Jalaloddin Rumi's Masnavi-ye Ma'navi, or 'Spiritual Couplets', composed in the 13th century AD, is a monumental work of poetry in the Sufi tradition of Islamic mysticism. Long before his love poetry became a literary phenomenon in the West, Rumi's Masnavi has been revered in the Islamic world. Drawing upon a vast array of characters, tales and fables, and deeply versed in religious teaching, it takes us on a rich, profound and playful journey along the Sufi path of divine love, toward its ultimate goal of union with God.

In Book 1 of the Masnavi, the first of six volumes, Rumi explores the lower, carnal self which must be resisted if one is to attain a higher spiritual understanding. Alan Williams's authoritative new translation is rendered in highly readable blank verse and includes the original Persian text for reference. True to the spirit of Rumi's poem, this new translation establishes the Masnavi as one of the world's great literary achievements for a global readership.

Translated and edited with an introduction, notes and Persian text by Alan Williams