Jalal al-Din Rumi - The Mathnawi (Arabic: مثنوي) - 1600

This is a firriest (table of contents) for a Persian manuscript c.AD1600 of Jalal al-Din Rumi's. Mathnawi (Arabic: مثنوي mathnawī), which is regarded as the greatest and most influential poetic work of muslim mysticism, taking Rumi 25 years to dictate, although the 6th and final book was never completed before he died. It was composed for the benefit of a group of Rumi’s disciples in the Sufi order better known as the whirling dervishes.

The Mathnawi (or Masnavi as it is often referred to) is a series of six books of poetry that together amount to around 25,000 verses or 50,000 lines. It is poetic text derived from the Quran that teaches Sufis how to reach their goal of being truly in love with God.

This folio is layed out in vertical columns, each entry comprising: A brief summary of the story, parable or discourse; A diagnonal panel containing a short heading; The next Summary blow. The format os typical of Persian Mathnawi. Several recurring Mathnawi themes are cited, including: Divine love and the soul's journey; the distinction between outward appearance and inner reality; spiritual guidance and discipleship, moral instruction, the dangers of prode and greed and the reliance upon God for the attainment of wisdom.

This manuscript is particularly desirable because it is fully rubicated and structured, decorated with gold floral grounds, and provides an original navigation to the Mathnawi text.

Please note that shipping costs are not solely the cost of the postal delivery service itself. Included within the shipping price is the work undertaken to prepare the article, for photography, for uploading to Catawiki, for preparation and packaging the article securely and for transporting the article to the postal delivery agent for processing.

Also, please consider when bidding on this lot that this artwork is shipped from the UK. Import duties will now have to be paid by the recipient to the Postal Service when the parcel arrives in your country. This will likely vary between 5% and 20% of the sale price depending on your country's Import Rate, so please check this if you are concerned. This is a Tax collected on behalf of your Government and is not an additional fee charged by us.