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Best Rumi Books — The Masnavi, Divan-e Shams & Where to Start Reading
Rumi did not write books in the modern sense. His three major works — the Masnavi, the Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi, and Fihi Ma Fihi — were composed across decades, compiled by students, and later edited by scholars across centuries. Understanding what each of these books actually contains, what the Masnavi means, and which one to start with are the questions this guide answers — with specific translation recommendations so you are reading Rumi well, not just reading Rumi.
Quick Answer
What are the best Rumi books?
| Masnavi (Mathnawi) | Rumi's masterwork — 6 volumes of stories, parables and spiritual teaching. Start here for depth. |
| Divan-e Shams | His collected lyrical poems — raw, emotional, mystical. Start here for poetry. |
| Fihi Ma Fihi | Prose talks recorded by students — conversational and practical. Best starting point for beginners. |
| Best beginner translation | The Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks — accessible and widely loved, though loosely translated. |
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What Is the Masnavi? Meaning, Structure & What It Contains
The Masnavi — also spelled Mathnawi or Mesnevi — is Rumi's greatest and most studied work. Before reading it, you need to understand what the title means and what the book actually is, because it is nothing like what most Western readers expect from "poetry."
Masnavi — meaning of the word
مثنوی
Masnavi / Mathnawi
From the Arabic root meaning "two by two" — referring to the rhyming couplet form in which each line rhymes with itself (AA, BB, CC) rather than with other lines. The Masnavi is not a single poem but a vast collection of rhyming couplets telling interlocking stories.
What is actually in the Masnavi?
Six volumes, approximately 25,000 couplets. It is structured as a series of stories — tales of animals, kings, merchants, mystics, and ordinary people — that interrupt and nest inside each other in a deliberate, non-linear way. Each story contains a teaching, but the teaching is never stated directly. Rumi expects the reader to extract the meaning from the narrative. The most famous opening is the reed flute passage (نی نامه — Ney Nameh), which frames the entire work as a meditation on the soul's longing to return to its origin.
When was the Masnavi written?
Rumi began dictating the Masnavi around 1258, prompted by his disciple Husam Chalabi, who encouraged him to continue after reading the opening reed passage. He continued composing it until his death in 1273. The six volumes were not published as a single book — they accumulated over fifteen years of dictation, edited and arranged by Husam after Rumi's death.
What does the Masnavi teach?
The Masnavi covers: the nature of the soul and its relationship to God; the ego and its attachments; love as the highest form of knowledge; the role of the spiritual teacher; death and transformation; the meaning of suffering and how it leads to growth. It is not a theology textbook — it teaches through experience and narrative rather than argument and definition.
The Masnavi's opening — the most famous lines in Persian literature
بشنو این نی چون شکایت میکند
از جداییها حکایت میکند
Beshno in ney chon shekāyat mikonad / Az jodāyi-hā hekāyat mikonad
"Listen to the reed — how it tells stories of separation / It speaks of the pain of being cut from its origin."
Book 2 — Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi
What is the Divan-e Shams?
The Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi (دیوان شمس تبریزی) is Rumi's collected lyrical poetry — approximately 40,000 verses written mainly in the ghazal form (short lyric poems with a repeating rhyme and refrain). Unlike the Masnavi, which tells stories to teach, the Divan is pure emotional expression: ecstasy, longing, grief, union, and dissolution of the self in love. Rumi named it after Shams of Tabriz — the wandering mystic whose arrival in Konya in 1244 completely transformed Rumi's inner life and became the source of his most intense poetry.
Form
Ghazals, rubāʿī (quatrains), and tarjīʿāt — lyric poetry forms
Tone
Ecstatic, intimate, sometimes wild — the opposite of the measured Masnavi
Volume
Over 3,200 ghazals and 2,000 rubāʿī — the largest collection of Persian lyric poetry by a single poet
Best read
In short sessions — one or two ghazals at a time, sitting with the images
Why Rumi named this book after Shams, not himself
Rumi signed most of his ghazals not with his own name but with "Shams" or "Shams-e Tabrizi" — his teacher's name. This was a deliberate act of attribution: he felt that the poems came through the spiritual experience Shams had opened in him, not from Rumi the person. The book is therefore a monument to their relationship — one of the most documented and intensely spiritual friendships in literary history.
Book 3 — Fihi Ma Fihi
Fihi Ma Fihi — meaning and what it contains
Fihi Ma Fihi (فیه ما فیه) means "It Is What It Is" or "In It What Is In It" — a title suggesting that the book resists being summarised or defined. It is a collection of Rumi's informal talks, recorded by his students during gatherings (majāles) at his school in Konya. Unlike the Masnavi and the Divan, this book is prose — direct, conversational, and often deliberately simple.
