Maulana Jalalu-‘d-din Muhammad Rumi (rh) was a great Muslim poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic from the 13th century. Born in Balkh, Afghanistan, died and buried in Konya, Turkey. A key figure who flourished in the Sultanate of Rum, where he produced his works and his followers founded the Mevlevi Sufi Order.

His works are written in Persian and reinforced the language as the preferred literary and cultural language in the Persian Islamic world. Rumi’s importance is considered to transcend national and ethnic borders, influencing many languages with his poems, widely translated and transposed into various formats. After more than 700 years, he was described as the “most popular poet in America!

The “Masnavi” is Rumi’s greatest poetic work, composed during the last years of his life. The Masnavi is divided into six books, and Rumi wrote prefaces for each book. It contains thousands of rhyming couplets (a type of poetry called, in Arabic, “mathnawî”) with stories, ethical teachings, and deeply spiritual teachings. It is deeply permeated with Qur’anic meanings and references, which is why it has been so famous and well-loved for so many centuries all across the Muslim and non Muslim world.

This one day intensive introductory course is a text based study on some of the Spiritual Couplets.

This one day intensive introductory course is a text based study on the Spiritual Couplets commonly known as "Mathnawí" by the celebrated Sufi Saint Scholar and Poet – Maulana Jalalu-‘d-din Muhammad Rumi (rh) – The course will look at the following:

• Understanding role of Poetry, Sufism & Farsi in Islamic literature
• Rumi’s – Life, study and philosophical outlook
• Rumi’s major works and introduction to the Masnavi
• Masnavi – Structure, theme, style and message
• The importance of the Masnavi in Islamic literature & learning
• Reflections and lessons to be drawn