• The Masnavi is the greatest work by the Persian mystic Rumi, widely recognized as the greatest Sufi poem ever written, and often referred to as 'the Qur'an in Persian'.
• This is the first ever complete verse translation of Book Four of the Masnavi, and the first translation of any kind for over eighty years.
• The translator uses metre and rhyme to replicate the rhyming couplets of the original to produce a more faithful representation of the work in English.
• The accompanying introduction and notes make this the ideal introduction to Rumi for the non-specialist reader.
• This is the sequel to Jawid Mojaddedi's translations of Book One (2004), Book Two (2007), and Book Three (2013). Book One was the winner of the Lois Roth Prize from the American Institute of Iranian Studies.

   
'Joking is teaching, so take care to listen -
Don't look at just the joke's form of expression.
To jesters every serious thing's hilarious,
While to the wise hilarious jokes are serious'

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 Four interweaves amusing stories with homilies to instruct pupils in understanding of God's meaning. It has a special focus on the mystical knowledge of the spiritual guide, elaborated through stories such as Solomon's freeiration to the Queen of Sheba, and animal fables.
  
This is the first ever verse translation of Book Four of the Masnavi. It follows the original by presenting Rumi's most mature mystical teachings in simple and attractive rhyming couplets.