The 71 discourses cover: relationships, ego, the nature of God, how to deal with difficult people, the role of language in spiritual life, why the mind cannot reach what only love can reach. Rumi often contradicts himself between discourses — intentionally. He is trying to stop the reader from clinging to any single formulation of truth.
Best for
Anyone who finds Rumi's poetry too symbolic or difficult — this is Rumi in plain speech
Best translation
Discourses of Rumi translated by A.J. Arberry — scholarly but readable
Length
71 discourses — short chapters, easy to read one at a time over weeks
What it is not
Not polished — these were spoken words, not literary compositions. That rawness is the point.
Read Rumi in the original Persian
The Masnavi and Divan Were Written in Farsi — Experience Them in the Language Rumi Chose
Every word Rumi chose — جان (jān), نور (nur), عشق (eshgh) — carries weight that English translations can only approximate. At Danaa School, our native Persian tutors guide students through the Masnavi and Divan-e Shams in the original Farsi, opening the text line by line through 1-on-1 online lessons.
Book a Free Trial Lesson →Best Rumi Books for Beginners — Where to Start
The biggest mistake new readers make is starting with the Masnavi in a poor translation and then giving up. Here is the correct reading order depending on what you want from Rumi.
If you want accessible wisdom — start here
Fihi Ma Fihi
No symbolism to decode, no complex verse forms to navigate. Rumi speaks directly. The A.J. Arberry translation (Discourses of Rumi) is the most reliable. Read one discourse a day over two to three months — do not rush. Many readers find that Fihi Ma Fihi teaches more per page than any other Rumi work because there is nowhere to hide behind beautiful language.
If you want beautiful poetry — start here
The Essential Rumi (Coleman Barks translation)
The most widely read Rumi collection in English — accessible, lyrical, and emotionally immediate. Important caveat: Barks worked from literal translations rather than the original Persian, so scholars note that some poems are loosely rendered. But for a first encounter with Rumi's emotional world, this is the right starting point. Follow it with a more scholarly translation once you know which poems move you most.
If you want depth and are ready to commit — start here
The Masnavi, Volume I (Jawid Mojaddedi translation, Oxford World's Classics)
The Mojaddedi translation is currently the most accurate and readable scholarly version in English, with full notes explaining the Islamic and Sufi references. Start with Volume I only — it contains the reed flute opening and several of Rumi's most important teaching stories. Do not attempt to read all six volumes sequentially on first encounter.
Best Rumi Translations in English — Ranked
The translation matters enormously with Rumi — a poor translation can make his work feel like motivational poster text; a good one reveals the philosophy and technical craft underneath.
| Translation / Translator | Work covered | Accuracy | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jawid Mojaddedi (Oxford) | Masnavi Vol I–IV | Highest | Serious readers who want the real Masnavi |
| A.J. Arberry | Fihi Ma Fihi, Divan selection | High | Scholarly readers, academic study |
| Reynold Nicholson | Masnavi (complete) | High | The classic academic translation — dated but accurate |
| Coleman Barks (with Moyne) | Divan / Masnavi selections | Loose | First encounter — beautiful but free translation |
| Haleh Liza Gafori | Divan selections | High | Most poetically faithful modern Divan translation |
| William Chittick | Masnavi / Sufi Path of Love | Highest | Understanding Rumi's philosophy and Sufi context |
The honest truth about the Coleman Barks translations
Barks does not read Persian. He worked from literal English renderings by John Moyne and others, then rewrote them into his own poetic voice. The result is often beautiful and emotionally resonant — but it is as much Barks as Rumi. Some famous "Rumi quotes" circulating online were heavily rewritten or are misattributed entirely. For a first encounter, Barks works well. For serious study, move to Mojaddedi, Arberry, or Chittick.
Best Books About Rumi — Biography and Context
Understanding Rumi's historical context, his relationship with Shams, and the Sufi tradition he worked within transforms how you read the poetry. These books provide that foundation.
Rumi's Secret — Brad Gooch
The most readable modern biography of Rumi in English. Gooch reconstructs Rumi's life from Konya through the years with Shams and the composition of the Masnavi, using primary sources including contemporary accounts. Best starting point for anyone who wants the full life before reading the works.
The Sufi Path of Love — William Chittick
The definitive scholarly guide to Rumi's spiritual thought. Chittick organises Rumi's ideas thematically — on love, on God, on the soul, on death — drawing from across the Masnavi and Divan. Essential if you want to understand what Rumi actually believed rather than just enjoying individual poems out of context.
