The Masnavi of Rumi, Book One is the first volume of Jalaloddin Rumi’s monumental 13th-century work of poetry, revered in the Islamic world as its greatest mystical text. Drawing on a vast collection of characters, stories, and fables, the work serves as a guide for students on the path to divine love and spiritual union with God. Alan Williams’s authoritative new translation renders the complex material in a highly readable blank verse, making this profound work of Sufi spirituality accessible to a global readership