Saadi Quotes: 25 Famous Lines in Persian, With Sources and Translations

The most famous Saadi quote is the Bani Adam poem from the Golestan: بنی آدم اعضای یکدیگرند / که در آفرینش ز یک گوهرند (bani âdam a’zâ-ye yekdigarand / ke dar âfarinesh ze yek goharand), “Human beings are limbs of one another, for in creation they share one essence.” Below are about 25 genuine lines from the Golestan and Bustan, each in Persian with pronunciation, a fresh translation and its exact source.

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Most English quote sites list Saadi in English only, with no Persian and no source, and many of their lines cannot be traced to anything he wrote. Every line on this page was checked against the standard Persian text of the Golestan and Bustan (the edition by Mohammad Ali Foroughi). The translations are our own and stay close to the Persian, so you can see what each word is doing.

Famous Saadi quotes at a glance

Iranians know these lines from school, and many have turned into everyday proverbs. Each one is explained further down the page.

A note on numbering: story numbers follow the Foroughi edition as printed on most Persian sites. Older English translations sometimes count the stories differently, so a story may appear one number higher or lower there.

Who was Saadi?

Saadi, written سعدی (Sa’di), was a poet and prose writer from Shiraz in southern Iran. He was born there around 1210 and died there around 1291 or 1292; the exact years are uncertain. As a young man he went to study in Baghdad, and he spent roughly three decades away from home, travelling through Iraq, Syria and the Arab lands before returning to Shiraz in the 1250s.

Back home he wrote his two best-known books within about a year of each other:

• The Bustan (بوستان, bustân, “the orchard” or “the garden”), finished in 1257. It is entirely in verse and has ten chapters, on justice, kindness, love, humility, contentment, education, gratitude, repentance and prayer.
• The Golestan (گلستان, golestân, “the rose garden”), finished in 1258; Saadi gives the date in the preface as the year 656 of the Islamic calendar. It has a preface and eight chapters of short stories in elegant prose, each one capped with a few lines of verse.

Saadi also wrote hundreds of love poems (ghazals), which many Iranians consider the finest before Hafez. Iranians call him استاد سخن (ostâd-e sokhan), “the master of speech.” His tomb in Shiraz, the Sa’diyeh, is a garden that visitors still crowd into, and 21 April (1 Ordibehesht in the Iranian calendar) is marked every year as Saadi Day. If you plan to visit, our guide to Saadi’s tomb in Shiraz has the Persian you will need there, and the reading lesson Saadi (سعدی) lets you practice reading a short text about his life.

Why Iranians quote Saadi so often

Saadi writes in a Persian that is seven and a half centuries old yet still easy for a modern reader to follow. Children read Golestan stories at school, and dozens of his half-lines have become proverbs that people use without thinking about where they came from, the way English speakers quote Shakespeare. When an Iranian says a white lie is sometimes kinder than the truth, or that a bad upbringing shows in the end, the words they reach for are often Saadi’s. You will see several of these in the section on everyday sayings below.

Bani Adam: Saadi’s most famous poem

These six lines close the tenth story of the first chapter of the Golestan. Saadi tells of praying at the tomb of the prophet John the Baptist (Yahya) in the great mosque of Damascus when an unjust Arab king came in and asked for his prayers. Saadi’s advice was to show mercy to the weak in his own kingdom, so that he would not suffer at the hands of a stronger enemy. The poem is the point of that advice.

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Words to know in Bani Adam

• بنی آدم (bani âdam): “the children of Adam,” an Arabic phrase meaning human beings.
• اعضا (a’zâ): limbs, members; the plural of عضو (‘ozv). Saadi uses both the Arabic plural a’zâ and the Persian plural عضوها (‘ozvhâ) in the same short poem.
• ز (ze): the old short form of از (az), “from.” کز (k-az) is که از squeezed into one word.
• گوهر (gohar): jewel, essence, substance.
• چو (cho): “when” or “as,” a classical form of چون.
• محنت (mehnat): hardship, suffering. Notice the ezâfe in mehnat-e digarân, “the suffering of others.”
• نشاید (nashâyad): “it is not fitting,” a literary verb you will rarely hear in conversation.

