Prose Treatises

Boundless thanks and endless praise to the Creator, exalted be His majesty and universal His bounty, who, out of the perfection of all things, fashioned in the ocean of existence a treasure-laden ship: the human being. Whatever He had placed in the qualities and forms of the varied world, worldly and eternal, He stored the essence of it all in this ship. And in this ocean, out of the special honor of 'We have indeed dignified the children of Adam,' He granted the journey of ascent to no ship but this one, and showed no path to the shore but this. Endless blessings and greetings upon the leader of the prophets, Muhammad the Chosen One, sailor of the ships of human souls and swimmer in the shoreless ocean of the Divine Presence. May God's blessings be upon him and his pure family and companions until the Day of Judgment. Know that just as the great ships of the world cannot do without a small skiff to help them, so the ship of the human being, laden with divine grace and voyaging on the ocean of meanings, needs all the more a small companion boat, filled with the choicest pearls, especially those who carry the heavy loads of the divine world. They bear the burden of the trust of love, which was offered to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, and which no creature dared carry, until the ship of the human heart took it up. In truth these humble ones, whose crossing is over the ocean of His might, most deserve the ship, for 'as for the ship, it belonged to poor men who toiled at sea.' These beggars proud in their kingship, the travelers of the way and divers in the ocean of truth, first cross from the ocean of nature to the bank of the way, then set the sail of seeking toward the breaths of divine grace. Reaching the ocean's edge, they cut loose the ship of aspiration from all worldly attachments and turn toward the encompassing ocean of truth. Since that endless ocean cannot be crossed by one's own power, and no far shore reached without a treasure-laden ship, one king lays a hand of accord on the saddle-strap of companionship with the humble, and another strings the night-glowing pearl of 'Adam and all beneath him are under my banner' into the necklace of 'O God, let me live humble, die humble, and be raised among the humble.' What secret is this, that kings make themselves subordinate to the humble, while the humble boast of those kings? When the call came, 'the ship belonged to poor men who toiled at sea,' the kings made themselves followers of the humble, so no blemish of 'behind them was a king who seized every ship by force' would settle on their purity. And finding the way-stations of 'I am with those whose hearts are broken for My sake,' the pure gather around the flawed, and the humble tie themselves with a thousand tricks to the ship of 'the likeness of my household is like Noah's ark.' What varied images appear from behind the veil of the unseen, what talismans they bind and unbind! Sometimes they let Solomon be counseled by an ant, sometimes save Muhammad by a spider's protection, sometimes make the ark Noah's refuge. If Noah was once afflicted by a single flood and took to the ark, then the humble lovers, whose whole life deals with the ocean of love and over whose heads break a thousand floods of anguish each breath, what wonder if they cling to a ship to cast themselves onto some shore? My heart counted the love of you a flood like Noah's, and so it made ready a ship. Meaning: from this ocean, whose depth is love, the soul can only be carried out by a ship. Inevitably, the lifeline of these humble ones who toiled at sea can be nothing but the ship, so that when the waves of cares surge and the throngs of sorrows pile up, it may save them from the winds of fear and hope, contraction and expansion, intimacy and awe, and rescue them from the mire of dread and the drowning depths of bewilderment. So each of this group, to condemn what is base, relieve calamities, and gather company, makes a collection and pours into it the oceans of knowledge, prose and verse, storing all kinds of precious things, and names it a 'safineh': a ship, and a poetic anthology. But within this ship are various seas, beside which the great oceans of Oman and the Red Sea are but a flowing brook. Since rescue comes through a ship, in the ocean of his grief my heart seeks a ship. A ship on the ocean is no wonder; an ocean contained within a ship, that is the wonder. If you seek trade in oceans and ships, here is a ship that holds oceans within it. It is a ship such that, if you wanted a hundred thousand of them, a thousand shores of the sea run forth from it with a single fold. Though on the surface the ship's virtue is that its company carries one from the depths of contraction to the shore of expansion and back, in its deeper meaning it is truly an ocean, swelling with the signs of meanings and the jewels of human treasures, adorned with the pearls of divine sciences. When you look with the eye of insight, you see that in the city of the body a seeker of Noah's nature has fallen. Though he calls the community of animal and satanic qualities to servanthood, by day and night, in secret and openly, they rebel and will not obey. The Noah-soul, seeing in bodily qualities nothing but 'Will You place in it one who spreads corruption and sheds blood,' lifts the hand of need in prayer that the flood of affliction leave none alive, pleading, 'Lord, leave not a single unbeliever dwelling upon the earth,' for he sees that from bodily qualities arise only selfish, lustful offspring, each stirring a thousand troubles. Then God answers, opening from the furnace of the heart the gushing flood of love that drowns lustful offspring, and pours down the rain of compassion, and the inspirations of grace reach the Noah-soul: 'build the ark under Our eyes.' That is: O soul, build the ark of tranquility, empty the heart of attachments, and though the Canaan of the commanding self is born of soul and body, since he is 'of unrighteous conduct' and 'not of your family,' though you say out of fatherly mercy 'embark with us,' he says out of foolish rebellion, 'I will take refuge on a mountain,' not knowing that 'today there is no protector from the command of God.' O Noah, let go of this tenderness, fruit of animal qualities, and 'do not be among the ignorant,' for by the counsel of 'die before you die,' the good of the moment lies in severing your bond with your beloved child and reciting, 'and he was among the drowned.' What a strange state: how could the secrets of God's grace, hidden in the forms of creation, ever grow familiar with a soul stained by lusts and drowned in heedlessness? Or how could the lights of divine bounty shine in any heart-lamp not polished of vanity and