Detail of “Sa‘di’s Debate with an Opponent on Wealth and Poverty”

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It is difficult to precisely identify the central figures of this illustration. In the anecdote, Sa‘di describes his opponent, who argues on behalf of the poor, as “appearing in the guise of a dervish—but not with their [inner] traits.” One might therefore associate him with the gaunt white-bearded elder on the right, leaving Sa‘di to be identified as the younger, more robust man on the left.

Elsewhere in this manuscript, however, Sa‘di is depicted as a slim white-bearded elder. This suggests that Sa‘di is the older man shown here, while his opponent is the younger figure, whose fleshiness is suggestive of the prosperity he criticizes. In other words, the artist may have chosen to reveal the hypocrisy of Sa‘di’s opponent—someone who acts like a dervish but lacks their spiritual qualities—rather than follow the textual description of his appearance.