قصة الكتاب :
The Bustan is a book of Persian verse written in 1257 by Sheikh Saadi Shirazi. Sheikh Saadi was a poet who was widely recognized as one of the masters of classical Persian literature. It is considered to be one of his two greatest works and is dedicated to Salghurid Atabeg Sa’d I or Sa’d II. The Bustan is Saadi’s first work and literally means ‘the orchard’. The title is a metaphor for the contents of the book, which are the fruits of Saadi’s long experience, journeys, his judgements on life and his understanding of human philosophy. It is peppered with various anecdotes. The Bustan is similar to the Aesop’s Fables with regard to the moral advice rendered. It is divided into ten chapters, each of which is dedicated to a particular virtue. The verses have been written in the mathnawi or rhyming-couplets style. It was translated into Dutch in 1688 and has also been translated into English.

\r\nThe ten chapters are like ten doors in Saadi’s orchard. Each door leads to a garden enriched by the fruits of his knowledge and experience living in different lands. Persian is said to be a language that true poets engage in completely, following no rhyme or rules. Poetic license reigns supreme in the use of Persian in poetry. The order of words as well as the construction of sentences follow no fixed rule and are determined purely by the poet who engages in using both freely to express what he desires to. This has often led to difficulties in translating meaning across languages. In Saadi’s poetry too these difficulties have been encountered but have not stood in the way of transferring the core ideas and ideals he intended to convey to his audience. Humour is something Sheikh Saadi is said to have encouraged and used completely. In this book it is employed in a subtle manner. Some of the key underlying themes in almost all the poems are devotion to God and the inflexibility of fate. Metaphors have been used in plenty throughout the poems – a characteristic of Eastern writing that make translation by Western authors even more tedious. The Bustan makes a few references to Saadi’s childhood and travels. Sheikh Saadi was born in 1175 AD in Shiraz, Persia to a government officer. His father passed away when he was still a child, an experience that no doubt influenced his character and expressions.

\r\nThe Bustan was acclaimed as one of the 100 greatest books of all time by the Boklubben World Library. It is a mine of proverbs, quotations and practical wisdom, that holds good to this very day. It is said that even if The Bustan were the only work that remained of Saadi’s genius, his name would still be considered among the literary immortals. \r\n