hypocrisy, without the oil of realization? Come, learn one secret from the secrets of God, and read one letter from the signs of the Divine. In short, when the fire of longing rises in those burned by love who bear the trust, and the smoke of separation clouds the mind, they make rough drafts to open the breast and refresh the spirit, so that amid the snares of longing they may find comfort. They lay up on the cheek of the page the index of the treasuries of knowledge, and scatter a hundred thousand curls of fresh ambergris upon fine silk, so that when the mirror of the temperament fills with the rust of weariness, they may read, to clear that eclipse, the subtle words and states of those who came before, treasured in the ship from books, ledgers, and the breaths of the pure, and the mirror is polished clean by the purity of those sayings. In brief, they make ships that are keepers of the wonders of secrets, guardians of marvels, gatherers of the sciences of the learned, the collection of the wisdom of the wise, the epic of lovers and the record of the longing, the mover of the chain of seeking and the incense of joy, a tender friend and intimate companion. A ship stands on dry land, with many flowing oceans inside it. Its planks are made from the leaves of paper, its nails from the points of pens. A ship whose anchor is the knot of the covenant, whose sail is the resolve of the free and noble. Made from the fine tranquilities of souls, and from the strange stores of reports and lore. A ship brimming with the wonders of the sea, seas whose nature scatters pearls. So delicate it rests upon the surface of the water, its water drawn from the ocean of the breasts of the righteous. A ship loaded with strange arts and varied marvels, in which dwell a hundred thousand virgin thoughts, the mothers of eloquence and the fathers of skill; the parrots of the Tuba tree of souls and the nightingales of the cage of bodies bringing the harvest of state to the beak of speech; the pearls that the adorners of the eloquent deck out in the robes of eloquence. From its subtleties of composition, the morning wine and the wine of spring; from the freshness of its words, like ruby-red pomegranate seeds and jewels of Oman, both soul and ears are perfumed by its breaths. Its verses are like the beauty of heart-stealing beloveds, its prose like the state of lovers pointed at by all. In it the trivial and the weighty lie in wait together, the serious and jesting sit side by side, Arab and Persian mingled, Turk and Hindu entwined, Abyssinian and Qurayshi from one house, all become like a single-seeded pomegranate. The pen has danced upon its pages, the sailor of thought dived into its seas; understanding swims in it, imagination sails it; the face of hope is bright from its garden, the eye of longing lit by its light; a companion in travel, an intimate at home, and 'the best companion in time is a book.' If speech were handed over to the pen, it still could not encompass these chapters, even if the pen were spent like an arrow shot to its head. No paper is left on earth, nor any pen, no ink, nor any scrap of leaf remains. So it is better that we recite: 'the best speech is that which is brief, to the point, and does not weary,' and quench the fire of longing with the water of reflection; for even if the oceans became ink, the trees pens, the earth paper, and all mankind, from the beginning of this world to the end of the next, became scribes, they could not write the account of His attributes. Here ends the treatise on the composing of the preface.

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Praise be to God, sufficient for all creatures, the One. Praise be to God for His blessings, and I ask for more of His generosity. I bear witness that there is no god but Him, described by His eternity, and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger, who folded up the heavens with His power. Now, after praising the Lord of the world and remembering the best of Adam's children (peace be upon him), let us begin counseling those who hold power. One dear friend asked for a short treatise on this theme, close to understanding and free of pretension. I wrote back to him: know that for the kings of the world, the counsel of the Lord of the worlds is enough, for He says: 'When you judge among people, judge with justice,' and 'God commands justice and kindness.' As far as I am able, I will explain a few words on the meaning of justice and kindness, and success comes from God. 1. Kings who are compassionate toward the poor are the true guardians of their own realm, for justice, kindness, and fairness bring the people security and prosperity; the kingdom flourishes, the treasuries fill, worldly bounty is gained and the reward of the next world attained. But if oppression is chosen, the opposite follows. The tyrant died and left behind an ugly custom; the just man died and left a good name as his legacy. 2. It is a king's way to beg at God's door by night and rule by day. Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna, when night fell, would put on a dervish's cloak and say: O Lord, the kingdom is Yours and I am Your servant; You gave it, and You grant power and victory. Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, on waking, would give thanks and pray: O Lord, grant me the grace of justice; keep me from the people's harm and them from mine; grant me bread, but never let me earn it by wounding a heart or drawing the curse of the oppressed. 3. The holder of power must reflect on how kingdoms pass from people to people, so he sets no store by the world's five days of respite. A caliph asked Bahlul for counsel; he said: nothing goes from this world to the next but reward and punishment; now the choice is yours. 4. Let him honor the scholars of the faith and rule by their advice, so the state obeys the sacred law, not the law the state. 5. Let him count building mosques, lodges, bridges, cisterns, and roadside wells among the vital affairs of the kingdom. 6. Let him care for those devoted to God, for the aspiration of the pious protects the reign of kings; the wise say a kingdom endures through caring for the helpless. 7. A discerning king reflects on each person's worth and comforts each accordingly, providing for the deserving without the humiliation of asking, for the noble in spirit only wish, and the wisher should find. If a man has a share of skill, let his skill speak for him, not the man himself. 8. Let him provide for old servants too weak to serve, for a dawn prayer is better than service at the court. 9. Let him not erase the good works of former kings, so his own may likewise endure. 10. A king's companions should be wise, pleasant, chaste, nobly born, of good name and conduct, worldly and experienced. 