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Secondary sourceBook2020-12-14

The Mathnawi of Rumi, Adligat Library Set

2020-12-14

A six-volume printed set of Rumi's Mathnawi held in a Persian literature collection, showing how his poem is preserved today.

This set preserves Rumi's major poem, the Mathnawi, as part of a modern library's Persian literature holdings.

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Six hardcover volumes of The Mathnawi by Jalāluddīn Rumi standing upright in a row on a dark surface, spines marbled in blue, purple, and white with gold labels reading The Mathnawi, volumes III, IV, V, VI, II, and I, in a bookish room.
The Mathnawi of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, Persian literature collection, Adligat library.

About this source

What it is

This photograph shows six bound volumes of The Mathnawi, the long poem written by Jalal al-Din Rumi. The volumes are part of a Persian literature collection at the Adligat library. Each spine is marbled and labeled with gold lettering showing the volume number.

Why it matters

The Mathnawi is one of the most important works of Persian literature and Sufi thought. Seeing it as a modern multi-volume printed set shows how Rumi's centuries-old poem continues to be published, collected, and read today, far from where and when it was written.

Look closer

  • Why might a long poem be divided into six separate volumes?
  • What does the care given to binding and labeling suggest about how the work is valued?
  • How is this printed set different from a handwritten manuscript of the same poem?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Rumi (Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Open illuminated manuscript spread showing two pages with gold and blue decorative borders, floral illumination, and panels of gold-tinted Persian script in the center. Ornamental marginal dots and a faded title line appear at the top right.Book

Primary source

Masnavi

Rumi · c. 1258-1273

Illuminated manuscript page with Persian calligraphy at top and bottom and a painted scene of seated and standing men in a landscape with trees, flowers and a grassy slope. A bearded man in a black robe and white turban sits facing a young man in an orange robe and ornate hat, while a shirtless man sits nearby and attendants and onlookers stand or sit around them.Book

Primary source

Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi

Rumi · c. 1247 onward

Exterior view of the Mevlana Mausoleum in Konya: a stone building with a tall turquoise conical-roofed dome, a second grey dome, two slender minarets, and a stone wall with trees and flowering shrubs in front on a sunny day under blue sky.Artifact

Secondary source

Grave of Rumi

soon after 1273

Page of an Arabic-script manuscript with dense handwritten text in black ink, with several passages and marginal notes highlighted or underlined in red. The aged paper is cream-colored with a dark border, and some text runs along the margins.Book

Primary source

Fihi Ma Fihi

Rumi · c. 1260-1273

Exterior of the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Turkey: a stone complex with a tall turquoise conical-roofed dome, a white minaret with a pointed cap, grey domes, and a low wall in a grassy park under a blue sky.Artifact

Secondary source

Mevlâna Museum

Badr al-Din Tabrizi (architect) · built soon after 1273; museum since 1926

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