“One another” or “one body”? The two versions of the first line

You will also see the first line written بنی آدم اعضای یک پیکرند (bani âdam a’zâ-ye yek peykarand), “the children of Adam are limbs of one body.” In older Persian handwriting the two readings look almost the same, and scholars have argued about them for decades. The early manuscripts and the standard Foroughi edition have یکدیگرند (yekdigarand), “of one another,” and that is the version most Iranians learn at school. The “one body” reading is popular in English translations because it makes the image of a single body easier to see.

Is Bani Adam written at the United Nations?

Not in the way many websites claim. There is no inscription of the poem over the entrance of the UN building. What does exist is a large hand-woven Iranian carpet with the poem in gold letters, hung in a meeting area of the UN headquarters in New York since 2005, with an English translation on a plaque beside it. The poem has also been quoted by world leaders; Barack Obama used a translation of its first line in his Nowruz message to Iranians in March 2009.

Quotes from the Golestan

The Golestan is the book to start with if you are learning Persian: the stories are short, the prose is clear, and the verse lines are easy to memorize. Here are its best-known lines, grouped by theme.

On why Saadi wrote the Golestan

The book opens with a sentence every Iranian schoolchild knows: منت خدای را عز و جل که طاعتش موجب قربت است و به شکر اندرش مزید نعمت (mennat khodây râ ‘azza va jall ke tâ’atash mujeb-e ghorbat ast va be shokr andarash mazid-e ne’mat), “Thanks be to God, mighty and glorious, whose worship brings us closer to Him, and in thanking whom our blessings grow.”

A little later in the preface comes a couplet about gratitude that is quoted at dinner tables to this day:

ابر و باد و مه و خورشید و فلک در کارند / تا تو نانی به کف آری و به غفلت نخوری
abr-o bâd-o mah-o khorshid-o falak dar kârand / tâ to nâni be kaf âri-yo be ghaflat nakhori
“Cloud and wind, moon and sun and sky are all at work / so that you can hold a piece of bread in your hand. Do not eat it without a thought.”

همه از بهر تو سرگشته و فرمانبردار / شرط انصاف نباشد که تو فرمان نبری
hame az bahr-e to sargashte-vo farmânbardâr / shart-e ensâf nabâshad ke to farmân nabari
“All of them turn and obey for your sake; / it would not be fair if you alone did not obey.”

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And Saadi’s own explanation of the title, a play on the word ورق (varagh), which means both a petal or leaf and a page:

به چه کار آیدت ز گل طبقی / از گلستان من ببر ورقی
be che kâr âyadat ze gol tabaghi / az golestân-e man bebar varaghi
“What good is a tray of roses to you? / Take a leaf from my Rose Garden.”

گل همین پنج روز و شش باشد / وین گلستان همیشه خوش باشد
gol hamin panj ruz-o shesh bâshad / v-in golestân hamishe khosh bâshad
“A rose lasts only five or six days, / but this Rose Garden will stay fresh forever.”

On speech and silence

The fourth chapter of the Golestan is about the benefits of silence, but Saadi’s view is balanced: say the right thing at the right time.

دو چیز طیرهٔ عقل است، دم فرو بستن / به وقت گفتن و گفتن به وقت خاموشی
do chiz tayre-ye ‘aghl ast, dam foru bastan / be vaght-e goftan-o goftan be vaght-e khâmushi (preface)
“Two things shame the mind: keeping your mouth shut when it is time to speak, and speaking when it is time to be quiet.”

