Fifty three short poems jelaluddin rumi, coleman barks translator published 1993. This masnavi, which is the polisher of spirits, its recommencement occurred on the day of opening. But if you have two discerning eyes and are not afflicted. The words that martin featured on his album come from rumi s masnavi, a six book epic poem. The masnavi is a poetic collection of rambling anecdotes and stories derived from the quran, hadith sources, and everyday tales. Sep 23, 2010 the title of rumis masterwork masnavii manavi means rhyming couplets of profound spiritual meaning. We have seen how rumis theology of love and the effacing of the baser self points to an existential. Rumi identified the first cause of all things as god and considered all second causes subordinate to that. Its fifty thousand lines are mostly in persian, but they are. In the prologue to the masnavi rumi hailed love and its sweet madness that heals all infirmities, and he exhorted the reader to burst the bonds to silver and gold to be free.
A seventeenthcentury illustration for rumis epic poem masnavi. But when it came to love it split in two, a donkey stuck in mud is logics fate loves nature only love can demonstrate. The words that martin featured on his album come from rumi s masnavi, a six book epic poem that he wrote toward the end of his life. As a result,the first two and a half books of his translation are based on less.
Rumi stayed for the remaining fifty years of his life. Rumi says if you find fifty meanings from every verse in my poem you have not found the original meaning. Most translators merely translate the raw text, which is really not enou. The thcentury poet, jelaloddin rumi, has been a surprising bestseller in america and europe for many years now, his message of divine love and mystical union finding universal appeal. Masnavi or mathnawi is one of the best known and most influential works of persian literature and it also has acquired immense popularity in the west. Rumi was a thcentury persian poet, jurist, islamic scholar and theologian.
Like the earlier books, book three interweaves amusing stories with homilies to instruct. Rumi spiritual verses a new translation by alan williams, penguin classics 2006. It is a spiritual writing that teaches sufis how to reach their goal of being in true love with god. Translating rumi s poetry into english is challenging, because a lot of the meaning is dependent on cultural and religious references predominantly lost on english audiences. Divided into six books and consisting of some 26,000 verses, the poem was designed to convey a message of divine love and unity to the disciples of rumis sufi order, known today as the whirling dervishes. Poems of ecstasy and longing by rumi, the soul of rumi. In order to convey his message of divine love and unity he threaded together entertaining stories and.
The masnavi, book one jalal aldin rumi translated by jawid mojaddedi oxford worlds classics. The masnavi is a series of six books of poetry that together amount to around 25,000 verses. Its fifty thousand lines are mostly in persian, but they are riddled with. Rumi is the greatest mystic poet to have written in persian, and the masnavi is his masterpiece. The words that martin featured on his album come from rumis masnavi, a sixbook epic poem. That which god said to the rose, and caused it to laugh in fullblown beauty, he said to my heart, and made it a hundred times more beautiful. The spiritual couplets of maulana jalaluddln muhammad rumi masnavi book 4. Nov 11, 2004 rumi s masnavi is widely recognized as the greatest sufi poem ever written, and is sometimes called the koran in persian. The masnavi is a poetic collection of anecdotes and stories derived from the quran, hadith sources, and.
Book two is concerned with the challenges facing the seeker of sufi enlightenment. The masnavi is a poetic collection of anecdotes and stories derived from the quran. Feb 09, 20 notes on rumis masnavi book one february 9, 20 jeanmichel 1 comment simple, sometimes humoristic stories that eventually reveal something very profound about the human condition and the way things ought to be, at least from a sufi perspective, are the defining characteristics of rumis masnavi, book one. What is the best english translation of rumis masnavi. In the book of kalila and damna a story is told of a lion who held all the beasts of the neighborhood in subjection, and was in the habit of making constant raids upon them, to take and kill such of them as he required for his daily food. Divided into six books and consisting of some 26,000 verses, the poem was designed to convey a message of divine love and unity to the disciples of rumi s sufi order, known today as the whirling dervishes. Contains selected translated passages with persian text and succinct commentaries. His quotes will transform your life for the better, they are based upon love, hope, inspiration, and awakening.
It has been viewed by many commentators as the greatest mystical poem in world literature. Its recommended summer reading in a two page newsletter put out by a womens clothing store, kathleen sommers of san antonio. Its fifty thousand lines are mostly in persian, but they are riddled with arabic excerpts from muslim scriptural texts that allude to koranic anecdotes that offer moral lessons. Jul 24, 2016 translating rumis poetry into english is challenging, because a lot of the meaning is dependent on cultural and religious references predominantly lost on english audiences. Daneye ma ni fifty tales of mathnawi manawi persianfarsi. The book ends with a long section 120 pages of continuous selections from book iv of the masnavi based on nicholsons translation as well as guptas translation. He warns the reader in advance to be prepared to let go of everything. Sirri dilbaran dar hadisi digaran lovers secret told in the talk of others. The masnavi is one of the most influential works of sufism, commonly called the quran in persian. The poem which runs to more than 25,000 verses is based on sufi teaching.
Has anyone read jawid mojaddedi translation of masnavid. Rumi s masnavi is widely recognized as the greatest sufi poem ever written, and has been called the koran in persian. The erasure of islam from the poetry of rumi the new yorker. The thirteenthcentury muslim mystic rumi composed his work for the benefit of his disciples in the sufi order named after him, better known as the whirling dervishes. Reason cannot coexist with loves mania, for love has nothing whatever to. Of course rumi does acknowledge the value of human reason, and that intellect is a godgiven faculty with real and useful. A masnavi poem is long, but also highly memorable and repeatable because of its narrative story element. That book has achieved the cultural status of an empty diet coke can. The commencement date of this precious work was the year six hundred and sixty two of the flight. A less famous, but easier to understand book, which is a collection of some of his sayings is called fihe ma fih, which is available here as a pdf file for your reading. Rumi s masnavi is widely recognized as the greatest sufi poem ever written, and is sometimes called the koran in persian.
His masterwork is the epic poem, the masnavi, a monumental composition in persian of some 25,000 verses combining stories, fables and spiritual teachings which is regarded by many. Many persian proponents of rumi also hardly understand the meaning and concepts of rumi s poetry. Available in both english and native writing, farsi persian. This is the first unabridged verse translation of book one of the masnavi for more than a hundred years. The masnavi, book one, jalal aldin rumi, translated.
The big red book the great masterpiece celebrating mystical love and friendship. A collection 1 x kashf ul mahjoob 1 x love is a stranger selected lyric poetry of jelaluddin rumi 1 x masnavi i manvi 1 x mawlana rumi bridge of east and west 1 x mystical poems of rumi. With new translations of over fifty of rumis poems and including never before seen prose, this landmark study celebrates the astounding appeal of rumi, still as strong as ever, 800 years after his birth. Rumi the masnavi book iii, story xvii, 1258 1273 in this valley, love is represented by fire, reason by smoke. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. The lute of the poesy of the masnavi sounded again. Unfortunately a very small portion of rumi s poems and writings have been translated properly into english. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Its fifty thousand lines are mostly in persian, but. The nature of the intimate friendship between the two is much. Book two, translated by jawid mojaddedi, oxford worlds classics series, oxford university press, 2007. Love writes a transparent calligraphy, so on the empty page my soul can r. Jun 12, 2012 masnavi is a series of six books of poetry by the celebrated thcentury persian poet jalal aldin muhammad rumi. His masterwork is the epic poem, the masnavi, a monumental composition in persian of some 25,000 verses combining stories, fables and spiritual teachings which is regarded by many within the islamic.
Masnavi i manavi teachings of rumi the spiritual couplets of maulana jalaluddin muhammad i rumi translated and abridged by e. Rumi past and present, east and west, the life, teaching and poetry of jalal aldin rumi by franklin d. The masnavi, book one, jalal aldin rumi, translated by jawid mojaddedi by thomas parker rumi is undoubtedly one of the most wellknown and universallyloved poets of all time and welldeservedly so. Complete 6 books by rumi, maulana jalaluddin muhammad isbn. Masnawi poem by mewlana jalaluddin rumi poem hunter. Rumis masnavi has been described as the quran in the persian language.
