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 Two of the Masnavi, the second of six volumes, we travel with Rumi toward an understanding of the deeper truth and reality, beyond the limits of the self. 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.