زبان در دهان ای خردمند چیست؟ / کلید در گنج صاحب‌هنر
zabân dar dahân ey kheradmand chist? / kelid-e dar-e ganj-e sâheb-honar (preface)
“What is the tongue in the mouth, wise one? / The key to the treasure door of a gifted person.”

چو در بسته باشد چه داند کسی / که جوهرفروش است یا پیله‌ور؟
cho dar baste bâshad che dânad kasi / ke jowhar-forush ast yâ pilevar?
“While the door is shut, how can anyone tell / whether the shop sells jewels or cheap trinkets?”

تا مرد سخن نگفته باشد / عیب و هنرش نهفته باشد
tâ mard sokhan nagofte bâshad / ‘eyb-o honarash nehofte bâshad (ch. 1, story 3)
“Until a man has spoken, / his faults and his talents stay hidden.”

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On honesty and kindness

That same first story gives Persian its phrase for a white lie. The king asks what the prisoner said. A kind minister answers that he was quoting a verse about forgiving people, and the king spares him. A second minister points out the truth, and the king replies that he prefers the first man’s lie:

دروغی مصلحت‌آمیز به که راستی فتنه‌انگیز
dorughi maslahat-âmiz beh ke râsti-ye fetne-angiz (ch. 1, story 1)
“A lie that serves a good purpose is better than a truth that stirs up trouble.”

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In the third chapter, on contentment, Saadi tells of the only time he complained about his luck: when his feet were bare and he could not afford shoes. Then, in the great mosque of Kufa, یکی را دیدم که پای نداشت (yeki râ didam ke pây nadâsht), “I saw someone who had no feet.” His conclusion: سپاس نعمت حق به جای آوردم و بر بی‌کفشی صبر کردم (sepâs-e ne’mat-e hagh be jây âvardam va bar bi-kafshi sabr kardam), “I gave thanks for God’s blessing and bore having no shoes with patience.” (ch. 3, story 18)

From a story later in the same chapter:

به شیرین‌زبانی و لطف و خوشی / توانی که پیلی به مویی کشی
be shirin-zabâni-yo lotf-o khoshi / tavâni ke pili be muyi keshi (ch. 3, story 27)
“With a sweet tongue, kindness and good humor / you can lead an elephant by a single hair.”

The same story makes the case for working together:

مورچگان را چو بود اتفاق / شیر ژیان را بدرانند پوست
murchegân râ cho bovad ettefâgh / shir-e zhayân râ bedarânand pust
“When ants act as one, / they can tear the hide off a raging lion.”

On nature, company and upbringing

The fourth story of the first chapter is about a band of robbers. When the king’s men capture them, a minister begs for the life of one handsome boy among them, promising he can be raised to be good. The king doubts it, and later events prove him right. Two of its couplets are now proverbs:

عاقبت گرگ‌زاده گرگ شود / گرچه با آدمی بزرگ شود
‘âghebat gorg-zâde gorg shavad / garche bâ âdami bozorg shavad (ch. 1, story 4)
“In the end a wolf cub becomes a wolf, / even if it grows up among people.”

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باران که در لطافت طبعش خلاف نیست / در باغ لاله روید و در شوره‌بوم خس
bârân ke dar letâfat-e tab’ash khalâf nist / dar bâgh lâle ruyad-o dar shure-bum khas
“Rain, whose gentle nature no one doubts, / grows tulips in a garden and weeds in salty ground.”

The minister’s side of the argument is also in the story: good company can change anyone.

سگ اصحاب کهف روزی چند / پی نیکان گرفت و مردم شد
sag-e as-hâb-e kahf ruzi chand / pey-e nikân gereft-o mardom shod
“The dog of the Sleepers of the Cave, for a few days / followed good men and became human.”

From the third story, about a short, plain prince who proves braver than his tall brothers:

نه هر چه به قامت مهتر به قیمت بهتر (na har che be ghâmat mehtar be ghimat behtar), “Not everything taller in stature is greater in worth.” The same story has ده درویش در گلیمی بخسبند و دو پادشاه در اقلیمی نگنجند (dah darvish dar gelimi bekhosband va do pâdshâh dar eghlimi nagonjand), “Ten dervishes can sleep under one blanket, but two kings cannot fit in one country.”

