The Quatrains of Rumi : New,
The Ruba iyat e Mawlana Jalal al-Din Balkhi Rumi,
Complete English Translation with Persian Text,
**[A5+] Large Paperback - 757 pages,
Transl. by Ibrahim Gamard,
& by Rawan Farhadi.
Back in Stock August 2024
Description :
This is the first complete translation of the nearly 2,000 quatrains attributed to Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi, may Alah be pleased with him, the famous 13th century mystical poet. It is the result of over 22 years of collaboration by an American Rumi scholar and an Afghan scholar of Persian literature.
The Quatrains of Rumi should appeal to a wide variety of lovers of Mawlana Rumi's poetry, not just specialists: general readers who seek a deeper understanding of his spiritual teachings than popularized books (often interpretive versions claimed as translations) can provide, as well as those interested in religious mysticism in general and Islamic mysticism (tasawwuf) in particular.
The Quatrains are ordered according to stages and themes of the 'lover and beloved' (spiritual disciple and sufi master). Most of the translations are followed by explanatory notes: those intended for the general reader have asterisks and often refer to the Notes, an appended glossary. Readers who have access to previously published translations and versions of the Quatrains can use the appended Concordance to make comparisons.
Farhadi and Gamard approached their task using the most reliable
critical edition of the Rumi quatrains in their original Persian. Over
the centuries, many unrelated and invented quatrains, and parts of
quatrains, have found their way into the various collections of these
poems, and therefore many quatrains have for centuries been
incorrectly attributed to Rumi.---Robert Darr.
Quatrains in the earliest manuscripts that have been found to be composed by earlier poets have been identified and placed in another appendix. Few of the Quatrains have been previously translated by scholars; the Quatrains in popularized books are often distorted versions, mostly rendered by authors who do not know Persian; those who do often tend to omit, change, or add.
Here, the poems are presented in the context of the Islamic sufi poetry in the Persian language 800 years ago: 'wine' and 'drunkenness' do not involve alcoholic intoxication, but are metaphors for the 'mystical taste' of spiritual grace and ecstasy. The lover's longing and self-effacing love is not 'romantic', but spiritual love of the seeker for his sufi guide. This love is a means to the goal of pure worship of God Most High, the 'only Beloved', that necessitates self-effacement and mystical 'drowning' in the reality described in the Qur'an: 'Everything perishes except His Face.'
About the Translators:
Rawan Farhadi, born and raised in Afghanistan, received sufi knowledge from his father, `Abdul Baqi (died 1950), who was a teacher of Persian literature and a disciple [murid] in the Naqshbandi sufi tradition in Kabul, Afghanistan. Rawan studied in Paris (1950-55) with Louis Massignon, where he received his Ph.D. He spent years studying and editing classical Persian sufi poetry. He also studied the history of Persian language with Emile Benveniste. And he personally knew and exchanged views about Mawlana's poetry with such well-known Mawlana scholars as Salahuddin Saljuqi, Khalilullah Khalili (both of Afghanistan) and Badi`uzzaman Foruzanfar (of Iran, who travelled from Tehran to Kabul on many occasions).
In addition, he knew (and helped) Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch (the translator of Mawlana's works into French) starting in 1952, when he was a graduate student in Paris. He taught Persian Literature at the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris, then at the University of California in Berkeley for five years, and then at the International Islamic Institute of the Islamic University of Malaysia for one year. In addition, he was the Afghan Ambassador to France many years ago, and more recently was the Afghan Ambassador to the United Nations (from 1993 through the end of 2006). He is the author of "Abdullah Ansari of Herat: An Early Sufi Master" (1996). At present, he is retired and living in Northern California.
Ibrahim Gamard, born and raised in the United States, is a licensed psychologist by profession and received his Ph.D. in 1986. A student of sufism for over thirty-five years, he converted to Islam in 1984 and went on the Pilgrimage to Mecca in 1999. He has been affiliated with the Mevlevi [Mawlawi] tradition of Islamic sufism (the 700 year-old tradition which originated with Mawlana himself) since 1976. In 2007, he was made a Mevlevi Shaykh, or authorized teacher, by Faruk Hemdem Celebi, the 22nd generation direct descendent of Mawlana and the international leader of the Mevlevi tradition.
