Entitled the Gulistan in its original Persian, The Rose Garden was written in 1258 by Saadi - one of the greatest medieval Persian poets. To this day an influential classic, this collection of poems and stories contains many insights still relevant in today's world. Saadi takes us on a journey through his rose garden. His wisdom is timeless; his humor delightful. He illuminates the most natural situations into enlightening messages. He humbles us with the truth, and it is magical that his message is so relevant to our lives, especially in the world of falsehoods that we live in today. Saadi simply shows us how to recognize truth through the only means - god. In this fickle life nothing is assured. The only truth is the creator, the only path is to be one with him, and to do this we must submit to his will so that we can share in the splendor of the Absolute. This new translation of The Rose Garden, by Dr Gholam Hossein Mahdavi Tootkaboni, seeks to stay as close to the original as possible, thereby retaining the wealth of hidden meanings as well as the freshness of Saadi's simple metaphors.

Author Biography

Saadi - or Saadi of Shiraz - was born Abu-Muhammad Muslih al-Din bin Addallah Shirazi in Shiraz, Persia in the year 1210. He was one of the major Persian poets and literary men of the medieval period. Gulistan is perhaps his best-known work in the Western world, and demonstrates Saadi's profound awareness of the absurdity of human existence. Dr Gholam Hossein Mahdavi Tootkaboni has been translating classic works from Farsi to English and English to Farsi for over 35 years. His sole focus throughout this period has been to reproduce the works with their original essence and not his interpretation of it. This allows the reader to come to their own understanding of the work, which is the true magic.