Texts of Islam

The Mesnavi and The Acts of the Adepts: The Book of the M...

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This is the preface to an 1881 English translation of the *Masnavi* (Mathnawī), the celebrated 13th-century Persian Sufi poem by Jalal ad-Din Rumi, rendered by James W. Redhouse. The text introduces the *Masnavi* as a foundational work of Islamic mysticism — a commentary on the Quran and a guide to spiritual reunion with the divine, drawing repeated Quranic citations to establish its sacred authority. It frames the poem as simultaneously accessible to the devout and opaque to the faithless, likening it to the Nile that nourishes believers but deceives those who reject God. The preface also includes a dedication by the compiler Muhammad son of Muhammad of Balkh, crediting the work's expansion to the Sufi master Sheykh Hasan (known as Akhī-Turk), whom he praises in extravagant terms linking him to the great Sufi saints Bayezid of Bestam and Junayd of Baghdad. Footnotes provide scholarly context on the historical figures and Quranic references cited, reflecting a Victorian-era orientalist translation project aimed at making classical Sufi literature accessible to Western readers. Those interested in the intersection of Islamic mysticism, Persian poetry, and 19th-century translation scholarship will find this preface a useful entry point.

The Mesnavi and The Acts of the Adepts: The Book of the M...

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