Signs of the Unseen

Description

The Discourses of Jalaluddin Rumi

Introduction and Translation by W.M. Thackston, Jr.

Signs of the Unseen, a translation of Rumi’s Fihi ma Fihi, is a collection of his lectures, discourses, conversations and comments on various and sundry topics. In many cases the discussions preserved in this book provide us with the most sustained exposition available of his thought on a given topic.

Even in conversation Rumi expresses his spiritual insights in a style rich in allusion and figurative language, and often illustrated by skillful storytelling. His themes include God’s beauty and beneficence as expressed through the good things of this earth; the continuum between form and substance, the here and the hereafter; the melting of individuality in the reality of God’s oneness; and the centrality of love in the soul’s development. This translation should easily become the standard translation of this work in the English language.

“Reads smoothly and reveals Rumi’s profound sense of God’s transcendence, unity, beauty, and of the human call to love God, forsake individuality, and grow.” — Library Journal

Dr. Wheeler Thackston, Jr., is a Professor of Middle Eastern Languages and Literature at Harvard University.