Mathnawi-yi ma?nawi. Volume 3

The founder of the Mawlawiyya order of dervishes, Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 672/1273) is the most celebrated and widely quoted mystical poet of the Persianate world. Born in Balkh in 604/1207, he was still a child when his father, a preacher, emigrated westwards with his family, moving to Malatya, Sivas, Akshehir, Larende and, finally, Konya. It was in Konya that Rumi, who had also received a regular education, met the people who would give his life a decisive turn towards mysticism: first, his father's former pupil Sayyid Burhan al-Din Muhaqqiq (d. 637/1239-40) and then, most of all, the celebrated mystic Shams al-Din Tabrizi (d. 645/1247). Rumi's Mathnawi-yi ma?nawi is a didactic poem inspired by his favourite student Husam al-Din Celebi (d. 683/1284). Composed in six fascicles (daftar), it took several years to complete. The edition printed here is an enhanced version of the one by Nicholson, with Nicholson's introductory essays and notes translated into Persian. 4 vols; volume 3.