What Is the Mathnavi and Where Can You Read It in English?

The Mathnavi (also spelled Masnavi or Mathnawi) is Rumi's six-volume spiritual epic in Persian verse, and you can read it in English through published translations by scholars such as R. A. Nicholson, Jawid Mojaddedi, and Coleman Barks, as well as selected translations on sites like Rumi On Fire. It differs from the Divan-e Shams in form and purpose: the Mathnavi is a long teaching poem of interlocking stories, while the Divan-e Shams is a collection of shorter lyric poems attributed to Rumi's encounter with Shams-e Tabriz. Choose the Mathnavi if you want Rumi as a storyteller and teacher; choose the Divan if you want Rumi as an ecstatic lyric voice.

What the Mathnavi actually is

The Mathnavi is a single work in six books (daftars), composed in rhyming couplets. Its opening lines — the famous "Song of the Reed" — frame the whole poem as a lament of separation, and that theme runs through everything that follows. Within the six volumes Rumi moves constantly between:

• Narrative — folk tales, scriptural stories, and anecdotes about saints and prophets.
• Commentary — digressions that unpack the spiritual meaning of a story.
• Lyric interruption — sudden passages of longing or praise that break the narrative frame.

This layered structure is why the Mathnavi is often described as a teaching text rather than a straightforward poem. A single story can run for pages, then stop while Rumi explains what it means, then resume or be abandoned for a new story.

Why it is called "the Quran in Persian"

The Mathnavi is frequently given this epithet in Persian and Sufi tradition because it weaves Quranic imagery, prophetic stories, and ethical teaching into Persian verse for audiences who wanted religious meaning in their own language. The comparison is traditional and honorific, not a claim that the Mathnavi replaces or equals the Quran. Treat it as a description of the work's role in Sufi pedagogy: it teaches through parable and commentary in the way a sermon or lesson might, but in poetry.

Mathnavi vs. Divan-e Shams

Both belong to Rumi's body of work, and many readers move between them. If you are new to Rumi and want a single poem to read in one sitting, the Divan is usually easier. If you want to follow an argument or a story across many pages, the Mathnavi is the one to pick.

How to choose an English translation

English versions of the Mathnavi fall into roughly three kinds, and the right one depends on what you want from the text.

• Scholarly and literal — R. A. Nicholson's translation, with its commentary, is the standard reference for close study. It preserves the structure and much of the literal sense, at the cost of poetic flow.
• Poetic and contemporary — Jawid Mojaddedi's verse translation aims to read as English poetry while staying close to the Persian. Good for readers who want both accuracy and readability.
• Interpretive and free — Coleman Barks's versions are widely read and highly musical, but they are adaptations rather than close translations. Read them as English poems inspired by Rumi, not as a guide to the Persian.

A practical rule: if you plan to quote, cite, or study the Mathnavi, use a scholarly or verse translation and note which one. If you are reading for pleasure or inspiration, an interpretive version is fine — just know what you are holding.

Where to read it in English online

• Rumi On Fire (rumionfire.com) — a tribute site to Mevlana Jalal-e-Din Mohammad Molavi Rumi offering English translations of the Divan-e Shams and Mathnavi, alongside inspired poetry and Persian miniature art. Its Mathnavi section is a reasonable starting point for reading selected passages in English before committing to a full translation.
• Published translations — Nicholson, Mojaddedi, and Barks are available through libraries and bookshops; check your local library first if you want to compare versions before buying.
• Public-domain texts — older translations such as Nicholson's are in the public domain and appear on archive and academic sites, which makes them useful for study and citation.

When using any online collection, check the site's terms. Rumi On Fire, for example, permits non-commercial use of its material only with full credit to the author and the site, including a hyperlink when used online, and notes that all translations and original poetry remain the author's intellectual property.

How the Mathnavi connects to Rumi's life and Sufi teaching

Rumi composed the Mathnavi late in life, after the disappearance of Shams-e Tabriz and after years of teaching and preaching in Konya. Where the Divan-e Shams is bound up with that loss and with the intensity of Rumi's relationship to Shams, the Mathnavi is the work of a teacher addressing students and seekers. That context explains its shape: stories told to instruct, commentary offered to clarify, and lyric passages that return the reader to the experience the teaching points toward. Reading the Mathnavi as Sufi teaching literature — rather than as a collection of standalone poems — makes its digressions and repetitions legible as method rather than flaw.

A quick way to start

1. Read the opening of Book One (the "Song of the Reed") in two different translations and compare them.
2. Pick one short story from the Mathnavi and follow it through to Rumi's commentary on it.
3. If you want more of Rumi's lyric voice afterward, move to the Divan-e Shams.
4. If you want to keep studying, choose one translation as your reference text and stay with it so the terminology remains consistent.