When the Heart Dances: Saadi Shirazi’s Celebration of Earthly Joy

Exploring Saadi’s Ghazal: “Vaqt-e Tarab Khosh Yaftam Ān Dilbar-e Tanāz Rā”

وقت طرب خوش یافتم آن دلبر طناز را
ساقی بیار آن جام می، مطرب بزن آن ساز را
I found, at the hour of joy, that coquettish beloved again.
Cupbearer, bring the wine! Musician, strike the strings!

From the very first line, Saadi brings us into the heart of celebration. This is not a poem of longing or loss, nor one of mystical withdrawal. It is a moment of presence, a poetic snapshot where the poet finds his beloved again, and the world becomes a tavern of delight. The call to the sāqī (cupbearer) and motreb (musician) sets the rhythm for a night of pleasure.

In classical Persian poetry, such invitations are never merely hedonistic. The cupbearer and musician represent freedom, companionship, and the soul’s release from restraint. In this ghazal, however, Saadi speaks more as a man than as a mystic. The tone is grounded in the sensory world, in music, beauty, and the intoxication of love.

The Candle of Beauty

امشب که بزم عارفان از شمع رویت روشن است
آهسته تا نبود خبر رندان شاهدباز را
Tonight the gathering of the lovers glows with the candle of your face.
Hush, lest the wine-drinkers and gazers of beauty hear of it!

Here, Saadi turns playful. He imagines a secret feast of “ārefān”, lovers or knowers, who are illuminated not by wax and flame, but by the radiance of the beloved’s face.

Yet the poet fears discovery by …