11. Fit to be a minister is one who cares more for the king's faith than his wealth, and forbids injustice to the people. 12. Let him always aid the frail elderly, widows, orphans, the needy, and strangers, for whoever lends no hand is unfit to lead. 13. Kings are fathers to orphans, and must care for them better than their own fathers would. A guardian once returned a child's gold to a ruler, saying: take it from the child if you dare, and answer to him on Judgment Day. The ruler wept, sent the gold back, and provided for the child until he came of age. 14. Let him give little support to the corrupt, for a companion of the bad shares in sin. 15. Let him keep his hand open, except when income falls short, for both miserliness and extravagance are blameworthy: take a middle path. 16. Good-heartedness has its place, but not so much that people grow bold; enduring the wrongs of the unjust is not generosity but weak judgment. 17. Generosity is praiseworthy, but not until resources weaken; guarding wealth is prudent, but not until the army suffers want. 18. Anger serves a king, but not to the point of repulsion; wit is permissible, but not to the point of seeming foolish. 19. Piety is fitting, but not until life turns bitter; joy is necessary, but not until worship and the people's needs are drowned. 20. Let him keep the times of prayer, and speak fittingly before scholars and the righteous. 21. Let him study the histories of earlier kings, to follow their good conduct and to see the turns of fortune, so he is not made vain by rank and beauty. 22. Let him not make musicians, gamblers, entertainers, poets, and tricksters his constant companions, for they blacken the heart, except now and then to dispel weariness. Shibli entered a king's court and found him at chess with his minister. He said: well done; you were seated to uphold what is right, and here you play games? 23. Ruling is a mighty task; one must stay alert and always in his heart converse with God, so that from his hand, tongue, pen, and step comes only good. 24. Let him not entrust great tasks to the untried, for that brings regret. 25. Let him not make the suspect and impious his intimates, for their nature rubs off on him. 26. Let him accept no charge of treachery unless sure of the witness, and punish no one until he has reached the truth. 27. Let him not spare thieves and murderers because of friends' intercession. 28. Thieves are of two kinds: those with bow and arrow in the country, and those with cheating scales in the market; both must be suppressed. 29. Nushirvan the Just was seen in a dream in a joyful place; asked how he reached it, he said: I showed no mercy to criminals and harmed no innocent. 30. Let him not act on every thought; first think, then consult, then when his judgment shows the right course, begin in God's name and trusting Him. 31. Let him expect counsel from the worldly-wise elder, and fighting from the ignorant youth. 32. Let him give justice to the wronged, for a ruler who does not put down thieves is robbing the caravan himself. 33. A king's pleasures become lawful only when he drives evil from the people, as a shepherd drives the wolf from the flock; if he can and will not, his wage is forbidden. Dhu al-Nun told a king of an oppressive governor. The king said he would punish him one day. Dhu al-Nun replied: yes, after he has stripped the people, you will take it back into your treasury; what good is that to the poor? Ashamed, the king stopped the harm at once. The wolf's head should be cut off at the very first, not after it has torn apart people like sheep. 34. Punishing the corrupt is praiseworthy only when the ruler himself abstains from vice. One king smashed drinkers' wine-jars, then that evening ordered wine made from his own garden's grapes; a wise man said: you who told others not to do wrong, do not do it yourself. 35. It ill befits a king to be angry without cause; even when rightly angered, let him not exceed the measure of retribution. 36. Take the path of kindness with friend and enemy, for it deepens love and lessens malice. 37. The treasury should always be full, and spending without cause forbidden, for enemies lie in ambush and calamities are on the way. 38. Let him never feel safe from treachery, lest the envious seize their chance. 39. He should know the names and lineage of all his attendants, so no enemy, spy, or assassin slips in. 40. He should set secret observers on each notable of the court, so no misconduct stays hidden. 41. Every few months let him have the prison investigated, freeing the innocent and pardoning small offenses. 42. With debtors, solvent or insolvent, let him be patient; if both parties are destitute and the treasury full, let the debt be paid, for the realm is truly guarded by the prayers of the poor. 43. Let him inquire after those struck by raids, shipwreck, and loss, for this is a great duty. 44. With a tenant whose income has fallen short, let him show leniency and grant a more profitable enterprise. 45. Let him treat the skilled well, so skill and refinement spread and the kingdom gains beauty. 46. A servant who has failed yet borne his punishment should be given work again, for restoring the fallen is no less a reward than freeing prisoners. 47. Let him employ those who have known hardship, for out of fear of poverty they strive with all their soul. 48. Let him treat soldiers well and win their hearts, for enemies are united in enmity, so friends must not be divided. 49. A soldier who flees the battle must be killed, for the king's bread is the price of his life. 50. Let him not give office to an abuser of the people, for they will not curse him alone. 51. Let an heir honor his father's friends and companions and not neglect them. 52. Kings hold power through the people; when they wound the people, they are enemies of their own realm. 53. Kings are the head, the people the body; it is a foolish head that tears its own body with its teeth. 54. What he wishes kept secret he should not tell even his intimates, for friends have their own friends, and so it goes. 55. Let him not tell friends everything, for friendship does not last forever. 56. Let him not turn away from the poor's needs, but speak kindly and listen willingly. 57. He must endure the burdens of those he commands and grant each one's need, for a harsh, sour-faced ruler is unfit to lead. The lord of command, judgment, and majesty is not worn down by the clamor of the crowd. A man brought a grievance to Hajjaj, who ignored him. Laughing, the man said: this one is prouder than God, for God spoke to Moses, yet you will not speak to His creatures. Hajjaj heard, and gave him justice. 58. The slanderer of an innocent should be handed to his accuser, so others take warning. 