Synopses & Reviews
Rumi, who wrote and preached in Persia during the thirteenth century, was inspired by a wandering mystic, or dervish, named Shams al-Din. Rumi's vast body of poetry includes a lengthy poem of religious mysticism, the
Mathnavi, and more than three thousand lyrics and odes. A.J. Arberry, who selected four hundred of the lyrics for translation, calls Rumi "one of the world's greatest poets. In profundity of thought, inventiveness of image, and triumphant mastery of language, he stands out as the supreme genius of Islamic mysticism."
"An excellent introduction to Rumi, the greatest mystical poet of Islam. . . . Rumi's scope, like that of all great poets, is universal—reaching from sensuous luxuriance to the driest irony."—Sherman Goldman, East-West Journal
Review
“Rumi is one of the worlds greatest lyrical poets in any language—as well as probably the most accessible and approachable representative of Islamic civilization for Western students.”
Review
“An excellent introduction to Rumi, the greatest mystical poet of Islam. . . . Rumis scope, like that of all the great poets, is universal—reaching from sensuous luxuriance to the driest irony.”
Review
"Rumi is one of the world's greatest lyrical poets in any language-as well as probably the most accessible and approachable representative of Islamic civilization for Western students."-James W. Morris, Oberlin College
(James W. Morris)
About the Author
A. J. Arberry (1905-69)was professor of Arabic at the University of Cambridge. Ehsan Yarshater is the Hagop Kevorkian Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies and director of the Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Translations
Bibliography
Notes