Masnavi, a calligraphic specimen from 1490, Mevlana Museum, Konya, Turkey.

The Masnavi, or Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi (Persian: مثنوی معنوی DMG Mas̲navī-e maʻnavī), also written Mathnawi, or Mathnavi, is an extensive poem written in Persian by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi. The Masnavi is one of the most influential works of Sufism, ascribed to be like a "Quran in Persian".^[1]

Some Muslims regard the Masnavi as one of the most important of Islamic literature, falling behind only the Quran.^[2]

It has been viewed by many commentators as the greatest mystical poem in world literature.^[3]

The Masnavi is a series of six books of poetry that together amount to around 25,000 verses or 50,000 lines.^[4]^[5] It is a spiritual text that teaches Sufis how to reach their goal of being truly in love with God.^[6]

General description[edit]

A Persian miniature depicting Jalal al-Din Rumi showing love for his disciple Hussam al-Din Chelebi (c. 1594)

The title Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi (Persian: مثنوی معنوی) means "The Spiritual Couplets". The Masnavi is a poetic collection of anecdotes and stories derived from the Quran, hadith^[7] sources, and everyday tales. Stories are told to illustrate a point and each moral is discussed in detail. It incorporates a variety of Islamic wisdom but primarily focuses on emphasizing inward personal Sufi interpretation.

In contrast to Rumi's Diwan, the Masnavi is a relatively "sober" text. It explains the various dimensions of spiritual life and practice to Sufi disciples and anyone who wishes to ponder the meaning of life.^[8]

Creation[edit]

The Masnavi was started by Rumi during the final years of his life. He began dictating the first book around the age of 54 around the year 1258 and continued composing verses until his death in 1273. The sixth and final book would remain incomplete.^[9]

It is documented that Rumi began dictating the verses of the Masnavi at the request of his favourite disciple, Husam al-Din Chalabi, who observed that many of Rumi's followers dutifully read the works of Sana'i and 'Attar. Thus, Rumi began creating a work in the didactic style of Sana'i and 'Attar to complement his other poetry. These men are said to have met regularly in meetings where Rumi would deliver the verses and Chalabi would write them down and recite them back to him.^[10]

Each book consists of about 4,000 verses and contains its own prose introduction and prologue. The inconclusive ending of the sixth volume has given rise to suggestions that the work was not complete at the time of Rumi's death, as well as to claims about existence of another volume.^[11]

Themes and narrative devices[edit]

Manuscript of the Masnavi from 15th century Iran, Khalili Collection of Islamic Art

The six books of the Masnavi can be divided into three groups of two because each pair is linked by a common theme:^[12]

Books 1 and 2: They "are principally concerned with the nafs, the lower carnal self, and its self-deception and evil tendencies."
Books 3 and 4: These books share the principal themes of Reason and Knowledge. These two themes are personified by Rumi in the Biblical and Quranic figure of the Prophet Moses.
Books 5 and 6: These last two books are joined by the universal ideal that man must deny his physical earthly existence to understand God's existence.

In addition to the recurring themes presented in each book, Rumi includes multiple points of view or voices inviting the reader to fall into "imaginative enchantment." There are seven principal voices that Rumi uses in his writing:^[13]

The Authorial Voice – Conveys the authority of a Sufi teacher and generally appears in verses addressed to You, God, or you, of all humankind.
The Story-telling Voice – May be interrupted by side stories that help clarify a statement, sometime taking hundreds of lines to make a point.
The Analogical Voice – Interruptions to the flow of narration in order to explain a statement by use of analogy.
The Voice of Speech and Dialogue of Characters – Many of the stories are told through dialogue between characters.
The Moral Reflection – Supported by quotations from the Quran and hadith
The Spiritual Discourse – Similar to analogical and model reflections.
Hiatus – Rumi occasionally questions his own verses and writes that he cannot say more because the reader would not be capable of understanding.

The Masnavi has no framed plot and includes a variety of scenes, from popular stories and scenes of the local bazaar to fables and tales from Rumi's time. It also includes quotations from the Qur'an and from hadith, accounts from the time of Mohammed.