59. Let him rotate his clerks from office to office, so any wrongdoing does not stay hidden. 60. Let him repay gifts and offerings promptly with like in return, and not delay beyond measure. 61. Before strangers a king may sit in majesty, but among intimates an open, sociable face is better. 62. Let him partner in a task two people not fond of each other, so they do not collude in treachery. When wolves are content to harm one another, the sheep can rest at ease among them. 63. A wise king does not wound the people, so that when an outside enemy strikes, he is safe from the enemy within. 64. Let him order his frontier guards not to abuse foreigners, so the kingdom is safe on both sides. 65. When he banishes a servant for a hideous offense, let him not forget his old right of long service. 66. A hundred faults in a servant may be pardoned out of respect for his honored forefathers. 67. When one raised in his favor sheds blood and must die, let him not leave the man's family destitute. 68. Let him not withhold livelihood from the children of soldiers killed fighting the enemy. 69. Let him show gentleness to stranger and townsman, high and low, for it costs his rank nothing and makes him beloved. 70. When he wishes to pardon a fault, let him show a sign of favor; the great will plead for mercy, and upon repentance and a pledge of good conduct, let him pardon. 71. When he imprisons men of power, let him treat them with honor and provide the means of comfort, for fortune is two days, one for me and one for you. 72. A king's good judgment is not to lock horns with the strong nor oppress the weak, for wrestling the stronger is unwise, and twisting the weak's arm unchivalrous. 73. To wound the hearts of friends is to fulfill the wishes of enemies. 74. Outright injustice is to overlook the crimes of the privileged while beheading the common folk. 75. A just ruler is like a firm wall: the moment it starts to lean, know it is heading for ruin.

76. First advise those close to you, then blame the times. No one is nearer to you than your own self: until you act on your own words, they will have no effect on others. Do you know what keeps a kingdom and its fortune alive? That it obeys you, and you obey God. 77. Anyone whose self will not bow in obedience to the law is unfit to command, and fortune will not come to him. 78. Patience and deliberation are praiseworthy in every matter, except in emergencies where any delay makes rescue impossible, like pulling out a drowning man or putting out a fire. 79. Faith cannot be preserved except through knowledge, nor can judgment be exercised except through forbearance. 80. Let him avoid sin by every means possible; and if, God forbid, his self and the devil overpower him and he errs, let him make up for it by giving charity to the poor, so that God may grant forgiveness. 81. Pardon the offense of one for whom everyone would pray well, not only he himself and no one else. 82. On the day of resurrection everyone will be afraid, except the one who fears God today and seeks no harm to people's hearts. It is told that Harun al-Rashid, God's mercy upon him, would one day pray thus: 'My God, my master, my lord, if a day passes in which some bad deed comes from me, do not let that day reach its night until, aware of it, I repent, ask forgiveness, and give charity to the poor to atone for it.' And his wife Zubaydah, day and night out of fear of God, would repeat: 'O Concealer of faults, guard me from beginning to end.' An honest official argued eloquently before Alexander. Alexander said, 'Are you not afraid of me?' He replied, 'Why should I fear, when one who acts honestly does not even fear God? Fear belongs to a servant's betrayal or a master's tyranny, and I am safe from both.' One of the kings said to an ascetic, 'I am terribly anxious about the terror of the resurrection.' He said, 'Fear God today, and you need not fear tomorrow.' It is told that a caliph found a treasury official had embezzled a single dinar, and dismissed him. When nobles interceded over so small a sum, he said, 'The amount is not the point. A man who takes money and does not care will shed the people's blood and feel no sorrow.' 83. Do not feel safe from anyone who is not safe from you, for a snake, fearing its own death, attacks a human. To dig out a wall's foundation and sit beneath it, or kill a snake's young and stay put, is against the counsel of the wise. 84. Avoid the company of anyone who speaks ill of another behind his back, for he will flatter you to your face and slander you behind you. 85. The saying 'the speech of kings is the king of speech' is not to be trusted. Speak thoughtful, meaningful words, so that if repeated elsewhere, mockers have no chance to sneer, and if another spoke them, they would please you. 86. The truly rich dervish does not look with covetous eyes at the wealth of kings; the beggar-hearted sultan covets the property of poor subjects. There is no manliness in using force against the fallen: let not a base bird snatch the grain from before the ant. Once a merchant had a case of jewels, and the sultan of that region sent for him and requested them. The merchant said, 'O sultan, I have been away from home a year; when I left, the lady of my house charged me: do business only with one who fears God and is upright and trustworthy.' The sultan welcomed him and said, 'Go, until such time as I see the fear of God and integrity in myself, and then I will buy.' 87. It is a weakness in a ruler's judgment to belittle a small enemy, or to raise a friend so high that, should he turn hostile, he could do harm. 88. Sound judgment is to sow today for tomorrow's harvest, and not to leave today's work for tomorrow. 89. The right of the great over their subordinates is that the conditions of service be fulfilled; the perfection of a master's virtue is to thank his servants and not lord it over them. One tyrannical king asked an ascetic, 'How will kings fare at the resurrection?' He said, 'The just sultan who guards the truth, does not wound the hearts of the people, and casts no shadow of greed over his subjects' wealth, will be a king in both worlds.' The just ruler is a king in both worlds; otherwise he is a beggar there and here alike. 90. As long as an enemy's harm can be warded off by generosity, hostility is not right, for blood is more precious than wealth. The Arabs say, 'The sword is the last resort': battle is proper only when no other plan remains. Better to flee than to strike with fists against a sword. 91. A true friend tells you your fault to your face, so it stings and you correct it, and hides it behind your back so you are not disgraced. 