Short maxims from chapter 8

The last chapter of the Golestan, on good conduct with others, is a collection of short sayings. These four are the ones Iranians quote most:

• مشک آن است که ببوید، نه آن که عطار بگوید (moshk ân ast ke bebuyad, na ân ke ‘attâr beguyad): “Real musk is the one that gives off its scent, not the one the perfume seller praises.” In other words, let your work speak for you.
• هر که با داناتر از خود بحث کند تا بدانند که داناست، بدانند که نادان است (har ke bâ dânâtar az khod bahs konad tâ bedânand ke dânâst, bedânand ke nâdân ast): “Whoever argues with someone wiser so that people will think him wise only shows them that he is ignorant.”
• هر که در زندگانی نانش نخورند، چون بمیرد نامش نبرند (har ke dar zendegâni nânash nakhorand, chon bemirad nâmash nabarand): “If no one ate his bread while he lived, no one will speak his name when he dies.” Notice the play on nân (bread) and nâm (name).
• دو کس دشمن ملک و دینند: پادشاه بی حلم و زاهد بی علم (do kas doshman-e molk-o dinand: pâdshâh-e bi-helm va zâhed-e bi-‘elm): “Two people are enemies of both state and faith: a king without patience and a pious man without knowledge.”

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The musk saying continues with a comparison worth knowing: the wise person is like the perfumer’s box, خاموش و هنرنمای (khâmush-o honarnamây), “silent but showing its worth,” while the fool is like a war drum, بلندآواز و میان‌تهی (bolandâvâz-o miyân-tohi), “loud and hollow inside.”

If you would like to read the whole book, the Gulistan of Saadi in Persian with English translation puts the two texts side by side.

Quotes from the Bustan

The Bustan is all verse, written in the same short, rhythmic meter as Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, which makes its couplets easy to memorize. You can read it chapter by chapter, with Persian and English, in our free Bustan of Saadi section.

The opening line

به نام خداوند جان‌آفرین / حکیم سخن در زبان‌آفرین
be nâm-e khodâvand-e jân-âfarin / hakim-e sokhan dar zabân-âfarin
“In the name of the Lord who created the soul, / the Wise One who placed speech on the tongue.”

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On serving others

In the first chapter, Atabak Takla, a ruler of Fars (the province of Shiraz), tells a wise man that he wants to give up the throne and live as a dervish. The wise man answers:

طریقت به جز خدمت خلق نیست / به تسبیح و سجاده و دلق نیست
tarighat be joz khedmat-e khalgh nist / be tasbih-o sajjâde-vo dalgh nist (ch. 1)
“The spiritual path is nothing but serving people; / it is not in prayer beads, prayer rugs or a patched robe.”

تو بر تخت سلطانی خویش باش / به اخلاق پاکیزه درویش باش
to bar takht-e soltâni-ye khish bâsh / be akhlâgh-e pâkize darvish bâsh
“Stay on your royal throne, / and be a dervish in the purity of your character.”

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The ant: kindness to every living thing

In the second chapter, the Sufi Shebli carries a sack of wheat home and finds an ant in it. Unable to sleep at the thought that the ant is far from its home, he walks all the way back to return it. Saadi then quotes a couplet he credits to Ferdowsi, “may God’s mercy be on his pure grave”:

میازار موری که دانه‌کش است / که جان دارد و جان شیرین خوش است
mayâzâr mur-i ke dâne-kesh ast / ke jân dârad-o jân-e shirin khosh ast (ch. 2)
“Do not hurt an ant that carries grain, / for it has a life, and a sweet life is precious.”

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Read the full story, with an English translation, on our page Shibli and the ant.

