Saadi

Abu Mohammad Mosharraf al-Din Mosleh ibn Abdollah, widely known as Saadi Shirazi, is one of the greatest poets and prose writers in the Persian language. The precise date of his birth is uncertain, but it is generally placed between the late sixth and early seventh centuries AH. Born in Shiraz, he lost his father in childhood. After receiving an elementary education in literature and the religious sciences, he traveled to Baghdad and studied at the Nizamiyya, one of the foremost centers of learning in the Islamic world.

After completing his studies, Saadi traveled for many years, visiting regions and cities in Syria, the Hejaz, Iraq, and Anatolia. Some of these journeys are reflected in his writings, although not every account of his travels can be regarded as strictly historical. After years of travel, he returned to Shiraz and remained there. His tomb in Shiraz, known as the Saadiyeh, is one of Iran’s most important cultural monuments.

Saadi holds an unrivaled place in Persian poetry and prose. He was a master of the love ghazal, ethical prose, storytelling, political counsel, and the portrayal of social experience. His works are especially celebrated for their clarity, concision, humor, perceptiveness, and deceptively simple style: language that appears effortless but is extraordinarily difficult to imitate.

Saadi’s thought is predominantly ethical, social, and pragmatic. His writings draw on the Quran, hadith, practical wisdom, his experiences of travel, Sufi culture, and the Persian literary tradition. Saadi’s language remains remarkably close to modern Persian, and many familiar Persian expressions and proverbs originate in his works.