(21 April, is Sa’di World Day - the day in which Sa’di the great Iranian poet, in his own words, begins to compose his Golistan collection of poems.

He is a poet whose romantic sonnets; both his Bustan and Golistan collections continue to be full of wisdom and freshness for the world after the passing of 700 years.

He lived between 606 and 690 AH, not only in Shiraz, but also in Baghdad, the Levant, and Hejaz. Nevertheless, his love for Shiraz was eternal, and he tells of his great grief in several poems about the moment he starts his journey and leaves Shiraz.

Sa’di leaves Shiraz to study in Nezamieh in Baghdad, reading Literature, Tafsir, Fiqh, Kalam and [Hikmah] Wisdom. He then travels to cities such as Levant and Hejaz to see the world, and then returns to his hometown of Shiraz, where he dies in 690 and is buried there.

Golistan is a book full of wisdom, often in a narrative style, revealing an insight that is still fresh for Iranians. As per his introduction to the book, he began composing Golistan in April of the year 656 AH, when he had just finished composing Bustan.

Golistan is composed in eight chapters: The Manners of Kings, On the Morals of Dervishes, On the Excellence of Contentment, On the Advantages of Silence, On Love and Youth, On Weakness and Old Age, On the Effects of Education and On Rules of Conduct in Life.

Sa'di’s Bustan is also an unparalleled collection of teachings, ethics and knowledge, which is also referred to as Sa'di Nameh. Bustan is composed in Masnavi format in 4000 distiches.