The candle and the moth: on love

The third chapter, on love, ends with one of the most loved passages in Persian poetry, a conversation between a moth and a candle:

شبی یاد دارم که چشمم نخفت / شنیدم که پروانه با شمع گفت
shabi yâd dâram ke cheshmam nakhoft / shenidam ke parvâne bâ sham’ goft
“I remember a night when my eyes found no sleep; / I heard the moth speak to the candle:”

که من عاشقم گر بسوزم رواست / تو را گریه و سوز باری چراست؟
ke man ‘âshegham gar besuzam ravâst / to râ gerye-vo suz bâri cherâst?
“‘I am the lover; if I burn, that is only right. / But you, why do you weep and burn?'”

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The candle answers that it, too, is a lover, and that its “sweet friend,” the honey from which its wax came, has already left it. Near the end comes this couplet:

اگر عاشقی خواهی آموختن / به کشتن فرج یابی از سوختن
agar ‘âsheghi khâhi âmukhtan / be koshtan faraj yâbi az sukhtan
“If you want to learn what love is: / only in dying are you freed from burning.”

The whole passage, in Persian and English, is on our page Conversation between the candle and the moth.

The raindrop: on humility

The fourth chapter, on humility, contains a six-line poem many Iranians memorize as children:

یکی قطره باران ز ابری چکید / خجل شد چو پهنای دریا بدید
yeki ghatre bârân ze abri chekid / khejel shod cho pahnâ-ye daryâ bedid
“A drop of rain fell from a cloud. / It felt ashamed when it saw how wide the sea was:”

که جایی که دریاست من کیستم؟ / گر او هست حقا که من نیستم
ke jâyi ke daryâst man kistam? / gar u hast haghghâ ke man nistam
“‘Where there is a sea, who am I? / If it exists, then truly I do not.'”

چو خود را به چشم حقارت بدید / صدف در کنارش به جان پرورید
cho khod râ be cheshm-e heghârat bedid / sadaf dar kenârash be jân parvarid
“Because it looked at itself with humble eyes, / an oyster took it in and nurtured it with all its heart.”

The drop becomes a pearl, and the poem ends with two couplets that are often quoted alone:

بلندی از آن یافت کاو پست شد / در نیستی کوفت تا هست شد
bolandi az ân yâft k-u past shod / dar-e nisti kuft tâ hast shod
“It rose high because it made itself low; / it knocked on the door of nothingness until it came to be.”

تواضع کند هوشمند گزین / نهد شاخ پر میوه سر بر زمین
tavâzo’ konad hushmand-e gozin / nahad shâkh-e por-mive sar bar zamin
“The truly wise are humble: / the branch heavy with fruit bows its head to the ground.”

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Saadi lines that became everyday sayings

You do not need to read classical poetry to meet Saadi; you will hear him in ordinary conversation. Some lines are used whole, others have been worn down into set phrases:

• A white lie is called دروغ مصلحتی (dorugh-e maslahati), “a lie for a good reason,” a phrase that grew out of the first Golestan story. People say it to justify, or to tease about, a small lie told to keep the peace.
• When someone’s bad habits show up again, people sigh عاقبت گرگ‌زاده گرگ شود. It can sound harsh, so it is said about someone, not to them.
• When someone boasts, a friend may answer with مشک آن است که ببوید، نه آن که عطار بگوید, often in the popular form with خود (khod, “itself”) added: “musk is what smells by itself.”
• When a meal is served, an older relative might recite ابر و باد و مه و خورشید و فلک در کارند as a reminder not to waste food.
• When people talk about humanity, charity or disasters abroad, Bani Adam is the line everyone reaches for. It appears on posters and charity appeals, and it was even printed on an Iranian banknote.

