The Masnavi, Book One
Book One
Published on 10. July 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-19-955231-3 (ISBN)
Description
'The pen would smoothly write the things it knew
But when it came to love it split in two,
A donkey stuck in mud is logic's fate -
Love's nature only love can demonstrate.'
Rumi's Masnavi is widely recognized as the greatest Sufi poem ever written, and has been called 'the Koran in Persian'. The thirteenth-century 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. In order to convey his message of divine love and unity he threaded together entertaining stories and penetrating homilies. Drawing from folk tales as well as sacred history, Rumi's poem is often funny as well as spiritually profound.
Jawid Mojaddedi's sparkling new verse translation of Book One is consistent with the aims of the original work in presenting Rumi's most mature mystical teachings in simple and attractive rhyming couplets.
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
But when it came to love it split in two,
A donkey stuck in mud is logic's fate -
Love's nature only love can demonstrate.'
Rumi's Masnavi is widely recognized as the greatest Sufi poem ever written, and has been called 'the Koran in Persian'. The thirteenth-century 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. In order to convey his message of divine love and unity he threaded together entertaining stories and penetrating homilies. Drawing from folk tales as well as sacred history, Rumi's poem is often funny as well as spiritually profound.
Jawid Mojaddedi's sparkling new verse translation of Book One is consistent with the aims of the original work in presenting Rumi's most mature mystical teachings in simple and attractive rhyming couplets.
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Reviews / Votes
'Mojaddedi's is the most faithful verse translation now available... the reader without Persian comes as close as possible to the original.' * PN Review (May -June 2006) *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 128 mm
Width: 194 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
228 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-955231-3 (9780199552313)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Jelaluddin Rumi
The Masnavi
Book
12/2004
Oxford University Press
€11.15
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Jawid Mojaddedi is Professor of Religion at Rutgers University. Born in Afghanistan, he was a 2014-15 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Translation Fellow and a 2020-21 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow. Dr Mojaddedi's translation of The Masnavi: Book One (OUP, 2004) was awarded the Lois Roth Prize by the American Institute of Iranian Studies. His previous books include Beyond Dogma: Rumi's Teachings on Friendship with God and Early Sufi Theories (OUP, 2012) and The Biographical Tradition in Sufism (2001).