21/11/2025
Bani Adam (Persian: بنی آدم; meaning "Children of Adam") is a famous poem by Iranian poet Saadi Shirazi.
Bani Adam (Persian: بنیآدم), meaning "Sons of Adam" or "Human Beings", is a 13th-century Persian poem by Iranian poet Saadi Shirazi from his Gulistan.
The poem calls humans limbs of one body, all created equal, and when one limb is hurt, the whole body shall be in unease.
It therefore concludes that one not touched by the pain of others cannot be called a human.
**This poem is placed at the entrance of the United Nations Building in New York City.
Translation:
Human beings are members of a whole,
In creation of one essence and soul.
If one member is afflicted with pain,
Other members uneasy will remain.
If you've no sympathy for human pain,
The name of human you cannot retain!
Or:
"Human beings are parts of one body,
In creation they are indeed of one nature.
If a body part is afflicted with pain,
Other body parts uneasy will remain.
If you have no sympathy for human pain,
The name of human you shall not retain."
Another poetic version by Dick Davis:
Man’s sons are parts of one reality
Since all have sprung from one identity;
If one part of a body’s hurt, the rest
Cannot remain unmoved and undistressed;
If you’re not touched by others’ pain, the name
Of “man” is one you cannot rightly claim.
Another translation (adopting the variant reading yak paykar for yak dīgar), is as follows:
"Adam's children are limbs of one body
That in creation are made of one gem.
When life and time hurt a limb,
Other limbs will not be at ease.
You who are not sad for the suffering of others,
Do not deserve to be called human."
Another version by Kalal Derhami reads:
"Children of Adam are all members of each other
In creation made of one earth, one mother
In time may a member find himself in pain
Other members stand besides him and remain
You who won't feel for others in despair and in pain
Shall not be worthy as a human and in name"
Context of the poem:
The poem comes in the Gulistan at the end of story ten of the first chapter "On the Conduct of Kings". In this story Saʿdi claims to have been praying at the tomb of John the Baptist in the Great Mosque in Damascus, when he gave advice to an unnamed king who requested Saʿdi to add his prayers to his own as he was afraid of a powerful enemy. Saʾdi's advice to the king was that if he wished to live a life free of fear of retribution he should rule his people with justice. He reinforces his advice with two short poems, the second of which is Bani Adam.