Sheikh Saadi Books Gulistan And Bustan

Sheikh Saadi was a Persian poet. His pen-name is Saadi. His real name is Abu-Muhammad Muslih al-Din bin Abdallah Shirazi.

He was born in Shiraz, a town of Iran in 1210. He started learning from his father in his early age. But he could not continue because of his father's death. Then he studied Islamic sciences, Arabic literature etc. from renowned teachers of Baghdad.

Later, he travelled many countries because of Mongol invasion of Iran. He visited Palestine, Makkah, Madina, Syria, Africa and Asia. According to a historian, he is the second greatest tourist after Ibn Battuta.

He was impressed by Sufis and adopted Sufism. He joined a group of Sufis who had fought battles against the Crusaders. He was captured by Crusaders and became a slave for seven years. He was later released after the Mamluks paid ransom for Muslim prisoners.

He came back to his hometown Shiraz in his late forties. Shiraz was relatively peaceful at that time. He spent his remaining life here. He died in the year 1291.

Sheikh Saadi is one of the greatest poets of the classical tradition, also known as “Master of Speech”. His most important works are Bustan (The Orchard - 1257) and Gulistan (The Rose Garden - 1258). Bustan is written in verse and Gulistan is mainly in prose. In these books, Sheikh Saadi tries to teach people justice, modesty and many other religious virtues with short stories and poetry. His writing style is magical and it touches people's heart.