Misquotes and myths about Saadi

Because Saadi has been translated into European languages for centuries, a lot of loose versions travel under his name. A few to know:

• “I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.” This is not a Saadi sentence. It is a modern English retelling of the Golestan story quoted above (ch. 3, story 18). In the original Saadi does not cry: he complains, sees a man with no feet, gives thanks and is patient.
• توانا بود هر که دانا بود (tavânâ bovad har ke dânâ bovad), “whoever is wise is powerful,” is often posted as Saadi. It is Ferdowsi, from the opening of the Shahnameh.
• The ant couplet is often given as Saadi’s own. It is in the Bustan, but Saadi himself introduces it as a saying of Ferdowsi.
• “Musk is what smells by itself.” The popular wording adds خود; the standard text of the Golestan reads مشک آن است که ببوید without it. The meaning is the same.
• The UN inscription. As explained above, Bani Adam is on a carpet in the UN building in New York, not carved over its entrance.
• English-only quotes with no source. Many lines on quote sites come from 20th-century books that retell Sufi teachings in free English, and they cannot be matched to a passage in the Golestan or Bustan. If a “Saadi quote” comes without Persian and without a chapter, treat it with caution. We take the same approach in our guide to real Rumi quotes in Persian.

How to read Saadi as a Persian learner

Saadi is the classical poet most learners can actually read. A few tips make it much easier:

• Learn the short forms. ز is az (from), چو is “when/as,” گر is agar (if), دگر is digar (other), and کز, کاو are که + از and که + او.
• Watch the ezâfe. Poetry leaves it unwritten, so خدمت خلق is read khedmat-e khalgh. The rules are the same as in modern Persian; see our guide to ezâfe in Persian.
• Some words have shifted meaning. In Saadi مردم (mardom) can mean “a human being,” where today it means “people.”
• Read aloud. The Bustan’s meter has a steady da-DUM da-DUM beat that makes lines stick. Use the Listen buttons above, then say each line yourself.
• Start with the Golestan, then move to the Bustan, then the ghazals. After Saadi, Hafez is a natural next step; our guide to fal-e Hafez shows how Iranians still use his Divan today, and our collection of Persian poems has more to read.

Want more? Test yourself on Hafez, Rumi and Khayyam with our Persian poetry quiz, or read the full Bustan with facing English in Bustan: In Farsi with English Translation.

Common questions

What is Saadi’s most famous quote?

Bani Adam: بنی آدم اعضای یکدیگرند / که در آفرینش ز یک گوهرند, “Human beings are limbs of one another, for in creation they share one essence.” It comes from the Golestan, chapter 1, story 10, and continues by saying that anyone who feels no pain at others’ suffering does not deserve to be called human.

What is the difference between the Golestan and the Bustan?

The Bustan (1257) is a book of verse in ten chapters on moral themes such as justice, kindness, love and humility. The Golestan (1258) is mostly prose: eight chapters of short stories, each finished with a few lines of poetry. The Golestan is usually easier for learners, and both are full of lines that became proverbs.

Is the Saadi poem really at the United Nations?

Partly. A large Iranian carpet woven with the Bani Adam poem hangs in the UN headquarters in New York, with an English translation beside it. The popular claim that the poem is inscribed over the entrance of the UN building is not true.

Did Saadi say “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet”?

Not in those words. It is a loose English retelling of a Golestan story in which Saadi, too poor to buy shoes, sees a man with no feet in the mosque of Kufa, thanks God and accepts his situation patiently.

When and where did Saadi live?

Saadi was born in Shiraz around 1210 and died there around 1291 or 1292. He spent about thirty years travelling and studying, mainly in Baghdad and the Arab lands, before returning to Shiraz. His tomb, the Sa’diyeh, is in Shiraz, and Iranians mark Saadi Day on 21 April.

Why is Saadi called “the master of speech”?

Iranians call him استاد سخن (ostâd-e sokhan) because his Persian is clear, musical and precise, and so many of his lines have passed into everyday speech. Seven and a half centuries later, schoolchildren still read his stories, and adults still quote him without noticing.

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