Saadi Shirazi was a Persian writer of prose and poetry who belonged to the 13th century. He is widely revered for his thoughts on morality and society.
His elevated poetic quality earned him the title of “The Wordsmith” and the “Master of speech”. He is respected and quoted by both scholars of East and West.
His book Bustan has been featured in The Library Thing’s 100 Greatest Books of all time list. Here are some of the best Saadi Shirazi quotes that will leave a deep impact on your life.
Life lessons of Saadi Shirazi in Quotes
Since Saadi spent time with men of such diverse origins and life, he had a broad perspective. He bases his life lessons on his religion and education.
1. “Reveal not every secret you have to a friend, for how can you tell but that friend may hereafter become an enemy. And bring not all mischief you are able to upon an enemy, for he may one day become your friend.”
Saadi Shirazi
2. “If you cannot stand a sting, do not put your hand in scorpions nest.”-Saadi
3. “People are crying up the rich and variegated plumage of the peacock, and he is himself blushing at the sight of his ugly feet.”-Saadi
4. “None can be so true to your secret as yourself.”-Saadi
5. “A handsome woman is a jewel; a good woman is a treasure.”-Saadi
6. “Riches are intended for the comfort of life, and not life for the purpose of hoarding riches.”-Saadi
7. “Use a sweet tongue, courtesy, and gentleness, and thou mayst manage to guide an elephant with a hair”-Saadi
8. “When gnats act in concert they will bring
down an elephant: when ants set to work,
and move in a body, they can strip a fierce
lion of its hide”-Saadi
9. “Whatever is produced in haste goes easily to waste.”-Saadi
10. “A student said to his teacher, what am I to do? I am troubled by the people, many of whom make me visits. By their coming and going they encroach upon my precious time. The teacher replied – lend something to every one of them who is poor and ask something to everyone of them who is rich, and they will come round thee no more.”-Saadi
11. “Make no friendship with an elephant keeper. If you have no room to entertain an elephant.”-Saadi
12. “No one throws stones at the barren tree.”-Saadi
13. “Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.”-Saadi
14. “Roam abroad in the world, and take thy fill of its enjoyments before the day shall come when thou must quit it for good.”-Saadi
15. “One who gives advice to heedlessness is himself in need of advice.”-Saadi
16. “The Alchemist dies in frustration and sorrow. And the fool finds a treasure in a ruin.”-Saadi
17. “If a gem falls into the mud, it will still remain valuable. And if the dust descends to heaven, it will still be of no value.”-Saadi
18. “Green wood can be bent. But once it becomes dry, it can only be straightened by fire.”-Saadi
19. “Deep in the sea, there are riches beyond your imagination. But if you seek safety, that is at the shore.”-Saadi
20. “In the sea there are countless treasures,
But if you desire safety, it is on the shore.” -Saadi
21. “A wise man among the ignorant is as a beautiful girl in the company of blind men.” -Saadi
22. “If the diver always thought of the shark, he would never lay hands on the pearl.”-Saadi
Saadi Shirazi Quotes about Religion and Spirituality
Saadi Shirazi was born into a family of religious scholars. Thus, he was placed under the guidance of his maternal grandmother. The Mongols had invaded Persia, and he traveled across Anatolia, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq; this is where he developed his philosophy of religion. Saadi’s times correspond to the traveler Marco Polo’s.
1. “From the Gulistan Be not over much angry with thy slave; Treat him not unjustly, and pain not his feelings. True, thou mayst have bought him for ten dirhems; But ’twas not by thy power that he was created. There is a tradition of the Prophet–peace be upon him!–that on the day of the resurrection the greatest grief will be when the pious slave is carried to Paradise, and his worthless master is borne away to Hell.”-Saadi
2. “The children of Adam are limbs of a whole
Having been created of one essence.
When the calamity of time afflicts one limb
The other limbs cannot remain at rest.
If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others
You are not worthy to be called by the name of “human”.-Saadi
3. “A raindrop, dripping from a cloud. Ashamed when it saw the sea. ‘Who am I where is a sea’, it said. As it saw itself, from the eyes of humility A shell embraced him and makes him a pearl.”-Saadi
4. “I fear God the most, but after Him, I fear those who don’t fear Him.”-Saadi
5. “When the belly is empty, the body becomes spirit; and when it is full, the spirit becomes body.”-Saadi
6. “I fear God and next to God I mostly fear them that fear him not.”-Saadi
7. “He who is a slave to his stomach seldom worships God.”-Saadi
8. “The best loved by God are those that are rich, yet have the humility of the poor, and those that are poor and have the magnanimity of the rich.”-Saadi
saadi Shirazi quotes about empathy and kindness
Saadi always deeply empathized with the sorrows of man. In his book Golestan, he leaves simple messages of spirituality for wayfarers. He places special emphasis on the economic class divisions. Because he had keenly observed dervishes and emperors, he understood their nature and psychology with amazing insight.
