The Mathnawi of Jalal al-Din Rumi : 5 Vol's

The Mathnawi of Jalal al-Din Rumi  :
[5 Volumes of Translation & Commentary],
[A5] Hardback - 2288 pages,
by Hazrat Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rume.
Translation and Commentary by R. Nicholson.

 
Translation of Books 1 through 6 with Commentary (Prof. Reynold A. Nicholson).

 

Description :


The "Masnavi" is Rumi's greatest poetic work, composed during the last years of his life. He began it when he was between the ages of 54-57 [about 1258-1261] and continued composing its verses until he died in 1273 CE (with the last story remaining incomplete).


It is a compendium of sufi stories, ethical teachings, and mystical teachings.


It is deeply permeated with Qur'anic meanings and references. Rumi himself called the Masnavi "the roots of the roots of the roots of the (Islamic) Religion... and the explainer of the Qur'an'' - [wa huwa uSûlu uSûlu uSûlu 'd-dîn... was kashshâf al-Qur'ân] (Masnavi, Book I, Preface).

 
Its full name is name is "Mathnawî-yé Ma`nawî," which means "Rhyming Couplets of Deep Spiritual Meaning." The name "Mathnawî" (pronounced "Masnavî" in Persian) means "couplets" in Arabic [because the second half of the verse (in Arabic, "thanî") rhymes with the first]. It is the name of a type of poetry (called "mathnawi). The second word, "Ma`nawî," means "significant," "real," "meaningful," "spiritual" in Arabic. The following is an example of the particular mathnawi meter used by Rumi (there are other mathnawi meters used by other Persian sufi poets). 



 
Reynold A. Nicholson : English Orientalist, lecturer in Persian and Sir Thomas Adams professor of Arabic at Cambridge university, Reynold A. Nicholson was a foremost scholar in the field of Islamic literature and mysticism. He was born at Keighley, Yorkshire in 1868. He was a renowned author and recognised authority on Islam. His Literary History of the Arabs (1907) remains a standard work on the subject in English, while his many text editions and translations of Sufi writings, culminating in his eight-volume Mathnawi of Jalalu’ddin Rumi, advanced the study of Muslim mystics to an eminent degree. He combined exact scholarship with notable literary gifts; some of his versions of Arabic and Persian poetry qualify him as a poet himself.







More Mawlana Rume books.
Also see Sufism.