelers' night turns to day in your light. At your majestic door, people plead over their bad deeds, while I bring only the story of my helplessness. Servants would not submit to any king's decree, unless it bows first in servitude to your sovereignty. If one day you drive me off, make me a slave of hell, for its fire will be quenched by my weeping in your absence. This is not your path, Saadi, this modest, solitary pose, as long as old age and piety are just illusions in your mind.

The world is not worth envying, nor worth wasting grief over whether it exists or not. Those who never set their hearts on this handful of dust, honestly, we must admit they truly saw the truth. Whatever lacks permanence and endurance, the wise will not buy, even if it were the whole kingdom of the world. Do not choose oppression, do not grow arrogant, for God has many creatures like you in this realm. This is a house that will surely crumble; happy are those who are bound to another home. Have you ever heard of anyone whose friendship with the world lasted to the end? The truth is plain, yet some people are blind to it. You who walk the earth now: it will not always be yours, for others still wait in their mothers' wombs and their fathers' loins. This practiced wolf carries off a sheep every day, while the other sheep just stare at it, dazed. The one who out of pride never let his foot touch the ground became dust in the end, and people trample over him. If only people knew the worth of every breath, they would treasure the few that still remain. A rose without a thorn cannot be had in any garden; the world's only thornless roses are the good-natured. Sa'di, a person of good name never dies; the truly dead is the one whose name no one recalls with kindness.

Rare is the soul who rises into the world of oneness, who in a single breath leaves both worlds behind. In the way of love, honor slays the one who chases after every sweet reward like a buzzing fly. The people of paradise are not scattered by passing troubles; only a child jumps up at the ringing of a bell. Only what is firm as stone can stand against the flood; whoever is swept off this road by a breeze is mere straw. Though you fall behind, keep striving, for on God's road even the last one can end up first. Saadi, to seize the hem of good fortune is a task not every idle dreamer's hand is fit to do.

The taste of wine is a friend to us; if it stays a while, each morning will bring you a different kind of joy. From the root of persistence a tree will one day grow; the branch of steady care will bear fruit in its time. The master alchemist needs a great deal of silver to bury in dark earth before it turns to gold. Much patience is needed before that healer of hearts will one day pass through the street of those who ache. The scholar tells the mystics to lower their gaze; but if he saw my beloved, he too would become a lover at first sight. For when a king seizes a new domain, the foundation of the old law is turned upside down. If you tell a madman to be sober and wise, there is a danger the advice will only make him madder. The call of dawn rose up, and the dervish woke to it; pour him a heavy cup so he loses himself again. Cupbearer, bring a goblet; minstrel, sing something; set your lips to the reed's mouth so it turns to sugarcane. Today Saadi's words may not seem sweet, but like the tale of Shirin, tomorrow they will be a story told everywhere.

Not every creature that breathes has any humanity; many people in this land are no more than figures painted on a wall. When you throw cheap metal that has been gilded into the crucible, the truth comes out opposite to what people imagined. There are those who, in your eyes, seem worthless and small, yet to people of insight they hold great value. The brothers in the grave have no tongue to speak, but you, listen: they still speak with those who feel. Beware, do not walk over the earth with arrogance and pride, for many like you already lie beneath that soil. They spent their lives in sleep, pleasure, and lust; now that they sleep under the ground, they are finally awake. Who will accept the excuses they offer now? How can seed reach harvest when it is planted this late? A thousand precious lives are worth sacrificing for the people of vision, who count the wealth and rank of this world as nothing. This five-day reign and dominion humbles everyone, for they pass on and leave it to the next children of the age. Do not let the world feed your longing and desire, for nothing fills that greed until dirt is heaped over your head. I will not curse the wicked, for the poor wretches are already captives of their own bad nature. By the souls of the living-hearted, Saadi, the whole kingdom of being is not worth harming a single living being for.

Take down your tent so they can move the caravan on, for all our companions in this world are already on their way. Wife and child, kin and friend, and all your bonds: they are just fellow travelers you happened to meet on the road. Don't bind your heart to any company, for either you'll be left without them or they without you. In the beginning, humankind was only dust, and in the end, if you think it through, we are the same again. So it is better that people reflect on their beginning and their end, and know their true worth. The earth has already swallowed so many people, yet some still lift their heads to the sky out of pride. Someone stood weeping over a grave, crying out: 'These were the kings of the world.' I said: pry loose a plank from a grave and look, and tell me if these are kings or common watchmen. He said: what need is there to pry up a plank? I already know they are nothing but a handful of bones. Good advice is a bitter medicine, and it must be dripped down the throat mixed with something sweet. Such a sugar-coated purgative is what you buy from Saadi's pharmacy.

If God is not pleased with a servant, then all the prophets' intercession is worthless. The Lord's command is the decree of 'Be, and it is'; there is nothing you can add to those words. The rust on Pharaoh's heart was not borrowed grime that even the polish of Moses' shining hand could wipe away. God called him and then barred his way; where can the wretch go? He shut the poor man's eyes and commanded him to see. If one destined for hell coats himself in fireproof clay, the fire will still catch him like wood soaked in oil. The pen has already written your lucky star or your ill fortune, my boy, whether you are angry or content. Before there was any sin or any worship, it was written on every person's brow: this one is saved, that one is seized. It is decreed what deed each person will do; the myrrh tree yields neither dates nor peaches. No hairdresser's effort can turn the ugly beautiful, just as you cannot rub charm onto a homely face. Can a black African ever be washed white with water? Can a fair Greek ever be turned black with smoke? Do not crave a good fortune that is not yours, Saadi; where nothing has been sown, harvesting is hard. The pen has written what is to come; whether you accept fate or not, what must be will be.