92. The wealthy and powerful command respect because they can bring comfort to a heart. When that comfort no longer reaches anyone, their merit is gone. 93. Kings and soldiers exist to protect the people, to hold back the oppressive hand of the strong from the weak. If they do not restrain the strong and themselves stretch out grasping hands, there is no benefit in such a king, and he will not endure. 94. Every blessing requires its thanks. The thanks for wealth is charity; for kingship, caring for subjects; for closeness to kings, speaking well of people; for a happy heart, sympathy for the poor; and for strength, helping the weak. 95. A sultan bound up only in his own comfort will bring no comfort to the people, and his own comfort will not last. 96. A king's appointee must put the pleasure of the Creator before the command of the king, so that he may benefit from his nearness to Him. 97. Chivalry is that when someone has received good from another, he acknowledges the debt and repays it. In truth, kings owe their fortune to the existence of their subjects, for kingship is impossible without them. So if a king does not protect the poor and does not recognize their rights, that is the height of baseness. 98. Whoever lays the foundation of evil is digging his own grave. 99. The charge of warriors and heavy swords does not accomplish what the wail of children and the prayers of old women do. 100. Do not take lightly the burning grief of the wretched, for a single spark can burn down a whole city. 101. Unless an official fears God, he will not keep his trust, and will find some way to betray it that the king will not detect. 102. To punish the wicked and then let them go is like catching a wolf and merely putting it under oath. 103. A king who harasses merchants shuts the door of prosperity and good name upon his city and land. 104. Do not place complete trust in newcomers. 105. One in whom evil is seen is better killed than banished, for it is not right to drive a snake or scorpion from yourself only to fling it into your neighbor's house. 106. Give office to someone who has means; otherwise you will get nothing but oaths. 107. When someone errs by mistake, the generous course is to overlook it. If done deliberately, warn him the first time; and if they grow bold and do it again, shed their blood, for a bad root bears no good fruit. 108. In anger, do not act in haste, for the living can be killed but the dead cannot be brought back, just as a jewel can be shattered but the pieces cannot be restored. 109. Manliness is not to launch an attack; it is to hold yourself in check at the moment of anger and not step beyond the bounds of fairness. 110. Leave the property of the dead to their orphans, for it does not befit the dignity of kings to soil their hands with such things. 111. Of all the world's gains, nothing remains but a name, and wretched is he for whom even that does not remain. 112. Wealth turns enemies into friends, but hoarding it turns friends into enemies: a child who gets no good from his father wishes for his death to take the inheritance. 113. A king who does not act justly yet expects a good name is like one who sows barley and hopes for wheat. 114. You who love wealth for the sake of rank, be generous and humble, for there is no higher rank than that people love you and praise you. 115. Hunger is better than being sated at the expense of the poor. Even if the phoenix dies of hunger, it will not stoop to hunt sparrows. 116. You stand in the place of those who have gone and those yet to come; so a mere existence between two voids deserves no great attachment. 117. Manliness is not conquering the world but governing it. The wise conquer it and keep it; the foolish conquer it and lose it. 118. Kings should sit where they can hear if a petitioner for justice cries out, for chamberlains do not always convey the people's affairs to the king's ear. It is told that Nushirvan the Just kept a chain hung with bells, so that anyone with an urgent matter could shake it; one end lay beneath his pillow and the other was tied to a tree in the square. The Arab kings would go out in disguise to observe their realms and correct any wrong they saw. They also set people to investigate the districts and villages, so that any injustice against the weak would be reported. 119. People without goodness are dead even while alive, while the righteous die and their good name lives on. 120. The thanks for greatness is to have mercy on the small, and the mark of a lofty spirit is not to soil one's hand with the property of the poor. 121. When you gain power, do only what you could bear if it were done to you by another hand. 122. The resolve of the weak strikes a heavier blow than the arm of champions. 123. Time permits no injustice; inevitably it gives the oppressed their due and knocks out the teeth of the oppressors. 124. You who sleep in comfort, think of those who lie awake; you who can walk, keep pace with the weak companion; you who are open-handed, look after the poor. Did you see what those before us did and took away? They went, and the wrong done to the oppressed ended, while the guilt remained upon the oppressors. If you want the truth, poverty in safety is better than kingship with all its perils. 125. The bones of the dead speak, if you have an ear to hear: 'I was a human like you; I did not know the worth of the days of life, and wasted my years in vain.' Since our own days slipped away in heedlessness, you, at least, count these few remaining breaths as opportunity. 126. Whoever wrongs no one fears no one. The scorpion trembles and flees because of its own vile deeds; the cat is safe at home because it harms no one, while the wolf wanders the wilderness because of its evil; beggars are at ease in the city for their innocence, while thieves hide in the mountains for their villainy. 127. Beware even a weak enemy, for in desperation he will fight for his life. The cat, though weak, if it comes to blows with a lion, will out of necessity strike and claw out its eyes. 128. Make friends with small and great and plant the roots of affection; do not rely on 'I am under the king's protection.' For if some scoundrel kills you in ignorance, and the king in revenge orders a whole province put to death, that cannot bring you back to life. 129. Act so that people speak well of you behind your back, for to your face they speak from fear or greed. 130. Strive in life to be better than others in deed, virtue, and generosity, for in death kings and beggars are alike; if you opened the tomb of a sultan and of a dog-keeper, you could not tell them apart. 131. Happy the souls of the mystics who saw that at death the world must be left to others, and so gave it up to others right now. 132. You cannot scatter united enemies unless you win the friendship of some among them. 133. Set enemy against enemy, so that whichever side wins, the victory is yours. 