Although there is no constant frame, style, or plot, Rumi generally follows a certain writing pattern that flows in the following order:^[14]

Problem/Theme → Complication → Resolution

English versions[edit]

Direct translations from Persian[edit]

Mathnawi Rumi, translation with commentary by M. G. Gupta with Rajeev, in six volumes Hardbound edition, M.G. Publishers, Agra, Paperback edition, Huma Books, 34 Hirabagh Colony, Agra 282005, India. Source material is the Farsi Dari text circulated by the Department of Culture, Government of India, New Delhi.
The Mesnevi of Mevlānā Jelālu'd-dīn er-Rūmī. Book first, together with some account of the life and acts of the Author, of his ancestors, and of his descendants, illustrated by a selection of characteristic anedocts, as collected by their historian, Mevlānā Shemsu'd-dīn Ahmed el-Eflākī el-'Arifī, translated and the poetry versified by James W. Redhouse, London: 1881. Contains the translation of the first book only.
Masnaví-i Ma'naví, the Spiritual Couplets of Mauláná Jalálu'd-din Muhammad balkhi, translated and abridged by E. H. Whinfield, London: 1887; 1989. Abridged version from the complete poem. On-line editions at Sacred Texts and on wikisource.
The Masnavī by Jalālu'd-din balkhi or Rūmī. Book II, translated for the first time from the Persian into prose, with a Commentary, by C.E. Wilson, London: 1910.
The Mathnawí of Jalálu'ddín balkhi, edited from the oldest manuscripts available, with critical notes, translation and commentary by Reynold A. Nicholson, in 8 volumes, London: Messrs Luzac & Co., 1925–1940. Contains the text in Persian. First complete English translation of the Mathnawí.
The Masnavi: Book One, translated by Jawid Mojaddedi, Oxford World's Classics Series, Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-19-280438-3. Translated for the first time from the Persian edition prepared by Mohammad Estelami, with an introduction and explanatory notes. Awarded the 2004 Lois Roth Prize for excellence in translation of Persian literature by the American Institute of Iranian Studies.
balkhi, Spiritual Verses, The First Book of the Masnavi-ye Ma'navi, newly translated from the latest Persian edition of M. Este'lami, with an Introduction on a reader's approach to balkhi's writing, and with explanatory Notes, by Alan Williams, London and New York, Penguin Classics, Penguin, xxxv + 422 pp. 2006 ISBN 0-14-044791-1.
The Masnavi: Book Two, translated by Jawid Mojaddedi, Oxford World's Classics Series, Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-19-921259-0. The first ever verse translation of the unabridged text of Book Two, with an introduction and explanatory notes.
The Masnavi: Book Three, translated by Jawid Mojaddedi, Oxford World's Classics Series, Oxford University Press, 2013. ISBN 978-0-19-965203-7. The first ever verse translation of the unabridged text of Book Three, with an introduction and explanatory notes.
The Masnavi: Book Four, translated by Jawid Mojaddedi, Oxford World's Classics Series, Oxford University Press, 2017. ISBN 978-0198783435.
The Masnavi: Book Five, translated by Jawid Mojaddedi, Oxford World's Classics Series, Oxford University Press, 2022.

Paraphrases of English translations[edit]

The Essential balkhi, translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne, A. J. Arberry, Reynold Nicholson, San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1996 ISBN 0-06-250959-4; Edison (NJ) and New York: Castle Books, 1997 ISBN 0-7858-0871-X. Selections.
The Illuminated balkhi, translated by Coleman Barks, Michael Green contributor, New York: Broadway Books, 1997 ISBN 0-7679-0002-2.

Urdu and Persian interpretations[edit]

Keys of Masnavi * (Kelid Masnavi), Volume 1 and 2, Ashrafali Thanvi, interpreter: Samira Gilani, Asra Institute and Rashedin Publication, Tehran: 2018.

References[edit]

^ Jawid Mojaddedi (2004). "Introduction". Rumi, Jalal al-Din. The Masnavi, Book One. Oxford University Press (Kindle Edition). p. xix.
^ Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature. (2013). (n.p.): Taylor & Francis.
^ Jawid Mojaddedi (2004). "Introduction". Rumi, Jalal al-Din. The Masnavi, Book One. Oxford University Press (Kindle Edition). pp. xii–xiii. Towards the end of his life he presented the fruit of his experience of Sufism in the form of the Masnavi, which has been judged by many commentators, both within the Sufi tradition and outside it, to be the greatest mystical poem ever written.
^ Allamah Mohamad Taghi Jafari, Tafsir Masnavi
^ Karim Zamani, Tafsir Masnavi Ma'navi
^ Jalāl, Al-Dīn Rūmī, and Alan Williams. Spiritual Verses: the Book of the Masnavi-ye Manavi. London: Penguin, 2006. Print
^ Badiozzaman Forouzanfar has published a compilation of the hadith quoted in the Masnavi, under the title Ahadith-i Mathnawi (full title: Aḥadíth va qiṣaṣ-i-Mathnaví: talfiqí az dú kitáb ‘Aḥadíth-i- Mathnaví' va 'Má'khidh-i- qiṣaṣ va tamthílát-i- Mathnaví; 1955).
^ Jalāl, Al-Dīn Rūmī, and William C. Chittick. The Sufi Path of Love: the Spiritual Teachings of Rumi. Albany: State University of New York, 1983. Print.Pg 6)
^ (Franklin Lewis, "Rumi, Past and Present, East and West: The Life, Teachings and Poetry of Jalâl al-Din Rumi," Oneworld Publications, England, 2000.)
^ Jalāl, Al-Dīn Rūmī, and William C. Chittick. The Sufi Path of Love: the Spiritual Teachings of Rumi. Albany: State University of New York, 1983. Print. Pgs 5-6
^ Jawid Mojaddedi (2004). "Introduction". Rumi, Jalal al-Din. The Masnavi, Book One. Oxford University Press (Kindle Edition). pp. xxi–xxii.
^ Jalāl, Al-Dīn Rūmī, and Alan Williams. Spiritual Verses: the First Book of the Masnavi-ye Manavi. London: Penguin, 2006. Print. Pgs xx-xxvi
^ Collected Poetical Works of Rumi. Delphi Classics. 2015. p. 15.
^ Jalāl, Al-Dīn Rūmī, and Alan Williams. Spiritual Verses: the First Book of the Masnavi-ye Manavi. London: Penguin, 2006. Print. Pgs xvii-xix

