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'Joking is teaching, so take care to listen -
Don't look at just the joke's form of expression.
To jesters every serious thing's hilarious,
While to the wise hilarious jokes are serious'
Rumi is the greatest mystic poet to have written in Persian, and the Masnavi is his masterpiece. 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. Like the earlier books, Book Four interweaves amusing stories with homilies to instruct pupils in understanding of God's meaning. It has a special focus on the mystical knowledge of the spiritual guide, elaborated through stories such as Solomon's freeiration to the Queen of Sheba, and animal fables.
This is the first ever verse translation of Book Four of the Masnavi. It follows the original by presenting Rumi's most mature mystical teachings in simple and attractive rhyming couplets.
List of contents
- Introduction
- Note on the Translation
- Select Bibliography
- Chronology
- The Masnavi: Book 4
- Explanatory Notes
- Glossary
About the author
Dschalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-73) war der größte mystische Dichter des Islam und Gründer des Sufi-Ordens der tanzenden Derwische. Rumi erkannte die Liebe, insbesondere die zu Gott, als die Haupttriebfeder des Universums, die ihn zu einem an Gedankenreichtum überquellenden Werk inspirierte. Geprägt von seinen spirituellen Erfahrungen und dieser beseelten Liebe zu Gott ward er auserkoren, einige der schönsten und leidenschaftlichsten Gedichte der Weltliteratur hervorzubringen.
Summary
Rumi is the greatest mystic poet to have written in Persian, and the Masnavi, written in six books, is his masterpiece. It conveys a message of divine love in entertaining stories and homilies. The focus of Book Four is with the mystical knowledge of the spiritual guide.