134. Do not spare an enemy while he is small, or he will grow great; do not let a pawn go, for it may reach the far end and become a queen. 135. In times of ease, win hearts, so that in times of hardship they will come to your aid. 136. Let a ruler honor the leader of every faith and seat him with respect. 137. A king who sinks into revelry and wine and neglects the realm, leaving its affairs to scribes who, busy enriching themselves, ignore the people's needs, will not last long before the kingdom falls to ruin. 138. Do not resent those who speak ill of you, for the fault is your own; why not be such that they speak well? Once you have done injustice, do not expect your name to be spoken well of in the land. 139. Only one who has secured himself from his own destruction can rejoice at an enemy's destruction. 140. Eat only when appetite is keen, speak only when necessary, lie down to sleep only when drowsy, and seek companionship only when longing reaches its peak. 141. Do not take lightly the wounding of weak hearts, for ants together can wear down a raging lion, and a swarm of gnats can bring down a trumpeting elephant. 142. In wielding power, act so that if one day you are no longer king, you will not suffer shame, like the wasp, which anyone who sees it weak and fallen will crush underfoot. 143. As much as you guard against poison, treachery, assassins, and night raids, guard also against the inner wounds of the broken-hearted, the prayers of the oppressed, and the moans of the injured. The sultan of Ghazna used to say, 'I do not fear the spears of men as much as the spindles of women,' meaning the burning grief within their breasts. 144. One need not fear the demons beneath the earth as much as the demons on its surface, meaning wicked human beings. 145. If you want others not to hold your faults against you, hold them against yourself first, before they occur. 146. Do not ask friends about your faults, for they will conceal them; find out what your enemies say. 147. Where gentleness is needed, do not speak harshly, for the lasso is meant for stubborn beasts; and where severity is needed, do not speak softly, for sugar cannot do the work of a purgative. 148. If you are anxious about the one who commands you, be gentle with the one who obeys you. 149. Always sit as if the enemy were at the door, so that if he suddenly bursts in, you are not caught unprepared. 150. Do not trust anyone until you have tested them in several matters. 151. When some event troubles the mind, the right course is this: at night, when people rest, seek help at God's court, pray and plead, and ask for aid and victory. Then attend upon the devout and ask for their spiritual support. Then visit holy shrines and seek help from the souls of the departed. Then show compassion to the weak, the poor, the orphans, and the needy, and free some prisoners. Then make vows and give charity. Then show kindness to the soldiers and kin and give them hope. Then, by planning and consulting with wise, single-hearted friends, strive to ward off the harm of that event. And when your heart's desire is achieved, give thanks and praise to God, not to your own power; then fulfill your vows and give the thank-offering, so that next time an event arises, hearts incline toward you and all hope for your triumph. May Saadi's many counsels be applied with sincerity and devotion, so that by God's grace both his realm and his faith may be safe, his self and children in well-being, and his life in this world and the next fulfilled as he wishes. And God knows best what is right, and to Him is the final return.

You who walk the road to God, king of the realm of words, from your speech the whole world is filled with priceless pearls. You are a star of good fortune; the world is bright with your radiance. You laid down reason itself, and the world is barren of your equal. Beside your verses, what standing has the poetry of others? Magic looks worthless before the miracle of Moses. This servant has a question for you to explain and answer, for the pure of heart seek only from the generous. Does reason or love show a man the road to God? Open this closed door, for it is a mighty gateway. Though these two rarely settle in one person, they both live at ease in your wakeful mind and heart. If reason can be called higher than love, then say so, since both are your companions and friends day and night. Show, in your kindness, the rank and station of each, so that my ailing soul may be revived by your sweet words. May you be at peace, free of the world's good and evil, your mind mirror clear like the breath of a sage. The Answer The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, said: The first thing God created was the intellect. He told it, 'Come forward,' and it came forward. Then He said, 'Turn back,' and it turned back. He said, 'By My glory and majesty, I have created nothing dearer to Me than you. Through you I take, through you I give, through you I reward, and through you I punish.' So the judgment of my master Sa'd al-Din is entirely correct: he placed reason first and knew it as a means of nearness to God. Yet the road should be asked of those who have arrived. God's generosity cannot be counted, for 'if you tried to number God's blessings you could never reckon them.' It comes to mind that reason, with all its nobility, is not the road itself but the lamp of the road; and the beginning of the road is the discipline of the path. The virtue of a lamp is that by its light one distinguishes the road from the pit, good from bad, enemy from friend. Once a person knows these things, he must set out: for though he has a lamp, until he walks he will not reach the goal. Travelers reach a station where knowledge itself becomes a veil, for knowledge is a tool for attaining the goal, not the whole goal. So whoever stops at knowledge alone is like one stranded in the desert, cut off from the Kaaba. The aim of outer knowledge is noble character and inner purity. When the dawn of purity breaks, the scent of the rose of gnosis breathes from the gardens of holiness, until the breezes of divine grace intoxicate the seeker and take the reins of choice from his grasp. The beginning of this intoxication is the sweetness of remembrance, its middle is rapture, and its endless end is love. The reality of love is the scent of familiarity and the hope of union, and this veils the seeker from perfect gnosis. The road of gnosis is not closed; rather the army of love's fancy blocks the way. The talisman of love's affliction guards the treasure, and it strikes down whoever comes upon it. No one finds the way to Korah's treasure; and if he does, he finds no way back out again. Do you know the