Persian Poetics

Saʿdī’s Bustan - Persian

Course • 16 lessons

Considered one of the greatest books of all time, Saʿdī Shīrāzī’s ‘Būstān’ (Orchard) is a compilation of worldly wisdom and Saʿdī’s life experiences. Completed in 1257, the work is four thousand couplets of poetry divided into ten chapters.

Pearls of the Masnavi - English

Course • 21 lessons

Called ‘The Qur'ān in Persian’ by Sufis, the Masnavi is Rumi’s magnum opus. It is among the most important works in the Muslim world, once read from the Balkans to the Bengal.

Saʿdī’s Gulistan - English (2021)

Course • 22 lessons

Saʿdī’s Gulistān (Flower Garden) is perhaps the most influential work of Persian prose. The collection of anecdotes helped earn him the nickname ‘afṣaḥ al-mutikallimūn’ (The Most Eloquent Speaker).

Pearls of the Masnavi - Persian

Course • 18 lessons

Called ‘The Qur'ān in Persian’ by Sufis, the Masnavi is Rumi’s magnum opus. It is among the most important works in the Muslim world, once read from the Balkans to the Bengal.

Saʿdi - Translations, Editions, Commentaries

Course • 4 lessons

Saʿdī’s Pandnama

Course • 10 lessons

Saʿdī Shīrāzī’s ‘Pand-nāma’ or ‘Book of Wisdom,’ also known as ‘Karīmā’ (literally ‘O Kind one’ from the famous opening line above: ‘karīmā bibakhshāy bar ḥāl-i mā’) is a classic text written in the rhyming couplet (masnawī) style, like the Būstān.