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The Mathnawi of Jalaluddin Rumi: Complete Six Books
The most influential Sufi poem ever written, the six books of the Masnavi are often called "the Qur'an in Persian.
This is the first ever translation to have been attempted in English. R.A. Nicholson's masterwork still is the basis of all future translations of the Mathnawi.
Contains complete translations of all six books of the Mathnawi.
This is a 2007 reprint of the editions published from 1925 to 1940 by Luzac and Co in Britain.
This is the first ever translation to have been attempted in English. R.A. Nicholson's masterwork still is the basis of all future translations of the Mathnawi.
Contains complete translations of all six books of the Mathnawi.
This is a 2007 reprint of the editions published from 1925 to 1940 by Luzac and Co in Britain.
1485 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1925
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About the author
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
1,171 books15.7k followersSufism inspired writings of Persian poet and mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi; these writings express the longing of the soul for union with the divine.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 14, 2015
Geçmişte yapıp etiklerimizin bu günümüze yansımasını gürmek isteyen, bugün yaptıklarımız düşündüklerimiz ve soylediklerimizin gelecekte bize nasıl döneceğini bilmek isteyen herkesin okuması gereken bi kitap değil şaheser. Ruhunu dinlendirmek isteyenlerin okuması gereken bi şaheser. Ruhunda fırtınalar kopanların kendi şahsıyla ilgili sorularına cevap veremeyenlerin kesinlikle okuması gereken bi şaheser. Ama şu da çok önemli bir gerçek ki Mevlananın önsözünde dedigi gibi sadece ve sadece nasibi olanların okuyacagı bir eser nasibin yoksa zaten birseyler sebep olur ve okuyamazsın. Su da cok onemliki bu eseri Otuken yayınlarından Şefik Can Aydın'ın cevirisinden okumalı ve onu manevi olarak cıkmazlarda oldugunu dusundugun oyle oldugunu hissettigin bi zamanda baslarsan okumaya bir daha asla bırakamazsın ama tekrarlamadan gecemeyecegim mesneviyi okumak nasip meselesidir vesselam...
April 10, 2025
Rumi is beyond human. Every word shows his connection to the divine.
November 23, 2025
There is an old belief: a reader does not choose the Masnavi. The book chooses the one it wants.
August 28, 2019
"İyilik edene, ihsanda bulunana şükretmek, Allah'a şükretmektir" (6.Cilt, 3254.beyit)
İnsana insanın ve insanlığın acizliğini ve batmayan Aşk'ı gösteren (inşallah) bir Aşık'a teşekkür etmek herhalde o yolda yok olmaya çalışmaktır...
İnsana insanın ve insanlığın acizliğini ve batmayan Aşk'ı gösteren (inşallah) bir Aşık'a teşekkür etmek herhalde o yolda yok olmaya çalışmaktır...
December 20, 2016
Beatiful Poetry
December 19, 2018
I found my copy to be very hard to follow. The English translation could do with improvement, seems my copy was just a direct print out of an online version.
July 24, 2022
تفسیر کریم زمانی
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews