Islamic mysticism and Sufi scholarship
Jalaluddin Rumi's magnum opus, one of the supreme masterpieces of Sufi poetry and world literature. Composed in the 13th century, this vast work in rhyming Persian couplets weaves parables, allegories, and theological discourse to illuminate the soul's longing for reunion with the Divine Source. R. A. Nicholson's landmark English translation, begun in 1925, remains the definitive scholarly edition. The Mathnawi explores divine love as the supreme spiritual force, the anguish of separation from the Origin, and the transforming power of the Sufi path — all through a seemingly inexhaustible treasury of stories drawn from Quran, Hadith, and folk tradition.
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