Teachings of Rumi (The Masnavi): The Spiritual Couplets of Jalaludin Rumi [Paperback]

Idries Shah (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1994

The influence of Al-Ghazzali upon both the Christian and Islamic thinkers of the Middle Ages and beyond is being more and more widely documented. Known as "The Proof of Islam." Ghazzali finally won acceptance for Sufism in Islam, and his methods of argument and analysis powerfully impressed the schoolmen of the West, who imitated him extensively.

In the East, "Al-Ghazzali has been acclaimed by both Muslim and European scholars as the greatest Muslim after Muhammad" (Professor W. Montgomery Watt). Above all, Ghazzali was a Sufi, and The Alchemy of Happiness is his own abridgement, designed for the ordinary reader, of his colossal masterwork, The Revival of Religious Sciences.

Editorial Reviews

Review

".. created by Rumi for...conveying meanings which he himself conceded have no actual parallel in ordinary human experience." -- Idries Shah, The Sufis

"This book occupies a central place in Sufism--inexhaustibly useful and fascinating" -- Doris Lessing

Language Notes

Text: English, Persian (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Octagon Press, Limited (December 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0863040675
• ISBN-13: 978-0863040672
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,374,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Version of Rumi, September 14, 2001

By 

Thomas F. Ogara (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teachings of Rumi (The Masnavi): The Spiritual Couplets of Jalaludin Rumi (Paperback)

For quite a few years, this was the most accessible version of Rumi's Masnavi available on the market. The language is dated, almost Victorian, which may put off some readers who are burned out on works in the style of Fitzgerald's "Omar Khayyam." Also, it is an abridgement, and Whinfield will at times collapse large portions of the work into a half page.

On the whole, though, for the general reader the work doesn't suffer much from these two possible shortcomings. Rumi's unique, teasing genius comes through on almost every page, challenging the reader to look at everyday things from a different viewpoint. Whinfield's notes are sufficient without being intrusive.

I read this version several years ago, and as I find that Rumi is best appreciated in small portions, I still like to keep the book handy as bedside reading. Whatever your opinion on Rumi, whether skeptical or reverent, you will enjoy this book.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Moving Journey of the Soul, January 20, 2001

By 

Netman1 (Between Here and There) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teachings of Rumi (The Masnavi): The Spiritual Couplets of Jalaludin Rumi (Paperback)

This is a abridged translation of Jalaludin Rum's masterpiece "Masnavi i Ma'navi", which was written over a period of 43 years. The Masnavi is not only an important work in the corpus of Persian literature, but more significantly a classic in Sufism and in world religious thought.

As such it is a "must read" for anyone interested in better understanding why we are here and what our purpose in life is.

Rumi (1207-1273 CE) was born in Balkh in modern day Afghanistan. His family fled the Mongol invasion to Konya in Turkey, where he later founded the Mevlevi Sufi Order (commonly known in the West as the "whirling dervishes") as an outgrowth of his encounter with a wandering Sufi - Shams.

The Masnavi is collection of stories and poems dealing with the central issue of life. Readers familiar with mystic strands in other religions will find much resonance here - common threads, common themes and common conclusions which reinforce the view that man's different religions are construct of man rather than of the Divine.

EH Whinfield was born in England in 1835 and died in 1922. Educated at Rugby (an English "public" school -- a private school in US terminology), he received an MA from Magdalen College at Oxford (1859). He was also in the Bengali Civil Service (1859(?)-1879(?)) which no doubt gave him the opportunity and perhaps introduction to Rumi. Also a barrister -admitted to Middle Temple 1872.

He also translated several other important Sufi works, Khayyam's 'Rubaiyat', Shabistani's 'Gulshan i Raz', and Jami's 'Lawa'ih'.

It's not clear from this edition when the translation dates from (my guess is 1880's -1890s). The language is a bit dated, but still the power of Rumi's thought comes through. Whinfield has provided explanatory footnotes, including Quranic and Hadith references as well as to his other translations. These are quite valuable in helping the reader place the Masnavi in an Islamic focus.

All commentary I have seen suggests that Whinfield was a pretty faithful translator of Rumi - rather than recasting the work in his own words.

One further note for those who buy the book. A "Gueber" is a Parsee (Zoroastrian) - one of the religions recognized by Islam as Divinely inspired, e.g. "people of the book".

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Good Enough for a Professor, October 28, 2008

By 

Red Wings "Pre-published Poet" (Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teachings of Rumi (The Masnavi): The Spiritual Couplets of Jalaludin Rumi (Paperback)

I bought this book as a birthday gift for a professor who has been nominated for the Pulitzer prize in literature. She liked it so much she is considering putting it on her book list for an upcoming college-level poetry class.