meaning of 'I was a hidden treasure and I longed to be known'? A treasure is an image for an immeasurable hidden bounty, and no one reaches it except the king and a few of his chosen ones. The king sheds with a merciless sword the blood of those who know its secret, so it stays hidden. Likewise the King of eternity keeps the reality of the hidden treasure of His essence known to none, save a few of His chosen, the poor and the abdal, who sit with no one and appear before no one, of whom it is said, 'Many a dust covered one who, if he swore an oath upon God, God would fulfill it.' As soon as they gain awareness of some secret of the Unconditioned, He sheds their blood with the sword of reason, so the tale of the treasure does not fall onto every tongue. At this banquet, the cup is given only to the one who has first been given the drug of oblivion. So the hidden secret of the reality of the Unconditioned Essence stays concealed. If someone asks me to describe Him, what can a lost heart say of the traceless One? Lovers are the slain of the Beloved; no sound rises from the slain. A dervish's foot may descend into a treasure, and it may be that his head is lost within it. I ask you: what is the instrument of gnosis? You answer: reason, analogy, capacity, and the senses. But what use are they when, at the very first stage, the scent of spring and rapture carries the seeker off, and reason, perception, analogy, and the senses are left bewildered? I told your face, 'Let me say a few words,' but you unveiled your face and locked my speech shut. Bewilderment arose from this: that unveiling does not happen without rapture, and rapture takes one away from perception. This is why the ripe have confessed to rawness, those who arrived have admitted their incompleteness, and even the angels of the highest assembly have owned their helplessness, saying, 'We have not known You as You deserve to be known.' At every step the traveler is handed a cup, and, too fragile to bear it, he is drunk and senseless from a single cup at the very first step. They cannot endure the pure wine of divine love; through rapture they become absent from presence, they remain in the wilderness of bewilderment, and they never bring the desert to an end. In this whirlpool a thousand ships have sunk, and not a single plank has surfaced on the shore. Abu Bakr the Truthful put it well: 'O You whose knowing eludes all knowing, the perfect knowledge of the truthful is to know that they cannot know.' So the utmost gnosis of anyone is the station where his ascent is cut off by rapture. O bird of dawn, learn love from the moth: that burned one gave up its life and made no sound. These pretenders are ignorant in their search for Him, for whoever gained knowledge of Him sent back no report. Why ask about the sign of the sea of fire, when men burn upon its very shore? Why ask about the wilderness of this abyss, when no created being has ever grasped this meaning? At this banquet, the cup is given only to the one who has first been given the drug of oblivion. * This road is not made for any beggar's feet; in my hand and on my tongue there is only praise. Who am I, and what is this praise? 'I cannot number Your praises,' spoken by the prophets, is enough. * You who are beyond imagination, reasoning, guess, and fancy, beyond all we have said, heard, and read. The gathering has ended and our life has run out, and still we are stuck at the first word of Your description. * That is no face whose beauty I could describe; ask this of someone else, for I am bewildered.

It is clear that the just king, may his fortune last, is fit for guidance and open to advice. Know that anyone who governs a people and holds power and rule must learn something of the ways of kings and apply it to important matters, both to win a good name and to hope for a good end. First, let him begin all his works in the name of God, and seek His help. Let him speak only after thought, and not share his heart's secret with just anyone. Let him practice humility, and never turn his face from the words of those with real concerns. Let him not oppress his subjects, and never set aside the punishment of thieves or the retribution owed for bloodshed because someone interceded. Let him not tangle with a strong enemy, nor tyrannize the weak. First advise those close to you; only afterward blame outsiders. Plain injustice is to stay silent at the sins of favorites while beheading the common folk. Rulers are like the head and the people like the body; a foolish head tears its own body with its own teeth. He must cultivate wise people, never forget the rights of old servants, not erase the good works of former great men, not sit with the base and the untalented, and worry more about how he lives than how long he lives. An official who squeezes extra money from the people to please the king is in error, for the king needs the people more than the people need the king: the people, king or no king, are still the people, but a king without a people cannot even be imagined. Let him listen to the words of elders who have seen the world; show mercy to children, women, and dependents; protect merchants and travelers; help those who have suffered loss; and never appoint wicked men as his deputies, so that the curse against them does not fall on him alone. Let him not listen to the words of someone with an ulterior motive, and inflict no punishment until he has reached the bottom of the crime. And let him not be fooled by this world's five short days. The world does not last, and happy is the soul of the one who leaves behind a good memory in the world. The ruler is to his people as the shepherd to the flock: if he fails to guard the flock, the wages of his shepherding are unlawful. Let him read much of the tales of former kings, so as to learn goodness from the ways of the good and take warning from the fate of the wicked. Let him reflect on the lives of the departed, place no trust in untested people, never assign a great task to lesser men, and preserve his own dignity. Let him not always admit jesters, musicians, entertainers, and their like into his company, nor grow used to backgammon, chess, and other amusements. Let him not go too often after archery, ball games, and hunting. Let him not delay in putting down the wicked, and let him do good to both friend and foe, so that the love of friends grows and the hatred of enemies fades. Let him never feel safe from treachery and poison, never be careless of an ambush, and always sit as though the enemy were at the door, so that if the foe suddenly bursts in he is not caught unprepared. Let him inspect the prison from time to time, put to death those who deserve it, and free those who should be freed; punish a small crime according to