Masnawi Sacred Texts of Islam: Book Two
By Mevlana Rumi
5/5
()
About this ebook
The Composition of this Masnavi has been delayed for a season; Time is needed for blood to become milk. Till thy fortune comes forth as a new-born babe, Blood becomes not milk, sweet and pleasant to the mind. When that light of God, Husamu'd-Din Turned his course down from the summit of heaven, This Masnavi, which is the polisher of spirits, Its recommencement occurred on the day of "Opening." The commencement date of this precious work Was the year six hundred and sixty-two of the Flight. The Bulbul started on this date, became a hawk; Yea, a hawk to hunt out these mysteries. May the wrist of the King be the resting-place of this hawk, And may this door be open people for ever! Masnawi is Rumi's major work in form of (Spiritual Couplets), a six-volume poem regarded by some Sufis as Persian-language Qur'an.
The "Masnawi" is Rumi's greatest poetic work, composed during the last years of his life. He began it when he was between the ages of 54-57 [about 1258-1261] and continued composing its verses until he died in 1273 (with the last story remaining incomplete). It is a compendium of sufi stories, ethical teachings, and mystical teachings. It is deeply permeated with Qur'anic meanings and references. Rumi himself called the Masnavi "the roots of the roots of the roots of the (Islamic) Religion... and the explainer of the Qur'an (Masnavi, Book I, Preface).
The story of how the beginning of the composition of the Masnavi has been told in the hagiography written by Aflaki (written between 1318-53), a disciple of Rumi's grandson:
"Sirâjuddîn, the Mathnawi-reciter [masnavi-khwân] at the Tomb (of Rumi) told the story that the reason for the composition of the book of the Masnavî-yé Ma`nawî, which is the Revealer of the secrets of the Qur'an was: One day Hazrat-i... Husâmuddîn [Chelebi-- Rumi's closest disciple], may God sanctify his precious secret, found out that some of the friends, in complete relish and great love, were making serious efforts to study the 'Book of the Divine' [Ilâhî-Nâma] of (the sufi poet) Hakîm (Sanâ'î) and the 'Speech of the Birds' [ManTiqu 'T-Tayr] and the 'Book of Misfortune' [MuSîbat-Nâma] of (the sufi poet) Farîduddîn `Attâr, and (who) were delighted by (studying) their (mystical) secrets and (accounts of) the unusual spiritual amorousness (of the lovers of God) displayed by them.
The Masnavi is divided into six books, and Rumi wrote prefaces for each book. The earliest complete manuscript (the "Konya manuscript") was completed in December, 1278 (five years after Rumi's death).
• Books 1 and 2: They “are principally concerned with the nafs, the lower carnal self, and its self-deception and evil tendencies.”
• Books 3 and 4: These books share the principal themes of Reason and Knowledge. These two themes are personified by Rumi in the Biblical and Quranic figure of the Prophet Moses.
• Books 5 and 6: These last two books are joined by the universal ideal that man must deny his physical earthly existence to understand God’s existence.
Mevlana Rumi
Mevlana, bugünkü Afganistan sınırları içerisinde yer alan, horasan bölgesindeki Belh şehrinde 1207 yılında dünyaya gelmiştir. Asıl adı Muhammed Celaleddin’dir. “Mevlaya ait olan” anlamına gelen Mevlana ismi, kendisine genç yaşta ders okutmaya başladığı sıralarda verilmiştir. Anadolulu anlamına gelen Rumi ismi ise kendisine batılılarca verilmiş bir lakaptır. Mevlana, gelmiş geçmiş en büyük tasavvufçulardandır. Tasavvuf bir insan sanatıdır ve Mevlana da ömrünün çoğu döneminde insanlara hizmet için çalışmış, halk tarafından sevilen ve sayılan ayrıca bir tasavvuf şairidir. Mevlana henüz 9 yaşındayken çok büyük zorluklar içinde babası Bahâeddin Veled ve annesi Mümine Hatun ile birlikte Konya’ya göç etmişlerdir. 1225 yılında Şerefeddin Lala’nın kızı olan Gevher Hatun ile Karamanda evlenmiştir. Mevlana’nın Allah aşkını konu alan şiirleri ve sözleri günümüzde hala önemini yitirmemiştir. Çoğu ders kitaplarında, bazı romanlarda konu olan Mevlana, unutulmayacak bir geçmişe sahiptir. Zira kendisi Allah yolunda kalbini eritmiş, nefsini öldürmüş büyük bir tasavvufçudur.
