C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
For God’s Sake! Read Not
By Sa’dī (c. 1213–1291)
From the ‘Rose-Garden’: Translation of Edward Backhouse Eastwick
A
MAN with a harsh voice was reading the Kur’ān in a loud tone. A sage passed by and asked, “What is thy monthly stipend?” He replied, “Nothing.” “Wherefore, then,” asked the sage, “dost thou give thyself this trouble?” He replied, “I read for the sake of God.” “Then,” said the sage, “for God’s sake! read not.”
COUPLET
If in this fashion the Kur’ān you read,You’ll mar the loveliness of Islām’s creed.
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