To give pleasure to a single heart by a single kind act is better than a thousand head-bowings in prayer.

Saadi of Shiraz (c. 1210–1291/92), one of medieval Persia’s most influential moralists, wrote didactic poetry and prose shaped by extensive travel and by the ethical ideals of Islamic piety and Sufi humanism. In works such as the Gulistan (“Rose Garden,” 1258) and Bustan (“Orchard,” 1257), he repeatedly contrasts outward religiosity with inward virtue, urging compassion, generosity, and practical service to others. This saying belongs to that broader Saadian emphasis: the worth of religion is tested in conduct—especially kindness to the vulnerable—rather than in the mere performance of ritual acts.

The aphorism sets a deliberate moral hierarchy: a single concrete act that brings joy or relief to another person outweighs even an impressive quantity of formal devotion. “Head-bowings” evokes repetitive, visible piety—prayer as performance—while “a single kind act” represents lived ethics. Saadi’s point is not to dismiss prayer, but to insist that spiritual life is validated by compassion and social responsibility. The line also implies an economy of moral attention: sincerity and human benefit matter more than scale, spectacle, or self-regard. In Saadi’s ethical vision, the heart is the true site of religion, and kindness is its most credible proof.