• The first ever verse translation of Book Two of the Masnavi, the Persian mystic Rumi's greatest poem, and the first translation of any kind for over eighty years.
• This is the sequel to Mojaddedi's translation of Book One (OWC, 2004), winner of the Lois Roth Prize from the American Institute of Iranian Studies, and critically applauded.
• The Masnavi concerns man's predicament in his search for God, and is a mixture of folk tales and sacred history, accessibly translated into rhyming couplets.

'You don't seek guidance from those drunken men,
So why insist they mend their rags again?
God's lovers stand beyond all faiths, as they
Are shown by God Himself a higher way.'

Book Two of Rumi's Masnavi is concerned with the challenges facing the seeker of Sufi enlightenment. In particular it focuses on the struggle against the self, and how to choose the right companions in order to progress along the mystical path. By interweaving amusing stories and profound homilies, Rumi instructs his followers in a style that still speaks directly to us. In this volume, stories such as 'Moses and the Shepherd', 'The Foolhardy Man who Trusted a Bear's Good Intentions' and 'Mo'awiya and Satan' are among the most popular in the entireMasnavi.

The most influential Sufi poem ever written, the six books of the Masnavi are often called "the Qur'an in Persian". Book Two is concerned with the challenges facing the seeker of Sufi enlightenment. In particular it focuses on the struggle against the self, and how to choose the right companions in order to progress along the mystical path. By interweaving amusing stories and profound homilies, Rumi instructs his readers in a style that still speaks directly to them.
Here, Jawid Mojaddedi has translated the text into accessible rhyming couplets, as he did for Oxford's award-winning edition of Book One. This edition--the first ever verse translation of Book Two, and the first translation of any kind for over eighty years--is the closest English speakers can come to understanding the true beauty of this classic work.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Readership: Readers of poetry; students of Islam, Persian, Near and Middle Eastern Studies, and Comparative Literature; courses on Rumi, Sufism, Islamic History and Literature, Persian Literature, Comparative Literarure; New Age enthusiasts of mysticism.