Shaikh Sa’di Shirazi (about 1194-1292 CE), originally named Muslih-uddin, was born in Shiraz. He studied at the heart of the Islamic world at the time, Baghdad, for nearly 30 years. He is famous for being a Persian poet and write. He traveled throughout the Muslim world. He was captured by the Franks and later ransomed. Finally he returned to Shiraz where he studied Sufi wisdom and Poetry. The Rose Garden (Gulistan) is mainly prose with some poetic verses. It contains bits of wisdom and moral teachings that Sa'di carried throughout his years of learning and travels. (Muslim Bookmark's description)