Who is Mevlana?
Mevlana's Works
Mevlevi Order
What is Çelebi?
In addition to his best-known book of verse, Masnawi, the
first eighteen lines of which were written down personally and the rest
dictated to his student, Chalabi Husameddin, he also wrote
Divan-i Kebir; Fih-i Ma-Fi, Mecalis- i Seb’a and Mektubat.
- Masnawi
It contains 26 thousand couplets in six volumes, consisting of stories inspired by the Quran’s teachings about all that is created, as well as Hz. Mohammad’s words and their morals. - Divan-i Kebir
Preceding Masnawi, it is a collection of poems recited by Hz. Mevlana over a wide span of time. It contains approximately 40 thousand couplets within twenty-one moderate-size divans, as well as one “Divan-i Rubai” - Fih-i Ma-Fih
It connotes “What’s within is within” and contains Hz. Mevlana’s lectures. Mecalis-i Seb’a: As the meaning of the title “Seven Sermons” implies, it contains Hz. Mevlana’s seven lectures. - Mektubat
It consists of the 147 letters Hz. Mevlana wrote to relatives, including his son Sultan Veled, and to friends, rulers, and officials of the State.
The daily language of the time was Turkish, the scientific language was Arabic, while Persian was the language of literature. For this reason Hz Mevlana’s books are all in Persian. They were all translated into Turkish at a later time.
In his books, Hz. Mevlana talks about how to be a wholesome human being: one who has inner peace and harmony, one who is both aware of and appreciates God’s blessings, one who takes a stand in the face of life’s hardships, one who is tolerant and loving.
An example of Hz. Mevlana’s advice to his son, Bahaddin Veled, to indicate his spiritual and worldy viewpoints is in the next column. More than seven hundred years have elapsed since the day of this advice and it still holds true for us all...
Hz. Mevlana, who summed up life in the above words, passed away on 17 December 1273 following a brief time on his sickbed and reached out to his Allah and his beloved prophet. Mevlevi disciples call this night Seb-i Arus (wedding night), the night of unity.
We would like to conclude our words with the following advice from Mevlana to those who aspire to the pursuit of truth, even today:
Ahmed Eflaki,
Ariflerin Menkibeleri II, 213, 214
The original Mesnevi