its measure, and keep his hand off the innocent, and give alms to the destitute. Whoever he dismisses from his presence without fault, let him not deprive forever. Let him put back to work the men who have known dismissal and hardship, for they will strive with their lives out of fear of poverty. Let him keep his friends strong so his enemies do not grow strong; let him not quarrel with a strong enemy; let him not tell his friends everything, for friendship does not last forever; and let him not inflict every kind of hurt on an enemy, for one day that enemy may become a friend. Let him not oppress the people, so that on the day of trouble they do not lean toward the enemy. Let him sit with dignity before strangers, but show no arrogance toward his own peers; honor the departed, his companions, and his old friends; from time to time show kindness to his family and kin; keep faith with acquaintances; and hold men of good name in respect, appointing trusted people to serve them. The willful and reckless man is unfit for lordship, and fortune does not stay with him. Kings must have authority over the affairs of the realm, and judges over the affairs of religion; otherwise both realm and religion fall to ruin. As far as he can, let him do no evil; and if, God forbid, fate strikes and a wrong is done, let him busy himself with setting it right and strive to do good, but let him not grow bold in sinning by relying on the chance to fix it, for the mended is never the equal of the whole. Let him pardon the offense of one for whom everyone will pray well, not the one for whom only he prays. And before he speaks, let him think whether he would approve of these words if another said them; only then let him speak. Let him not take as a friend one who slanders others, for he will do to him just what he did to the rest. As long as enemies can be repelled with money and gentleness, let him not risk his life, for turning to flee is better than throwing a punch at a sword. Let him keep his affairs in proportion and hold his hand open in generosity. The sum of all advice is this: whatever you can afford to give, give it. Be generous, good-natured, and giving; since God is with you, you be with your servant. Let him divide his precious hours: some for the management of the kingdom and worldly affairs, some for pleasure and sleep, and a portion for worship and private prayer with God, especially at the hour of dawn, when the heart is clear. Let him form good intentions, and ask God for help in doing good. Let him make his inner self honest with both God and people, and not sleep until he has taken account of himself, of what came from him that day; so that if he has done no good he may repent and feel remorse, reproach himself, impose on himself a penalty for what he has done, and strive to do good. Let him keep his affairs in proportion: be kind, but not so much that others take advantage of him; be generous, but not so much that his resources grow weak; guard his treasury, but not so much that his attendants and army suffer hardship; grow angry, but not so much that people come to loathe him; and play, but not so much that his dignity is lost. Wherever he goes, let him seek strength from God and not rely on his own power. The charge of ruling a kingdom is a mighty thing; one must stay awake and alert, and it is never right to be always given over to amusement and merriment. Many a man of fortune sat down to play, and while he played, his fortune slipped from his hand. Let him hear this much of Sadi's advice and apply it to important matters; and when he profits by it, let him not withhold his good prayers, and let him keep his hand open in generosity. Scatter gold, since you will leave the world behind; for Sadi scattered pearls when he had no gold to give.

The Question of Khwaja Shams al-Din, the Chief Minister The great minister put five questions to Saadi, and Saadi replied: You who asked me about the state of humankind and the demon, let me give you an answer that will steal your heart away. The demon flees from those who recite the Quran; but watch out for the son of Adam, who would carry off the holy book itself. On the enemy: The first stage of discipline is advice; the second time it is prison and chains. The third is repentance and remorse; the fourth is a binding oath and a sworn pledge. The fifth: strike off his head, for the wicked man longs for an evil fate. On the pilgrim: Tell that pilgrim who preys on people, who rips the very skin off others out of spite: You are no pilgrim, the camel is, for the poor beast eats thorns and carries the load. On the Prophet's descendant: In all my life I never saw a descendant of the Prophet like this one, drinking wine and rolling the dice. On the Day of Resurrection I fear that the Messenger of God, ashamed of them, will not trouble himself to intercede for us. On the turban and the gold: Khwaja, you sent me a robe of honor and money; may your wealth increase and your enemy be trampled underfoot. For each dinar may you have a year of life, so that you live three hundred and fifty years. After Jalal al-Din's death: The message of the just minister, glory of the realm and faith, whose days make the faith itself proud, arrived and raised Saadi's standing so high that he all but lifted his head to the heavens. He ordered that Jalal al-Din, the great man of Khotan, arrange the acceptance of his gift. But the army of death had already ridden down upon him, as it rides down upon all the children of this age. Jalal will not come back to life in this world to comfort the servants of the lord. And in the next world too I have given up hope of him, that he might set right the wrongs people did to me. The Shaykh's Meeting with Abaqa On justice: A king who guards and protects his people, his tax is lawful, for it is the wage of shepherding. But if he is a shepherd who devours the flock, may it be snake's venom to him, for all he eats is the tribute of Muslims. On the king as the shadow of God: The king is the shadow of God; and a shadow is bound to the one who casts it. The common people's souls will not turn to good unless the king's sword stands over them. Whatever righteousness there is in the world is the effect of the king's justice. His kingdom will find no good order if all his judgment is mistaken. The Tale of Shams al-Din Tazikuy From the state of my brother I know for certain that you have no knowledge of this. They force dates on him against his will; there could be no worse luck than this. Children carry the dates off, and there is no profit; they eat the dates, and no money comes. And then you send a collector, a brute than whom there is none worse, who beats him so hard, my lord, that there is no way left for him from his house to the door.