External links[edit]

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Rumi's Masnavi, part 1: World figure or new age fad?

This article is more than 13 years old

Franklin Lewis

Rumi's influence has long been felt throughout the Muslim world. Will his recent success in the west prove as long lasting?

O Mouthpiece of God

Eye of truth

Salvation of creatures from this seething ocean of Fire!

How pre-eternal your mastery

How peerless your royalty!

deliverer of the soul

from attachment's travails …
From ghazal 1310

He died in 1273, but his poetry, his depth of feeling, and his mystical insight made "Our Master" (Mowlana or Mevlana) Rumi the most celebrated mystical poet in the Islamic world, from the Balkans to Bengal and everywhere else Persian was used as a literary, historical and learned language. Artists, poets, scholars, diplomats and thinkers have recognised his superlative achievement, and in honour of the 800th anniversary of his birth, Unesco declared 2007 a commemorative year, striking a medal with the poet's imagined likeness.

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, known as Rumi, was born in 1207 north of the Oxus river, in Persian-speaking Central Asia. When still a boy, his family emigrated westward, settling finally in Konya, capital city of the Seljuk empire, which ruled Anatolia in the name of the Abbasid caliph at Baghdad. Rumi's father, a practicing mystic with some disciples of his own, accepted a position there, preaching in Persian. Rumi was sent to study in the reputable Arabic-speaking madrasas of Damascus and Aleppo, and returned to Konya in his 30s to assume his late father's mantle as an Islamic legal scholar and preacher.

In 1244, Shams ad-Din of Tabriz came to Konya and triggered a transformation in Rumi's mystical thinking and practice, such that he began composing poetry and practicing what Sufis called "spiritual listening" (sama), a form of meditative concentration enhanced by rhythmic movement, music and singing of mystical poetry. Rumi's later followers, the Mevlevi or "whirling dervishes" would choreograph these movements in their white skirts and cream-colored hats as the stylised "turning" of the stars and heavens. Rumi expressed the stunning mystical metamorphosis he experienced and his overpowering devotion to Shams ad-Din in lyrical verse, particularly the poetic form known as ghazal. Over the next 30 years, he composed an immense collection, or divan, of 40,000 lines of lyrical verse, much of it spoken by Rumi as if in the voice of Shams ad-Din ("The Sun of Faith"), and therefore known as The Divan of Shams of Tabriz:

Sun of Truth and Faith, pride of Tabriz! Speak!

But it is your voice that mouths all my words.
From ghazal 2056

My thoughts and reflections inspired by you –

As though I were your phrases and expression.
From ghazal 1683

Many of the poems in his divan express the devastating, disorienting feeling of loss that Rumi experienced when Shams left Konya, abandoning Rumi in order to wean him away from the need for a spiritual guide, and compel him to pursue his own path. Shams himself explains that he learned an immense amount from Rumi, whom he considered a great spiritual exemplar in the making. But the encounter of less than three years with Shams unleashed Rumi's muse, resulting in an ecstatic outpouring of some of the most amazing and creative imagery in all of Persian poetry – a remarkable feat, given that Rumi, like many preachers and pious scholars, was not inclined to compose poetry because of its association with the debauchery and wine-drinking of the royal courts, and the flattery of professional panegyrists.

