Listen: Commentary on the Spiritual Couplets of Mevlana Rumi

by Kenan Rifai, Victoria Holbrook (Translator)

Overview

An exceptional contribution to the understanding of a key figure in Islamic mysticism, this book offers a 20th century commentary—by the eminent Sufi and spiritual guide Kenan Rifai—on Jalal ad-Din Rumi’s 13th-century Spiritual Couplets, or Masnavi. Symbolically connecting the long poem to Qur’anic passages, hadiths, and other poems by Sufi masters, this enlightening reference answers the most tortuous of problems and guides one to comprehend the meaning of life. A rigorous translation of Rumi’s original work is also included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781891785870
Publisher:	Fons Vitae of Kentucky, Incorporated
Publication date:	12/01/2011
Pages:	560
Sales rank:	736,768
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Kenan Rifai was the director for Provincial Directorates of National Education in various Ottoman cities and a high school principal. Due to the tutelage of the great sheikh Hamza Rifai, he became a teacher of Islamic mysticism and Sufism at Altay Lodge. Victoria Holbrook is a distinguished scholar specializing in Ottoman studies and the translator of East West Mimesis: Auerbach in Turkey. She lives in Columbus, Ohio. 

Editorial Reviews

Holbrook’s highly readable translation of Rifai’s Listen! goes a long way toward showing how Rumi has been understood in his own cultural context down to modern times.”  —William C. Chittick, professor, Department of Asian and Asian American Studies, Stony Brook University

“For all of us Rumi lovers who have adored Rumi’s sublime poetry, here is the answer to our prayers: a rich, profound, and yet accessible commentary on Rumi’s masterpiece, the Masnavi. The lovely translation, by the superb scholar Victoria Holbrook, of Kenan Rifai, stands out as the definitive English language commentary on Rumi’s writings.”  —Dr. Omid Safi, professor of religious studies, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill



“It is a blessing to have a companion like the respected Kenan Rifai when entering the paradise of the Masnavi. He offers us something rare in these times: a perspective that comes from great knowledge and a living tradition of gnosis.”  —Kabir Helminski, Sufi author, Mevlevi Shaikh

“What a gift! We are grateful to Victoria Holbrook for conveying into English Ken’an Rifai’s beautiful commentary on Rumi’s Masnavi. For the lovers of Mevlana Rumi this will be a great blessing, enlivening their researches and enlightening their hearts.”  —Camille Helminski, author, Women of Sufism

From the Publisher