سعدی شیرازی — شاعر ایرانی خرد، اخلاق و انسانیت جهانی
Muslih al-Din Abdullah Shirazi, known by his pen name Saadi (c. 1210–1292), is one of the most celebrated Persian poets and prose writers. Born in Shiraz, he traveled widely across the medieval world — from Central Asia to Arabia to the Crusader states — before returning to Shiraz to write his masterworks.
His Gulistan (Rose Garden, 1258) blends prose and verse in 8 chapters of moral tales, aphorisms, and observations about kings, dervishes, love, and youth. His Bustan (Orchard, 1257) is a sustained ethical poem in 10 chapters. Both works have been translated into dozens of languages and influenced literature from Turkey to India to Europe.
Saadi's most famous verse begins 'Bani Adam a'za-ye yek digar-and' — 'The children of Adam are the limbs of each other, Created from the same essence.' This verse hangs on a carpet at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, presented as a symbol of universal human brotherhood.
The Bani Adam poem — 'The children of Adam are the limbs of each other, Created from the same essence. When fate causes pain to one limb, The others cannot remain at rest.' It hangs at the United Nations in New York.
Saadi's two masterpieces are the Gulistan (Rose Garden) — prose and verse moral tales — and the Bustan (Orchard) — a sustained ethical poem. Both are foundational texts of Persian literature.