From the Pen of Tâhirü’l-Mevlevî: An Exceptional Commentary That Explains the Masnavi Through the Mirror of the Qur’an and Sunnah

Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî (may his secret be sanctified) kneaded the essence of these lands with his Masnavi-i Sharif, and his call has transcended time and space to encompass the entire world. The Masnavi is a unique work where the state of the heart was transformed into speech, poured onto pages from that blessed heart with divine inspiration. Indeed, no one has approached and explained this exceptional work as beautifully as the lover of Mevlânâ, Tâhirü’l-Mevlevî.

Tâhirü’l-Mevlevî was a lover of Mevlânâ who lived his life in accordance with Mevlânâ’s principles and delved deeply into the Masnavi. For him, the Masnavi is a mirror of the Qur’an and Sunnah, the quintessence and core of the Qur’an. You will observe that Tâhirü’l-Mevlevî’s commentary is a reliable source, compiled in accordance with the Ahl as-Sunnah creed without deviating from its path or leading the reader astray; you will read the Masnavi-i Sharif again and again, realizing its beauties and subtleties more than ever before.

Tâhirü’l-Mevlevî could not complete this work as his life did not suffice; the remaining last one and a half books, consisting of 8024 couplets, were completed by his student, the late Şefik Can, in the same style.

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Due to the long time that has passed since the first publication of this distinguished work and because of certain oversights and errors that had gone unnoticed, a need arose to review the work. The Masnavi Commentary Lecture notes, which Tâhirü’l-Mevlevî kept in his own handwriting, were reviewed and corrected, and missing parts were completed.

Furthermore, the hadiths mentioned in the text and commentary have been verified (takhrij), and the sources of the Masnavi and Divan-i Kabir couplets, which are referenced as appropriate in the commentary, have been indicated in footnotes, with an effort made to provide a meticulous edition that readers will find delightful.

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The Original Six-Book Structure Presented for the First Time With Each Book as a Separate Volume

The original six-book structure of the Masnavi has been preserved exactly in this edition, and for the first time, each book has been published as a separate volume. Thus, the volume-book inconsistency in previous editions has been completely resolved; the text and commentary have been brought into a unity that is both more understandable and more practical for the reader.

During the preparation of this work, no deletions were made from the text or the commentary; only the Persian couplets and their transliterations, which appeared in previous editions, have been removed to improve reading flow and save space. The work is presented as a complete and unabridged text.