Customer Reviews

The Masnavi, Book One (Oxford World's Classics)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a superb translation by a true expert. So many of the "translations" of Rumi are actually rewordings of the old Brits' English translations - done no doubt with the best of intentions and enjoyable to read - and should not be called translations at all. So much time has elapsed since Coleman Barks began his love affair with Mevlana; why on earth hasn't he used that time to learn Persian and Arabic? Then his translations could be true and poetic.

So, this one is really precious. May Mojaddedi the translator live long and keep putting out more and more of the Mesnevi. Why does amazon put this new translation, the most important Rumi publishing event of the last half century, way down the list when you search under "Rumi"? If I were marooned on a desert island, this is the book I would want with me.

If you visit Konya, and see Rumi's tomb, with his father and son and other family members buried nearby, in a gorgeously illuminated mauseleum-mosque, with its supernal light and its electric energy of peace and vastness, you see Rumi is no pop-figure but drenched in traditions of Islamic Sufism that brings out its deepest and most original heart, the Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) true teaching... compassion, love, and adherence to God's world above and beyond this one through right action and sincerity, wild daring, discipline and spiritual transformation.

Rumi's Masnavi is a true companion on this Path, and Rumi a true indicator of this Path, and for those without Persian, we've relied on the Victorian (though unrhymed and much interpolated) masterpiece of Nicholson (and later revisions by Arberry) and the rather haphazard fragments either "translated" or "rendered" in new, modern versions by contemporary poet-scholars.

With this new translation by Jawid Mojaddedi we have a sensational new take on Rumi, whose original (as indicated by its title) is in rhymed couplets (Masnavi means "rhymed couplets"), and which ranges from praise-poetry to stories, both high and low, to long stretches of ecstatic gnostic realization and "revelation" filled with light. This new translation keeps it all, and in a flowing smoothness that is truly remarkable, drenched (as in the original) in remembrance of Allah (the same One God of us all).

It's eminently readable, and you feel you're getting closer (by the fidelity and sincerity of the translator, direct from Persian this time!) to Rumi's actual tone and intention.

I'm a cheerleader for this translation (and have no qualms calling it this, since it is), it's a sweet gift to us, and attests to Rumi's saintliness after all these centuries. He's reached us in our mire, and now in a voice that sings in poetic tune to lift us from it (from mineral to plant, from plant to animal, from animal to angel)!

May our intrepid and courageous translator be given strength and inspiration to continue until all six books of this world treasure, this rare compendium of spiritual truths, are as superbly translated and made available.

Though excited about this fresh translation of the first book of the Masnavi in a rhymed and metered format, I must admit I was a bit skeptical at first about its faithfulness to the original. Recently, though, I had the chance to go over portions of the translation with my father, who is very well versed in Farsi and in Rumi's works, and we were positively surprised by how much this rendering is loyal to Rumi's masterpiece in both spirit and form. May Mr. Mojaddedi be inspired and energized to carry out the monumental task of making the Light of all six of the Masnavi's books available to the English-speaking public in its original and delightful rhymed couplet form.

If rhyme is what you want, then this first book
Like all its sequels, merits a good look.
If literality is what you seek,
You'll find this version far from weak.
If you are poised to pounce at deviation
From word-for-word, and sneer at innovation:
You're home free! For the genius of any bard
Can be reduced to doggerel for a greeting card. . .
And by sincere admirers,too, don't get me wrong!
Packing immortal insights into sing-song
Was the work of one who loved Mevlana's verse
And had no intention to torture it (or worse.)
How could it be his fault that Persian soars
And dazzles in its wordplay? He adores
What he read in its pristine state--but ignores
This: English sometimes burps where Farsi roars.
Remember Rumi's parrot who feigned death
To escape its cage? This rendering has no breath.
Imprisoned in an artificial home,
This is not poetry! It is just "a pome"
With beats hard-forced, rhymes twisted,
As if a cruel taskmaster had insisted
That spiritual gold be melted and then hidden
Beneath a gild of gold-plate. Barks has bidden
Truth change Her outer clothes. No disgrace--
She cannot change Her radiant soulful face.
In short, if--unlike Rumi--you shun the wine
And love the vessel, this work is divine!
The Sufi Path, though, shimmers all anew
For each eye that beholds it. Maybe you
Like breathless forms, think that movement warps
Static perfection. "Kissing a corpse"
Is Rumi's phrase. Reader! Decide!
A spirited stallion? Or a broken nag to ride?

That is the best translation of the Masnavi I have ever seen. It consists both the original idea and the rhyme.

Though fun for the first few pages, the terrible rhythm it sticks to, and the degree to which it is willing to mangle a sentence to preserve a pointless rhyme scheme and aforementioned rhythm soon cause you to flip to the back of the book to check how many pages of this drivel you are going to have to endure. Although I persevered to the end, if I had it to do over again, I would have put it down at that point, and gone and bought another translation. I am still working up the courage to attempt another translation - I would hate to find out that Rumi was this annoying in the original.

Seriously - pick a different version.

Very good but you must be well versed in Rumi to be able to understand it. Fusun Dulger Charles

Twisted the syntax in this book will be
This book about god called the Masnavi.

This translation reads like some awful 19th Century Children's Bible: it's all dull & repetitive AABB rhymes, simple words, and tortured grammar. After two visits to Turkey I'm interested in learning more about Rumi, and am waiting for a translation that does justice to the poetry that - I assume - the Masnavi contains.

I'm still waiting. This version is close to unreadable.

The translation is a little off on some parts, in my opinion, but other than that it is good. It is a mid-level book of Sufi Anecdotes written in symbolic couplets. It is not for beginners. One should, before reading this, study theology and jurisprudence (the Creed of Imam Tahawi and Maqasid are good for theology and jurisprudence). On top of that, The Book of Illumination and al-Hikm (Sufi Aphorisms) by Imam ibn 'Ata'illah should both be read before delving into the Masnavi. Otherwise the reader will not understand anything.