The Masnavi of Rumi, Volume 3

Course Description

​An exploration of Book Three of Jalaladdin Rumi’s Masnavi will begin on Thursday 19th November at 20:30 GMT, each session will last an hour on Zoom.

To enrol in the group please contact John Brown at: besharacourses@beshara.org.  

As the book is hardcover and may be quite expensive, for those that require it, the Beshara Trust may be able to fund half the cost of the book. If you would like this to be considered, please mention it with your application.

The publisher’s date of publication of the book is the 29th October 2026

In conjunction with the reading. Alan Williams will be giving an interactive talk on Book Three at the October Gallery, London. Saturday October 10th 2-5 pm. Details via Eventbrite below. https://masnavi3.eventbrite.co.uk/ 

Jalaladdin Rumi’s Masnavi-ye Ma’navi, or ‘Spiritual Couplets’, composed in the 13th Century, is a monumental work of poetry in the Sufi tradition. The main theme of Book Three of the Masnavi is the strengthening of the spirit through purification of human knowledge in the acquisition of mystical wisdom. Rumi teaches that this mystical understanding is superior to the rational knowledge of the human intellect. By the end of this long book, the half-way point is reached in this mystical treatise of oceanic proportions. It may be said to be the most profound of the six books, in pursuing rational thinking to its very depths. Translated with an introduction, notes and analysis by Alan Williams and including the Persian text, edited by Mohammad Este’lami.