Me and Rumi — William Chittick (translation of Maqalat-e Shams)
The only English translation of Shams of Tabriz's own writings — allowing you to read the teacher who transformed Rumi. Shams was himself a remarkable and difficult thinker, and reading his words alongside Rumi's shows the full picture of their relationship.
The Forty Rules of Love — Elif Shafak
A novel, not biography — but widely read as an introduction to Rumi's world. Shafak weaves a parallel story set in modern day alongside a historical narrative of Rumi and Shams's relationship. Accessible and moving, though it takes dramatic liberties with the historical record. Read it as fiction that illuminates rather than history that explains.
Rumi's Three Books — Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Masnavi | Divan-e Shams | Fihi Ma Fihi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | Rhyming couplets (masnavi form) | Ghazals and quatrains | Prose discourses |
| Length | ~25,000 couplets, 6 volumes | ~40,000 verses | 71 discourses |
| Tone | Narrative, wise, structured | Ecstatic, emotional, lyrical | Conversational, direct, practical |
| Best for | Deep sustained study | Poetry lovers | Beginners, philosophy readers |
| Difficulty | High — needs commentary | Medium — symbolic language | Low — direct speech |
| Best translation | Mojaddedi (Oxford) | Gafori or Arberry | Arberry (Discourses) |
Read Rumi's Works in the Original Persian
At Danaa School, our Persian literature tutors guide students through the Masnavi and Divan-e Shams in the original Farsi — opening the text line by line, explaining the Sufi symbolism, and showing how the Persian language itself carries meaning that translations cannot fully cross. All lessons are 1-on-1 online, at your pace and level.
Related: Complete Rumi Guide → · Fal-e Hafez Online → · Rumi Soul Quotes →
Frequently Asked Questions About Rumi Books
What is the Masnavi by Rumi?
The Masnavi (مثنوی) is Rumi's most important work — approximately 25,000 rhyming couplets across six volumes, composed between 1258 and his death in 1273. The name comes from the Arabic root meaning "two by two," referring to the rhyming couplet form. It teaches Sufi philosophy through interlocking stories, parables, and narrative digressions. Rumi began it at the request of his disciple Husam Chalabi and continued dictating it until he died. It is often called "the Quran in Persian" in Sufi tradition.
What does Masnavi mean?
Masnavi (also spelled Mathnawi or Mesnevi) comes from the Arabic root for "two by two" — referring to the verse form where each line rhymes with itself (AA BB CC) rather than with other lines across the poem. The masnavi form was used widely in Persian poetry for narrative and didactic content because it could sustain very long works without requiring complex rhyme schemes. Rumi's Masnavi is simply the most famous work written in this form.
Which Rumi book should I start with?
For most readers, start with Fihi Ma Fihi (translated as Discourses of Rumi by Arberry) — it is Rumi in plain prose, no symbolism to decode, directly accessible. If you want poetry first, start with Coleman Barks's The Essential Rumi for a first impression, then move to the Mojaddedi or Arberry translations for the real text. Avoid starting with all six volumes of the Masnavi — begin with Volume I only.
How many books did Rumi write?
Rumi's legacy rests on three major works: the Masnavi (six volumes of narrative verse), the Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi (collected lyrical poetry), and Fihi Ma Fihi (prose discourses). He also wrote a collection of letters (Maktubat) and a smaller book of quatrains (Rubāʿīyāt). None of these were "published" in his lifetime — they were compiled and edited after his death by students and scholars.
Is the Divan-e Shams the same as the Masnavi?
No — they are entirely different books. The Masnavi is a long narrative poem in six volumes, composed as interlocking stories and teachings. The Divan-e Shams is a collection of short lyrical poems (ghazals and quatrains) — emotional, spontaneous, and personal. The Masnavi was composed deliberately over fifteen years; the Divan poems were composed across Rumi's adult life and reflect his inner emotional states rather than sustained narrative teaching.
What is the best English translation of the Masnavi?
For accuracy and readability, the Jawid Mojaddedi translation (Oxford World's Classics) is currently the best available in English — fully annotated, metrically structured, and working directly from the Persian. For an older but still reliable complete translation, the Reynold Nicholson version remains the scholarly standard. Avoid translations that lack notes or do not acknowledge working from the original Persian.
Did Rumi write in Persian or Arabic?
Rumi wrote primarily in Persian (Farsi), with some Arabic passages embedded in the text — particularly in the Masnavi, where he quotes the Quran and Hadith in Arabic. The Divan-e Shams and Fihi Ma Fihi are almost entirely Persian. A small number of poems were written in Turkish and Greek, reflecting the multilingual world of medieval Konya. The vast majority of his work is Persian, which is why studying Farsi opens the full depth of his writing.
