Welcome back to Wisdom from the Golestan of Saadi.
Today’s story is about Saadi’s most moving portraits of inner conflict: the battle between reason and passion, purity and desire. It shows how even the devout can be undone by love, not as a moral failure, but as a deeply human condition.

I once saw a devout man, a saintly soul,
utterly consumed by love for another.
He had neither the strength to endure,
nor the courage to speak.

Though he was scolded and shamed,
though he suffered for it deeply,
still he would not let go.
He said:

“I will never withdraw my hand from your hem,
even if you strike me with a sharp blade.
After you, there is no refuge,
for if I flee, it is still toward you that I run.”

At last, I reproached him:
“What became of your noble reason?
How could such a lowly desire overpower your spirit?”

He fell silent, thinking for a moment,
then softly replied:

“When the king of love enters the heart,
the strength of piety can find no place.
How could a pure man, like Zayd,
stay clean when fallen so deep in the mire?”

🎧 Reflection:
Even the wise may stumble when love takes hold,
for love is not a weakness of reason,
but a kingdom where reason bows to the heart.