1. “You who feel no pain at the suffering of others It is not fitting for you to be called human.” -Saadi
2. “A man of virtue, judgment, and prudence speaks not until there is silence.”-Saadi
3. “Throughout the long night, a man wept. For the sick man beside him. At dawn the visitor was dead. And the was patient alive.”-Saadi
4. “If I see a blind man near a well It is a crime for me to remain silent.” – Saadi
5. “It’s no virtue to gain the whole world. Just gain the heart of one person.” – Saadi
6. “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” – Saadi
7. “A noble heart will refuse the happiness built on the misfortune of others.” – Saadi
8. “Whatever makes an impression on the heart seems lovely in the eye.” – Saadi
9. “O Contentment, make me rich! for without thee there is no wealth.” – Saadi
10. “Joy and sorrow, beauty and deformity, equally pass away.”– Saadi
11. “A man is insensible to the relish of prosperity until he has tasted adversity.”– Saadi
12. “Purpose without power is mere weakness and deception, and power without purpose is mere fatuity.”– Saadi
13. “Affairs succeed by patience, and he that is hasty falleth headlong.”– Saadi
14. “The Rose and the Thorn, and Sorrow and Gladness are linked together.”– Saadi
15. “An unjust king asked a devotee what king of worship is best. He replied, for thee, the best is to sleep one half of the day so as not to injure the people for as while.“– Saadi
16. “Ten dervishes can sleep beneath one blanket. Two kings cannot reign in one kingdom.”– Saadi
Saadi Shirazi Quotes about Wisdom
Not only did Saadi achieve his wisdom on life from his college degree, but also through interacting with people of different ranks. His knowledge and citations include Tughral (Sindh), Somnath (Brahminical writings). He also was deeply aware of the Central Asian hardships caused by the Mongols. Saadi also briefly stayed in India to deepen his understanding of Hinduism but got into a disagreement with the Brahmans and had to flee.
1. “One who has vanity and conceit in his head
Imagine not that he will ever hear the truth”– Saadi
2. “An Arab horse speeds like no other. But it is the camel that though plods slowly, goes by day and night.”– Saadi
3. “Most of the birds of the Old World can be found here, as Oman is on a strategic route for migrating birds.”– Saadi
4. “Whoever has no patience has no wisdom.”– Saadi
5. “Nothing is so good for an ignorant man as silence; if he were sensible of this he would not be ignorant.”– Saadi
6. “Every leaf of the tree becomes a page of the book, once the heart is opened and it has learnt to read.”– Saadi
7. “If the diver always thought of the shark, he would never lay hands on the pearl.”-Saadi
8. “Whenever you argue with another wiser than yourself in order that others may admire your wisdom, they will discover your ignorance.”– Saadi
9. “A student who learns without a desire is a bird without wings.”– Saadi
10. “A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.”– Saadi
11. “A liberal man who eats and bestows is better than a devotee who fasts and hoards.”-Saadi
12. “Whatever makes an impression on the heart seems lovely in the eye.”– Saadi
13. “A man is insensible to the relish of prosperity till he has tasted adversity.”– Saadi
14. “A garden is a delight to the eye and a solace for the soul.”– Saadi
15. “Nothing is so good for an ignorant man as silence; and if he was sensible of this he would not be ignorant.”– Saadi
16. “Whenever you argue with another wiser than yourself in order that others may admire your wisdom, they will discover your ignorance.”– Saadi
17. “O wise man, wash your hands of that friend who associates with your enemies,”-Saadi
18. “A little and a little, collected together, become a great deal; the heap in the barn consists of single grains, and drop and drop makes an inundation.”– Saadi
19. “Whoever acquires knowledge but does not practice it is as one who ploughs but does not sow.”– Saadi
saadi Shirazi Anecdotal life lessons
Saadi religiously fraternized with survivors of the Mongol holocaust. He spent a lot of time among the oppressed and poor which brought him closer to the true miseries of life. He used to spend his time in tea houses conversing with men of diverse professions such as: merchants, preachers, thieves, teachers and Sufis.
1. “I never lamented about the vicissitudes of time or complained of the turns of fortune except on the occasion when I was barefooted and unable to procure slippers [shoes]. But when I entered the great mosque of Kufah with a sore heart and beheld a man without feet I offered thanks to the bounty of God, consoled myself for my want of shoes and recited:
‘A roast fowl is to the sight of a satiated man
Less valuable than a blade of fresh grass on the table
And to him who has no means nor power
A burnt turnip is a roasted fowl.”– Saadi
2. “I noticed an Arab of the desert sitting in a company of jewelers. He said – I had once lost my road in the desert and consumed all my food. I considered that I must perish when I suddenly caught sight of a bulging canvas bag. I shall never forget the joy and ecstasy I felt on thinking it might be parched grain nor the bitterness and despair when I discovered it to be full of pearls.”– Saadi
3. “A thief entered the house of a Sufi and found nothing there to steal. As he was leaving, the dervish, sensing his disappointment, threw him the blanket on which he had been lying.”– Saadi
4. “A miser hoarded all his wealth and spent nothing on his family. But one day his son discovered the hiding place. He dug up all the gold and put a large stone in the place. The money he spent in riotous living. His father soon discovered his loss and was overcome with grief, but his son said cheerfully – gold is for spending father! for hiding, the stone is just as good.”– Saadi
5. “One day in Baghdad the central Bazar caught on fire. Someone came to me and told me that my store had been spared in the fire. I replied – praise be to god. At that moment I became ashamed before people for selfishly seeking my own advantage, thirty years now I have been seeking God to forgive me for once saying that – praise be to god.”– Saadi
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