The first ever verse translation of the unabridged text of book two, with an introduction and explanatory notes. Reason cannot coexist with loves mania, for love has nothing whatever to do with human reason. Spiritual verses, the first book of the masnaviye manavi trans. The words that martin featured on his album come from rumi s masnavi, a sixbook epic poem that he wrote toward the end of his life. The beloved is all in all and is only veiled by the lover. Divided into six books and consisting of some 26,000 verses, the poem was designed to convey a message of divine love and unity to the disciples of rumi s. Rumis great book of wisdominfused poetry contain myriad lessons on the. In particular it focuses on the struggle against the self, and how to choose the right companions in order to progress along the mystical path. Net a fulltext website of the masnavi in persian, english, and turkish 615 about a book with masnavi translations by the webmaster of this site oublished 304 about the masnavi. Baldwin has the book briefly in his hand in a movie whose title i cant recall. However, shams left after less than a year and a half, as he was less than welcome by some of rumi s relatives. Masnavi is a series of six books of poetry by the celebrated thcentury persian poet jalal aldin muhammad rumi.
Rumi himself defined his work as a work of destruction, destruction of the worldly for the sake of embracing the divine. Masnavi rumi, the great book of mawlana jalaluddin rumi, includes original persian with urdu translation by qazi sajjad hussain digitized by. The title of rumis masterwork masnavi i manavi means rhyming couplets of profound spiritual meaning. Masnavi i manavi masnavi the masnavi, jalaluddin rumi the masnavi, or masnavi i manavi, also written mesnevi, mathnawi, or mathnavi, is an extensive poem written in persian by jalal aldin muhammad balkhi also known as rumi, the celebrated persian sufi poet. Rumi has 2 famous poetry books masnavi and divane shams. In order to convey his message of divine love and unity he threaded together. Like the earlier books, book three interweaves amusing stories with homilies to. Persian poetry complete version of poetry and poems by famous persian poets for viewing or download. Rumis masnavi became known as the masnaviye manavi, masnavi of meaning, and it was distinguished from all other masnavis because it is the most massive, the paragon and most important example. When love bursts into flame, reason is forthwith dissipated like smoke. Barks book, the soul of rumi 2001, consists mainly of versions from the masnavi, plus some of his own thoughts and reflections about the passages.
Skilfully rendered in rhyming couplets, the translation is an attractive and faithful representation of the original. A certain arab of the desert loaded a camel with two big sacksthere was one full of grain. There is no translation to express the true meaning of rumi s poetry. With more than 50 years of teaching experience between them, ilse depraetere and. Like the earlier books, book four interweaves amusing stories with homilies to. Jan 05, 2017 the words that martin featured on his album come from rumis masnavi, a sixbook epic poem that he wrote toward the end of his life. Mathnavi or mathnavie maanavi is the best known work of rumi consisting of 24,660 couplets in seven books. Lewis is an encyclopaedic work on the greatest sufi poet the world of islam has ever produced. The masnavi, or masnavi i manavi, jalaluddin rumi the masnavi, or masnavi i manavi, also written mesnevi, mathnawi, or mathnavi, is an extensive poem written in persian by jalal aldin muhammad balkhi also known as rumi, the celebrated persian sufi poet. The most influential sufi poem ever written, the six books of the masnavi are often called the quran in persian. The masnavi, book one jalal aldin rumi oxford university. Notes on rumis masnavi book one february 9, 20 jeanmichel 1 comment simple, sometimes humoristic stories that eventually reveal something very profound about the human condition and the way things ought to be, at least from a sufi perspective, are the defining characteristics of rumi s masnavi, book one.
The masnavi is divided into six books, and rumi wrote prefaces for each book. The masnavi, book 2 oxford worlds classics rumi, jalal aldin, mojaddedi, jawid on. May these quotes open up your heart and mind to the beauty that lies within you. Spiritual verses, the first book of the masnavi ye manavi trans. The hardcover of the the masnavi of rumi, book two.
1386 1439 1480 537 549 125 1274 1445 669 1504 201 124 457 608 969 1057 532 828 1346 659 150 797 1017 79 1506 857 126 591 1305 415 832 123 244 312 694 138 790 1228 922 1399 719 1475 868 368