Ibrahim's Mevlevi spiritual teacher, Shefik Can (Shafiq Jan, 1909-2005) was very learned in the Persian of Mawlana and also translated the quatrains (into Turkish, 1991). Ibrahim began teaching himself to read classical/medieval Persian starting in 1981, for the sole purpose of studying Mawlana's poetry. He began posting his literal translations (mostly selections from the Mathnawi, with commentary and transliterations) on the Internet starting in 1997. In 2001, he placed all of his translations (but only a few of quatrains), as well as many related articles, on his website: www.dar-al-masnavi.org.
Table of Contents :
---Foreword,
---Preface,
---Introduction.
Quatrains :
---Chapter [1]. Some Themes of Mawlana's Life,
------[A]. Poetry,
--------- 1. About Poetry and Quatrains,
--------- 2. His Words are based on the Qur'an and the Way of Muhammad, may Allah bless him & grant him peace,
------[B]. Religious Practices,
----------1. The Islamic Fast,
----------2. Islamic Festivals,
------[C]. The Seasons,
----------1. Springtime,
------[D]. Various Kinds of People,
----------1. General Observations,
--------- 2. Criticisms of Certain Individuals,
--------- 3. Direct Admonishments and Warnings,
--------- 4. Direct Admonishments and Warnings, 1,
--------- 5. Praise of Certain Individuals,
----------6. References to himself in regard to others.
------[E]. The Call of Love,
----------1. Experiences of Seeking and Finding,
----------2. In Praise of the Beloved (Shams),
----------3. About Shams e Tabrizi.
---Chapter [2]. Love of the Human Beloved :
------[A]. Qualities of the Beloved,
----------1. The Beloved's Eyes,
----------2. The Beloved's Lips,
----------3. The Beloved's Curls,
----------4. The Beloved's Stature,
----------5. Comparisons with Nature,
----------6. Other positive Qualities and Virtues.
------[B]. The Conduct of the Beloved,
----------1. The Beloved's Harshness,
----------2. The Lover's Pleasure from the Beloved's Harshness,
----------3. The Beloved as a Trickster,
----------4. The Beloved's Amoress Teasing,
----------5. The Beloved's Favours Toward Others,
----------6. The Drunkenness of the Beloved,
----------7. Dialogue with the Beloved, You said,
----------8. Dialogue with the Beloved, He said,
----------9. The Beloved said,
----------10. The Beloved's Separation.
------[C]. The States of the Lover,
----------1. The States of the Lover's Heart,
----------2. The Lover Speaks to his own Heart,
----------3. The Lover Fights Sleep,
----------4. The Drunkenness of the Lover,
----------5. The Ecstacy of the Lover and Spiritual Music,
----------6. The Craziness of the Lover,
----------7. The Lovers Companionship with the Beloved,
----------8. Various Themes.
------[D]. The Lover Speaks to the Beloved,
----------1. Your Beautiful Qualities surpass those of Nature,
----------2. I am Surrendering to You,
----------3. Dont be so Unkind,
----------4. Being with You,
----------5. I Want to be With You,
----------6. Don't Go,
----------7. You Left me, So Come Back,
----------8. I am longing for You,
----------9. I am Suffering for You,
----------10. Various Themes.
---Chapter [3]. Metaphorical Love becoming Real Love,
------[A]. Qualities of the Beloved,
----------1. The Appearance of the Beloved,
----------2. The Beloved's Qualities,
----------3. Comparisons with Nature.
------[B]. The Conduct of the Beloved,
----------1. The Beloved's Harshness,
----------2. Separation from the Beloved,
----------3. Dialogues withe Beloved,
----------4. The Beloved said,
----------5. You said.
------[C]. The States of the Lover,
----------1. States of the Heart,
----------2. States of the Soul,
----------3. The Joy of being with the Beloved,
----------4. Dreams of the Beloved,
----------5. The Image of the Beloved,
----------6. States of Love & musical instruments,
----------7. The Mystical Concert,
----------8. The Cupbearer,
----------9. The Drunkenness of the Lover,
----------10. Various States,
----------11. The Joy of Detachment from the World,
----------12. The Religion of Love,
----------13. Union with the Beloved,
----------14. About Love,
----------15. Transcendence of Death.
