The Masnavi Book Three — Maulana Jalal al Din Rumi

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 Three interweaves amusing stories with homilies to instruct pupils in mystical knowledge It has a special focus on epistemology illustrated with narratives that involve the consumption of food This is the first ever verse translation of Book Three of the Masnavi It follows the original by presenting Rumi s most mature mystical teachings in simple and attractive rhyming couplets