Read more from Mevlana Rumi
Masnawi Sacred Texts of Islam: Book One Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Masnawi Sacred Texts of Islam: Book Four Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Masnawi Sacred Texts of Islam: Book Three Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Masnawi Sacred Texts of Islam: Book Six Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMasnawi Sacred Texts of Islam: Book Five Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Masnawi Sacred Texts of Islam
Related ebooks
A Little Book of Mystical Secrets: Rumi, Shams of Tabriz, and the Path of Ecstasy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love's Alchemy: Poems from the Sufi Tradition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Words of Rumi: Celebrating a Year of Inspiration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mystical Poems of Rumi Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Essence of Rumi Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mystical Dimensions of Islam Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tears of the Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yunus Emre: Sufi Poet in Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rumi and Islam: Selections from His Stories, Poems and Discourses—Annotated & Explained Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Ibn al-'Arabi and the Sufis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rumi: Swallowing the Sun Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rumi: The Big Red Book: The Great Masterpiece Celebrating Mystical Love and Friendship Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rumi's Little Book of Wisdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rumi - Past and Present, East and West: The Life, Teachings, and Poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSweet Sorrows: Selected Poems of Sheikh Farideddin Attar Neyshaboori Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Prayer for Spiritual Elevation and Protection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Alchemy of Human Happiness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rumi: The Art of Loving Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nightingale in the Garden of Love: The Poems of Üftade Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Illumination on Abandoning Self-Direction, Al-Tanwir fi Isqat Al-Tadbir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Know Yourself: An Explanation of the oneness of being Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Muhammad the Prophet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Masnavi I Ma'navi of Rumi: Complete 6 Books Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rumi and the Masters of Light: Sufi Short Stories Book 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rumi: Whispers of the Beloved Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Drowned Book: Ecstatic and Earthy Reflections of Bahauddin, the Father of Rumi Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Conference of the Birds: A Seeker's Journey to God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemy of Happiness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forbidden Rumi: The Suppressed Poems of Rumi on Love, Heresy, and Intoxication Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Year with Rumi: Daily Readings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Islam For You
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Quran English Translation. Clear, Easy to Read, in Modern English. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Holy Qur'an Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5English Translation of the Qur'an Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Holy Quran: English Translation and Commentary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Understanding Islam Book: A complete guide to Muslim beliefs, practices, and culture Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unveiled: How the West Empowers Radical Muslims Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Holy Quran, English Translation, "Text Only" Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rumi's Little Book of Wisdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Year with Rumi: Daily Readings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rumi: The Big Red Book: The Great Masterpiece Celebrating Mystical Love and Friendship Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quran: Arabic Text with Corresponding English Meaning Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Koran (Qur'an) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Five Percenters: Islam, Hip-hop and the Gods of New York Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an: Complete Translation with Selected Notes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5100 Answers To The Most Uncommon 100 Questions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Islam For Beginners Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Critical Qur'an: Explained from Key Islamic Commentaries and Contemporary Historical Research Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Quran In English. Modern English Translation. Clear and Easy to Understand. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Simple Guide to Prayer for Beginners: For New Muslims Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Islam For Dummies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quran Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Masnawi Sacred Texts of Islam
2 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Masnawi Sacred Texts of Islam - Mevlana Rumi
Masnawi Sacred Texts of Islam
{BOOK TWO & ILLUSTRATED}
By
Mevlana Rumi
SMASHWORDS EDITION
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY
Mevlana Rumi by e-Kitap Projesi
Copyright, 2014 by M. Rumi
ISBN: 978-1-3104-2041-2
Istanbul, 2014
* * * * *
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
Bu Kitap, e-Kitap Projesi ® tarafından düzenlenmiş ve editorial çalışması yapılmıştır.
{This book designed and edited: by e-Kitap Projesi}
http://www.ekitaprojesi.com
Preface (About the Masnawi Book of Mawlana)
The "Masnawi" is Rumi's greatest poetic work, composed during the last years of his life. He began it when he was between the ages of 54-57 [about 1258-1261]¹ and continued composing its verses until he died in 1273 (with the last story remaining incomplete). It is a compendium of sufi stories, ethical teachings, and mystical teachings. It is deeply permeated with Qur'anic meanings and references. Rumi himself called the Masnavi "the roots of the roots of the roots of the (Islamic) Religion... and the explainer of the Qur'an [wa huwa uSûlu uSûlu uSûlu 'd-dîn... was kashshâf al- Qur'ân] (Masnavi, Book I, Preface).
Its full name is name is Mathnawî-yé Ma`nawî,
which means Rhyming Couplets of Deep Spiritual Meaning.