------[D]. At the Threshold of Real Love,
----------1. The States of Dervishes, Sufi's and Beloveds,
----------2. The States of Lovers,
------[E]. Discourses with the Beloved,
----------1. You Resemble the Heavens and Powers of Nature,
----------2. In Praise of You,
----------3. Apology and Repentance to the Beloved,
----------4. Lamenting and Suffering for You,
----------5. My Pain and Longing for You,
----------6. I am Lovesick and Yearning for You,
----------7. I am Yearning, Drunk, and Crazy for You,
----------8. I am your Reed-Flute and Viol,
----------9. I am Joyous because of you,
----------10. See how you are Affecting me,
----------11. Mystical Death and Union with you,
----------12. Your Secret and Mine.
---Chapter [4]. Divine Love,
------[A]. The High State of Humanity,
----------1. Our Origin is from Beyond the Heavens,
------[B]. In the Presence of God,
----------1. The States of the Lovers Heart,
----------2. The Soul of the Lover,
----------3. About the Divine Beloved.
------[C]. The Desire for Union,
----------1. The Divine Beloved Said,
----------2. Giving up Rationally,
----------3. Wine,
----------4. Drunkenness,
----------5. Drunkards,
----------6. The Pain of Longing,
----------7. The States of the Lover,
----------8. Fighting Sleep,
----------9. The Religion of Love,
----------10. Detachment from the World,
----------11. Ecstatic Experiences,
----------12. Submission,
----------13. Mystical Death, non-Being and the Afterlife,
----------14. Transcendence.
------[D]. The States of the Lover,
----------1. The States of the Dervishes,
----------2. The States of Lovers,
----------3. States of Lovers, I am this, we are that,
----------4. Divine Love,
----------5. Various Themes.
------[E]. Devotional Prayers,
----------1. Repentance and Return to You,
----------2. Speaking to God,
----------3. Speaking to the Divine Beloved,
----------4. You have given me this and that,
----------5. Love for You,
----------6. Longing for You,
----------7. I Belong to You.
---Chapter [5]. Advice to the Disciple and Aspirant,
------Take Care to avoid Worldly Companionship,
------Avoid Worldly Passions and Desires,
------Choose the Company of the Lovers over the Worldly
------Cultivate Virtue,
------Be with the Lovers,
------Fight Sleep,
------The Mystical Concert,
------Choose Pain and Longing,
------The Virtue of Silence,
------Attend to the Moment,
------Transcend Worry and Rationality,
------Various Themes,
------Transcend 'self' and die,
------Detach from the World and be with God,
------Divine Love,
------You are from the Heavens, so Return,
------The Beloved is Within,
------Annihilation to God,
------The Divine Response.
APPENDICES :
---Appendix I. The Quatrains incorrectly attributed to Mawlana Rumi,
---Appendix II. Unstranslated Quatrains,
---Appendix III. Quatrains in Foruzanfar's latest manuscript only,
---Appendix IV. Arabic Quatrains,
---Appendix V. Quatrains concordance of previous translations and versions,
---Appendix VI. Manual of Islamic and Islamic Sufi terms used in Persian Poetry,
-----Transliterations,
-----Abbreviations,
-----Islamic Terms and Concepts,
--------a. Basic Concepts and Terms Concerning Islam,
--------b. Terms Concerning the Nature of God,
--------c. Prayer and Rituals,
--------d. Religious Law and Virtue,
--------e. The Creation and the Afterlife,
--------f. Qur'anic and Other Islamic Names.
-----Islamic Sufi Terms and Concepts,
--------g. Sufism and Sufis,
--------h. Sufi Places and Practices,
--------i. Spiritual Psychology,
--------j. Sufi Doctrines and Metaphors,
--------k. Mystical 'Death' and Discovery of the Divine,
--------l. Mawlana and the People of his Time.
-----Cultural and Poetic Terms and Concepts,
--------m. The Beloved and the Lover,
--------n. Wine and Music,
--------o. Narure and Animals,
--------p. Food, Medicine and Other Items,
--------q. Places and People.
-----Linguistic Terms and Concepts,
--------r. Common Idioms used in Persian,
--------s. Classical Idioms,
--------t. Scholars of Mawlana's Works, Mainly in English.
---Appendix VII. Index of English Terms in the Manual,
---Appendix VIII. Index of Names in the Manual,
---Appendix IX. Index of Persian and Arabic Terms in the Manual,
---Bibliography,
---About the Translators.
More Mawlana Rume books.
Also see Sufism.
**Dimensions : 25 x 19 x 4.5cm.
