
Rumi's Mystical Design
Reading the Mathnawi, Book One
State University of New York Press
Published on 1. October 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
290 pages
978-1-4384-2796-6 (ISBN)
Description
Reveals the sophisticated design of Rumi's Mathnawi, showing that this seemingly unstructured work both describes and functions as spiritual training.
This landmark book reveals the structure of Rumi's thirteenth-century classic, the Mathnawi. A beloved collection of 25,000 picturesque, alliterative verses full of anecdotes and parables on what appear to be loosely connected themes, the Mathnawi presents itself as spontaneous and unplanned. However, as Seyed Ghahreman Safavi and Simon Weightman demonstrate, the work has a sophisticated design that deliberately hides the spiritual so that readers, as seekers, have to find it for themselves-it is not only about spiritual training, it is spiritual training. Along with a full synoptic reading of the whole of Book One, the authors provide material on Rumi's life, his religious position, and his literary antecedents. Safavi and Weightman have provided readers, students, and scholars with a valuable resource: the guide that they wished they had had prior to their own reading of this great spiritual classic.
This landmark book reveals the structure of Rumi's thirteenth-century classic, the Mathnawi. A beloved collection of 25,000 picturesque, alliterative verses full of anecdotes and parables on what appear to be loosely connected themes, the Mathnawi presents itself as spontaneous and unplanned. However, as Seyed Ghahreman Safavi and Simon Weightman demonstrate, the work has a sophisticated design that deliberately hides the spiritual so that readers, as seekers, have to find it for themselves-it is not only about spiritual training, it is spiritual training. Along with a full synoptic reading of the whole of Book One, the authors provide material on Rumi's life, his religious position, and his literary antecedents. Safavi and Weightman have provided readers, students, and scholars with a valuable resource: the guide that they wished they had had prior to their own reading of this great spiritual classic.
Reviews / Votes
"This is possibly the best explanation of the significance of the entire work ever written, certainly so in English. The authors bring out dimensions of the ornate and sophisticated structure of the Mathnawi, of which other authors have had at best only inklings." - William C. Chittick, author of The Sufi Doctrine of RumiMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
College/higher education
US School Grade: From College Freshman to College Graduate Student
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
18 Figures
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4384-2796-6 (9781438427966)
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
Additional editions

E-Book
03/2010
1st Edition
De Gruyter
€35.99
Available for download
Persons
Seyed Ghahreman Safavi is Research Associate of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of London, and Director of the London Academy of Iranian Studies. He is the author of The Structure of Rumi's Mathnawi: New Interpretation of the Mathnawi as a Book for Love and Peace. Simon Weightman is Former Head of the Department of the Study of Religions at the School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of London. He is the coauthor (with Rupert Snell) of Hindi.
Author
Foreword
University Professor of Islamic StudiesGeorge Washington University
Content
Foreword by Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Preface
Introduction
1. Contextualizing the Mathnawi
Mawlana's Life-An Outline
Mawlana's Religious Outlook
Mawlana's Literary Antecedents
2. Reading the Mathnawi
The Mathnawi as Given
The Question of Structure
Some Further Considerations
Synoptic Reading and the Principles of Parallelism and Chiasmus
Rhetorical Latency
Two Iranian Exemplars
The Synoptic Reading of Book One of the Mathnawi
3. A Synoptic Reading of Book One of the Mathnawi
4. Book One as a Whole and as a Part
The Synoptic Analysis of Book One as a Whole
The Rationale of Book One as a Whole
The Linear and the Nonlinear Ordering of Book One
Book One as a Part
5. Conclusion
How Mawlana Composed the Mathnawi
Mawlana's Hidden Organization as the Writer's Plan
Th e Design of the Mathnawi
Finale
Notes
Glossary
Select Bibliography
Index
Preface
Introduction
1. Contextualizing the Mathnawi
Mawlana's Life-An Outline
Mawlana's Religious Outlook
Mawlana's Literary Antecedents
2. Reading the Mathnawi
The Mathnawi as Given
The Question of Structure
Some Further Considerations
Synoptic Reading and the Principles of Parallelism and Chiasmus
Rhetorical Latency
Two Iranian Exemplars
The Synoptic Reading of Book One of the Mathnawi
3. A Synoptic Reading of Book One of the Mathnawi
4. Book One as a Whole and as a Part
The Synoptic Analysis of Book One as a Whole
The Rationale of Book One as a Whole
The Linear and the Nonlinear Ordering of Book One
Book One as a Part
5. Conclusion
How Mawlana Composed the Mathnawi
Mawlana's Hidden Organization as the Writer's Plan
Th e Design of the Mathnawi
Finale
Notes
Glossary
Select Bibliography
Index