The name Mathnawî
(pronounced Masnavî
in Persian) means couplets
in Arabic [because the second half of the verse (in Arabic, thanî
) rhymes with the first]. It is the name of a type of poetry (called mathnawî
). The second word, Ma`nawî,
means significant,
real,
meaningful,
spiritual
in Arabic. The following is an example of the particular mathnawi meter used by Rumi (there are other mathnawi meters used by other Persian sufi poets): XoXX XoXX XoX. The rhymes in the first three couplets of Rumi's Masnavi are â-yat mê-ko-nad,
-îda-and,
-âq":
"BESH-na-WEEN NAY CHOON shi-KAA-YAT MEE-ko-NAD
AZ jo-DAA-EEY-HAA hi-KAA-YAT MEE-ko-NAD
KAZ na-YES-TAAN TAA ma-RAA BOB-REE-da-AND
DAR na-FEE-RAM MAR-do ZAN NAA-LEE-da-AND
SEE-na KHWAA-HAM SHAR-ha SHAR-HA AZ fi-RAAQ
TAA be-GOO-YAM SHAR-he DAR-DE ISH-ti-YAAQ"
Translation:
"Lısten to the reed (flute), how ıt ıs complaınıng! It ıs tellıng about separatıons,
(Sayıng), 'Ever sınce I was severed from the reed fıeld, men and women have lamented ın (the presence of) my shrıll crıes.
(But) I want a heart (whıch ıs) torn, torn from separatıon, so that I may explaın the pain of yearnıng..'"
The Beginning Story of Masnawi
The story of how the beginning of the composition of the Masnavi has been told in the hagiography written by Aflaki (written between 1318-53), a disciple of Rumi's grandson:
Sirâjuddîn, the Mathnawi-reciter [masnavi-khwân] at the Tomb (of Rumi) told the story that the reason for the composition of the book of the Masnavî-yé Ma`nawî, which is the Revealer of the secrets of the Qur'an was: One day Hazrat-i... Husâmuddîn [Chelebi-- Rumi's closest disciple], may God sanctify his precious secret, found out that some of the friends, in complete relish and great love, were making serious efforts to study the 'Book of the Divine' [Ilâhî-Nâma] of (the sufi poet) Hakîm (Sanâ'î) and the 'Speech of the Birds' [ManTiqu 'T-Tayr] and the 'Book of Misfortune' [MuSîbat-Nâma] of (the sufi poet) Farîduddîn `ATTâr, and (who) were delighted by (studying) their (mystical) secrets and (accounts of) the unusual spiritual amorousness (of the lovers of God) displayed by them. ..... One night, he found Hazrat-i Mawlana [= Rumi] alone. He bowed and said, 'The collections of odes [ghazalîyât] have become plentiful.... (But) if there could be a book with the quality of the 'Book of the Divine' of Hakîm (Sanâ'î), yet in the (mathnawî) meter of the 'Speech of the Birds,' so that it might be memorized among the knowers and be the intimate companion of the souls of the lovers... so that they would occupy themselves with nothing else...' At that moment, from the top of his blessed turban, he [Rumi] put into Chelebî Husâmuddîn's hand a portion (of verses), which was the Explainer of the secrets of Universals and particulars. And in there were the eighteen verses of the beginning of the Masnavi: 'Listen to this reed, how it tells a tale, complaining of separations' up to. 'None (who is) 'raw' can understand the state of the 'ripe.' Therefore, (this) speech must be shortened. So farewell.'
The Masnavi is divided into six books, and Rumi wrote prefaces for each book. The earliest complete manuscript (the Konya manuscript
) was completed in December, 1278 (five years after Rumi's death). In a recent printed edition of this manuscript (by Dr. Tôfîq Sobhânî), the total number of lines is 25,575 (Book I, 4019 lines; II, 3721; III,4811; IV, 3855; V, 4240; VI, 4929) R. A. Nicholson was the first to translate the entire Masnavi into English (1926-34). Unfortunately, he did not have access to this earliest manuscript until he had translated through Book III, line 2835. From line 2836, onwards, however, his printed edition is based on the Konya manuscript. As a result,the first two and a half books of his translation are based on less earlier manuscripts which contain numerous improvements.
(In Nicholson's printed edition, the total number of lines is 25,632 (Book I, 4003 lines; II, 3810; III, 4810; IV, 3855; V, 4238; VI, 4916.)
Over the centuries, many such improvements
have been added to the Masnavi, with the result that many lovers of the Masnavi in Iran, India, and Pakistan have editions which contain more than two thousand extra verses (including many well-loved verses which were not composed by Rumi). A recent