Saadi

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE MERCIFUL
THE CLEMENT 

Laudation to the God of majesty and glory!
Obedience to him is a cause of approach and gratitude in increase of benefits.
Every inhalation of the breath prolongs life and every expiration of it gladdens
our nature; wherefore every breath confers two benefits and for every benefit
gratitude is due.

Whose hand and tongue is capable 





To fulfil the obligations of thanks to
him? 

Words of the most high: Be thankful, O family
of David, and but few of my servants are thankful.

It is best to a worshipper for his
transgressions 




To offer apologies at the throne of
God, 




Although what is worthy of his
dignity 




No one is able to accomplish. 

The showers of his boundless mercy have
penetrated to every spot, and the banquet of his unstinted liberality is spread
out everywhere. He tears not the veil of reputation of his worshippers even for
grievous sins, and does not withhold their daily allowance of bread for great
crimes.

O bountiful One, who from thy
invisible treasury 




Suppliest the Guebre and the Christian
with food, 




How could’st thou disappoint thy
friends, 




Whilst having regard for thy enemies? 

He told the chamberlain of the morning breeze
to spread out the emerald carpet and, having commanded the nurse of vernal
clouds to cherish the daughters of plants in the cradle of the earth, the trees
donned the new year’s robe and clothed their breast with the garment of green
foliage, whilst their offspring, the branches, adorned their heads with blossoms
at the approach of the season of the roses. Also the juice of the cane became
delicious honey by his power, and the date a lofty tree by his care.

Cloud and wind, moon and sun move in
the sky 




That thou mayest gain bread, and not
eat it unconcerned. 




For thee all are revolving and
obedient. 




It is against the requirements of
justice if thou obeyest not. 

There is a tradition of the prince of created
beings, the paragon of existing things, the mercy to the inhabitants of the
world, the purest of mankind and the completion of the revolving ages, Muhammad
the elect, upon whom be blessing and peace:

Intercessor, obeyed, prophet,
gracious, 




Bountiful, majestic, affable, marked
with the seal of God. 

What danger is there to the wall of the
faithful with thee for a buttress?

What fear of the waves of the sea has he whose
pilot is Noah?

He attained exaltation by his
perfection. 




He disspelled darkness by his beauty. 





Beauteous are all his qualities, 





Benediction be on him and on his
family. 

The tradition is that whenever a sinful and
distressed worshipper stretches forth the hand of repentance with hopes of
acceptance to the court of heaven, God the most high does not notice him,
whereon he continues to implore mercy with supplications and tears and God the
most holy says: O my angels, verily I am ashamed of my servant and he has no
other lord besides myself. Accordingly I have fully pardoned him.

See the generosity and kindness of
God. 




The servant has committed sin and he
is ashamed. 

Those who attend permanently at the temple of
his glory confess

the imperfection of their worship and say: We
have not worshipped thee

according to the requirements of thy worship;
and those who describe

the splendour of his beauty are rapt in
amazement saying: We have

not known thee as thou oughtest to be known.

If someone asks me for his
description, 




What shall I despairing say of One who
has no form? 




The lovers have been slain by the
beloved. 




No voice can come from the slain. 

One of the devout who had deeply plunged his
head into the cowl of meditation and had been immersed in the ocean of visions,
was asked, when he had come out of that state, by one of his companions who had
desired to cheer him up: ‘What beautiful gift hast thou brought us from the
garden in which thou hast been?’ He replied: ‘I intended to fill the skirts of
my robe with roses, when I reached the rose-tree, as presents for my friends but
the perfume of the flowers intoxicated me so much that I let go the hold of my
skirts.’

O bird of the morning, learn love from
the moth 

Because it burnt, lost its life, and found no voice. 

These pretenders are ignorantly in search of Him, 

Because he who obtained knowledge has not returned. 




O thou who art above all imaginations,
conjectures, opinions and ideas, 

Above anything people have said or we have heard or read, 

The assembly is finished and life has reached its term 

And we have, as at first, remained powerless in describing thee.