The Masnavi. Book Four (Oxford World's Classics)

Jalal Al-Din Rumi, Jawid Mojaddedi

$15.95

Publication Date: November 14th, 2017

Publisher:

Oxford University Press, USA

ISBN:

9780198783435

Pages:

272

Description

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 inspiration 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.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum 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, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

About the Author

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).