Sa'adi’s Viewpoints to be Published in Britain

From Pendar: Persian Independant Media, February 6, 2006

One World Publication in Britain will publish a book in March 2007 containing Sa'adi’s viewpoints on love and life.

Tehran, 6 February 2006 -- One World Publication, a private publication in Oxford University, is going to publish a book entitled “Sa'di: The Poet of Loving and Living” on first of March 2007 in English language. It has also published several books on religion, Sufism, philosophy, and psychology.

This 160-page book is written by Homayoun Katouzian, Iranian researcher. Sa'di’s viewpoints on love which depict both human and divine love, as well as the impact of his many years traveling had on his thoughts have been inscribed in this book. Katouzian shed a unique insight on the man he calls “the poet of loving and living”.

Using a philosophical and cultural approach toward Sa'di’s life and literary works, Katouzian has revealed some aspects of love and life hidden in the works of this great poet who lived during the 13th century AD.

In this book, Sa'di has been described as one of the greatest Iranian poets and writers who was highly skilled in classical prose and poetry and had a unique attitude on both human and spiritual love.

Shaykh Muslihuddin Sa'di was born in Persia, the city of Shiraz, in 1184 AD. Sa'di’s life may be divided into three distinct periods: Until 1226 he was busy with his studies; from 1226 to 1256, he spent his life as a traveler in different countries of the world; and the last part from 1256-1291 he spent as a Sufi contemplating and admonishing people. That is why he is remembered in Persian literature as a great moralist whose moral advices have been followed by those who heard them. Several pieces of his writings entered the daily life as valuable proverbs, giving precious lessons about life.

Sa'di was reverted in his time as a man of great wisdom and passion. The body of his work was written in the thirteenth century. Filled with extract of the poet’s melodious and insightful writing, and critical analysis thereof, this revealing biography examines why he was so idolized until the 1950’s, and why since then he has fallen into relative obscurity. Homayoun Katouzian is a social scientists, historian, literacy critic and poet. He is the Iran Heritage Research fellow at St. Antony’s College, and a member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, as well as an honorary fellow in the Department of Politics at the University of Exeter.