Islamic mysticism and Sufi scholarship

The Mathnawi of Jalaluddin Rumi (Complete)

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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.

Also known asMasnavi · Masnavi-ye Ma'navi · Spiritual Couplets
This edition1925
EditionR. A. Nicholson scholarly translation 1925–1940, E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Series; original Persian 13th century
meditationdivine love and the Belovedmystical gnosis and knowledgeReligious philosophyMystical experiencemeditation and contemplationMysticismmystical theologyspiritual ascentPoetic Mysticismcontemplative practiceIslamic traditionMystical philosophyallegorical interpretationmystical unionSufism

Contents72 chapters

  1. 01THE MATHNAWÍ
  2. 02JALÁLU’DDÍN RÚMÍ
  3. 03INTRODUCTION
  4. 04BOOK I
  5. 05PROEM
  6. 06The story of the king's falling in love with a handmaiden and buying her.
  7. 07How it became manifest to the king that the physicians were unable to cure the handmaiden, and how he turned his face towards God and dreamed of a holy man.
  8. 08The meeting of the king with the divine physician whose coming had been announced to him in a dream.
  9. 09How the king led the physician to the bedside of the sick girl, that he might see her condition.
  10. 10How that saint demanded of the king to be alone with the handmaiden for the purpose of discovering her malady.
  11. 11How the vizier brought the Christians into doubt and perplexity.
  12. 12How the Christians let themselves be duped by the vizier.
  13. 13How the Christians followed the vizier.
  14. 14Explanation of the envy of the vizier.
  15. 15How the sagacious among the Christians perceived the guile of the vizier.
  16. 16How the king sent messages in secret to the vizier.
  17. 17Explanation of the twelve tribes of the Christians.
  18. 18How the vizier confused the ordinances of the Gospel.
  19. 19How the vizier refused the request of the disciples.
  20. 20How the disciples repeated their request that he should interrupt his seclusion.
  21. 21The refusal of the vizier to interrupt his seclusion.
  22. 22How the disciples raised objections against the vizier's secluding himself.
  23. 23How the vizier made the disciples lose hope of his abandoning seclusion.
  24. 24How the vizier appointed each one of the amírs separately as his successor.
  25. 25How the vizier killed himself in seclusion.
  26. 26How ‘Azrá‘íl (Azrael) looked at a certain man, and how that man fled to the palace of Solomon; and setting forth the superiority of trust in God to exertion and the uselessness of the latter.
  27. 27How the lion again declared exertion to be superior to trust in God and expounded the advantages of exertion.
  28. 28How the superiority of exertion to trust in God was established.
  29. 29How the beasts of chase blamed the hare for his delay in going to the lion.
  30. 30How the hare answered the beasts.
  31. 31How the beasts requested the hare to tell the secret of his thought.
  32. 32How the hare withheld the secret from them.
  33. 33How the lion roared wrathfully because the hare was late in coming.
  34. 34The hare's coming to the lion and the lion's anger with him.
  35. 35The hare's apology.
  36. 36Story of the hoopoe and Solomon, showing that when the Divine destiny comes to pass, clear eyes are sealed.
  37. 37How the crow impugned the claim of the hoopoe.
  38. 38The hoopoe's answer to the attack of the crow.
  39. 39The story of Adam, on whom be peace, and how the Divine destiny sealed up his sight so that he failed to observe the plain meaning of the prohibition and to refrain from interpreting it.
  40. 40How the lion asked the reason of the hare's drawing back.
  41. 41How the lion looked into the well and saw the reflexion of himself and the hare in the water.
  42. 42How the ambassador of Rúm found the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Umar, may God be well-pleased with him, sleeping under the palm-tree.
  43. 43How the ambassador of Rúm saluted the Commander of the Faithful, may God be well pleased with him.
  44. 44Commentary on “And He is with you wheresoever ye be.”
  45. 45How the ambassador asked ‘Umar, may God be well-pleased with him, concerning the cause of the tribulation suffered by spirits in these bodies of clay.
  46. 46On the inner sense of “Let him who desires to sit with God sit with the Súfís.”
  47. 47The story of the merchant to whom the parrot gave a message for the parrots of India on the occasion of his going (thither) to trade.
  48. 48The story of ‘Á’isha, may God be well-pleased with her, how she asked Mustafá (Mohammed), on whom be peace, saying, “It rained to-day: since thou wentest to the graveyard, how is it that thy clothes are not wet?”
  49. 49Commentary on the verse of Hakím (Saná’í): “In the realm of the soul are skies lording over the sky of this world. In the Way of the spirit there are lowlands and highlands, there are lofty mountains and seas.”
  50. 50On the meaning of the Tradition, “Take advantage of the coolness of the spring season, etc.”
  51. 51How the Siddíqa (‘Á’isha), may God be well-pleased with her, asked Mustafá (Mohammed), God bless him and give him peace, saying, “What was the inner meaning of to-day's rain?”
  52. 52The moral of the altercation of the Arab and his wife.
  53. 53How the wolf and fox went to hunt in attendance on the lion.
  54. 54Description of Unification.
  55. 55The (author's) return to the story of Zayd.
  56. 56IN THE NAME OF GOD THE MERCIFUL, THE COMPASSIONATE
  57. 57How the King sent away one of the two slaves and interrogated the other.
  58. 58Resumption of the story of Dhu 'l-Nún, may God sanctify his spirit!
  59. 59How Luqmán's master tested his sagacity.
  60. 60How the high God rebuked Moses, on whom be peace, on account of the shepherd.
  61. 61How the (Divine) revelation came to Moses, on whom be peace, excusing that shepherd.
  62. 62On putting trust in the fawningness and good faith of the bear.
  63. 63How a sightless beggar said, “I have two blindnesses.”
  64. 64How Mu‘áwiya again exposed the deceitfulness of Iblís.
  65. 65How Iblís again replied to Mu‘áwiya.
  66. 66How Mu‘áwiya complained of Iblís to the most high God and besought His aid.
  67. 67How Iblís once more exhibited his deceit.
  68. 68How the Ghuzz set about killing one man in order that another might be terrorised.
  69. 69Explaining the state of those who are self-conceited and unthankful for the blessing of the existence of the prophets and saints—peace be unto them!
  70. 70The beginning of the gnostic's illumination by the Light which sees the invisible world.
  71. 71How a stranger reviled the Shaykh and how the Shaykh's disciple answered him.
  72. 72The story of the ducklings which were fostered by a domestic fowl.

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