Rumi turned to two other figures in his circle of disciples for inspiration: Salah ad-Din the Goldsmith (d. 1258) and Hosam ad-Din Chelebi, to whom Rumi intermittently dictated in the 1260s his famous Masnavi-e Ma‛navi, or "Couplets of True Meaning." The work opens with the plaintive cry of the reed flute, singing of its separation from the reed bed and the searing pain of being cut off from its source of spiritual sustenance. The 25,000 lines that follow present a loosely structured succession of tales, parables, anecdotes and vignettes in verse, narratives which Rumi uses to elaborate his mystical thought. The Masnavi (also transliterated as Mathnawi or Mesnevi) inspired innumerable commentaries in many languages, and has even been called "the Qur'an in Persian tongue," in the belief that it expresses in Persian the essence of the mystical teachings of Islamic scripture.

Rumi is thus seen, not just as an icon of Islamic civilisation (or of Afghan, Iranian, Tajik or Turkish national heritage), but of global culture. And, indeed, the popular following he enjoys in North America as a symbol of ecumenical spirituality is evident in bookstores, poetry slams, church sermons and on the internet. Some claim that Rumi is the bestselling poet in the United States, achieving great commercial success at the hands of authors who "translate" despite not speaking the original language.

Since another Persian poet, Omar Khayyam (d. 1121), once had societies dedicated to him in every corner of the Anglophone world, but is relatively little read today, we may well ask whether Rumi's recent fame in the west represents just another passing fad. But might he have something profound to say about, not only the paradigm of new age thought and spirituality, but also the mystical traditions of the other established religions?

This is the first in an eight-part series which will run on Comment is free: belief on Monday mornings

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Franklin Lewis: Rumi's teaching transcends the petty human squabbles that keep us divided. His words are a path to the divine

Cif belief Rumi's Masnavi, part 1: World figure or new age fad?

Franklin Lewis: Rumi's influence has long been felt throughout the Muslim world. Will his recent success in the west prove as long lasting?
Published:30 Nov 2009

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[1] Jawid Mojaddedi (2004). "Introduction". Rumi, Jalal al-Din. The Masnavi, Book One. Oxford University Press (Kindle Edition). p. xix.

[2] Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature. (2013). (n.p.): Taylor & Francis.

[3] Jawid Mojaddedi (2004). "Introduction". Rumi, Jalal al-Din. The Masnavi, Book One. Oxford University Press (Kindle Edition). pp. xii–xiii. Towards the end of his life he presented the fruit of his experience of Sufism in the form of the Masnavi, which has been judged by many commentators, both within the Sufi tradition and outside it, to be the greatest mystical poem ever written.

[Tafsir_Masnavi-4] Allamah Mohamad Taghi Jafari, Tafsir Masnavi

[Tafsir_Masnavi_Ma'navi-5] Karim Zamani, Tafsir Masnavi Ma'navi

[6] Jalāl, Al-Dīn Rūmī, and Alan Williams. Spiritual Verses: the Book of the Masnavi-ye Manavi. London: Penguin, 2006. Print

[7] Badiozzaman Forouzanfar has published a compilation of the hadith quoted in the Masnavi, under the title Ahadith-i Mathnawi (full title: Aḥadíth va qiṣaṣ-i-Mathnaví: talfiqí az dú kitáb ‘Aḥadíth-i- Mathnaví' va 'Má'khidh-i- qiṣaṣ va tamthílát-i- Mathnaví; 1955).

[8] Jalāl, Al-Dīn Rūmī, and William C. Chittick. The Sufi Path of Love: the Spiritual Teachings of Rumi. Albany: State University of New York, 1983. Print.Pg 6)

[9] (Franklin Lewis, "Rumi, Past and Present, East and West: The Life, Teachings and Poetry of Jalâl al-Din Rumi," Oneworld Publications, England, 2000.)

[10] Jalāl, Al-Dīn Rūmī, and William C. Chittick. The Sufi Path of Love: the Spiritual Teachings of Rumi. Albany: State University of New York, 1983. Print. Pgs 5-6

[11] Jawid Mojaddedi (2004). "Introduction". Rumi, Jalal al-Din. The Masnavi, Book One. Oxford University Press (Kindle Edition). pp. xxi–xxii.

[12] Jalāl, Al-Dīn Rūmī, and Alan Williams. Spiritual Verses: the First Book of the Masnavi-ye Manavi. London: Penguin, 2006. Print. Pgs xx-xxvi

[13] Collected Poetical Works of Rumi. Delphi Classics. 2015. p. 15.

[14] Jalāl, Al-Dīn Rūmī, and Alan Williams. Spiritual Verses: the First Book of the Masnavi-ye Manavi. London: Penguin, 2006. Print. Pgs xvii-xix

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2023/06/05

Masnavi - Wikipedia the Sufi poem by Rumi

Masnavi