MAWLANA RUMI'S MASNAVI - INTENSIVE OVERVIEW COURSE

[PLEASE NOTE - The course is BOTH in person ONSITE in London and for those who can not attend in person can purchase the LIVE ONLINE STREAMING ticket to watch it from their device and those coming in person, should you not decide to attend person on the day or half the day, you will still recieve a link to the live online streaming, irrespective but are encouraged to attend in person if you have registered for that ticket, as this helps with allows room allocation, respectively for fellow participants].

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Islamic Courses present:

MAWLANA RUMI’S MATHNAWI INTENSIVE WEEKEND

With

Professor Bilal Kuspinar[ Chair of the Department of Philosophy & Director of the International Rumi Center for the Study of Civilizations Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya,Turkey]*

And guest presenters including:

Shaykh Mohammed Akram Nadwi [Al-Salam Institute, UK]*

Date: Saturday 15th - Sunday 16th February 2025

Time: 9am - 5pm, both days

Venue: Birbeck College, London

The Masnavi is the great masterpiece of Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi, one of the great spiritual masters of Islam and one of the 'Saviours of Islamic Spirit' according to Shaykh Abu 'l-Hasan Ali Nadwi of India. Rumi to this day, is still one of the most popular poet in America, after more than 700 years! The Masnavi consists of mainly of sufi teaching stories with profound mystical interpretations. It contains thousands of rhyming couplets (a type of poetry called, in Arabic, "mathnawî") and is a treasury of religious mysticism and wisdom which is why it has been so famous and well-loved for so many centuries in particular within the Muslim gunpower empires of the Ottomans, Moghuls and Safavid. It was a key text taught in the seminaries of the pre-modern Muslim world and the lack of teaching and absence of the many classical spiritual works in most Muslim institutions have had a profound impact on the leadership that has emerged in the modern Muslim world to this day who continue to struggle to navigate through postmodernity in a necropolitical age, regardless of the global shifts that have occurred in the last few centuries and now moving to a multi-polar world dominated by unrooted spirituality and robots and ai.

This weekend intensive introductory course will cover the following:

• Spirituality in the Islamic tradition
• The Turkish-Persianate Islamicate
• Brief overview of Rumi’s life and works
• The purpose of the Mathnawi, structure and major themes
• Selected chapter reading with explanations and reflections
• Understanding: Form, meaning, God, universe, human, Qur’an, Prophet(saw) and Divine 'Love' and 'Sama'
• Wisdom, moral and spiritual implications
• Mawlana and Shams
• Mawlana Rumi’s Impact on the World Civilizations
• Rumi and Masnavi in the Indian Islamic Intellectual tradition and its loss and impact today
• Extensive discussions with Q and A throughout the day as well.

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POST-DETAILED STUDY OF MASNAVI CHAPTER BY CHAPTER:

Taught by Professor Bilal Kuspinar in London in person and online.

Based on the interest for a more detailed study of the text, chapter by chapter with relevance to contemporary issues and challenges for those who are committed and serious only. It will be taught in English and using Persian and Turkish sources.

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*Professor Bilal Kuspinar[Chair of the Department of Philosophy & Director of the International Rumi Center for the Study of Civilizations Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya,Turkey] received his B.A. in theology from Selçuk University, Konya, his M.A. in philosophy, logic and history of science from the Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, his first Ph.D. in the history of philosophy from Selçuk University, and his second Ph.D. in Islamic philosophy and mysticism from McGill University. He specializes in history of medieval philosophy and mysticism. His research investigates into various philosophical and mystical traditions flourished in Islamic civilization, especially within the context of the Ottoman intellectual milieu. Prior to joining Konya Necmettin Erbakan University, he taught at several academic institutions and universities, including Selcuk University, International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), Kuala Lumpur, and Concordia and McGill Universities, Montreal, and Ahlia University, Bahrain. He has also participated in many international conferences and seminars in his field. In addition to his extensive contributions to the field of philosophy and humanity studies with his many articles, he has so far published three books: The Lamp of Mysteries (Misbāh al-Asrār): A Commentary on the Light-Verse of the Qur'an: Arabic text critically edited, translated, and annotated. (Oxford: Anqa publishing, 2011) Ismā'īl Ankaravī on the Illuminative Philosophy: His Izāhu'l-Hikem, Its Edition and Anaylsis in Comparison with Dawwānī's Shawākil al-Hūr, Together with the Translation of Suhrawardī's Hayākil al-Nūr. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), 1996. Ibn Sina'da Bilgi Teorisi (Avicenna's Theory of Knowledge). 2nd ed. Istanbul: MEB, 2001 (1st ed. in 1995). He was the Counsellor for Social and Religious Affairs at the Turkish Embassy Washington D.C. and Head of the Diyanet Center of America between 2019 - 2023.

*Shaykh Mohammed Akram Nadwi [Al-Salam Institute, UK] studied and taught Shari’a at the Nadwatul ‘Ulama (India). He is a muhaddith specialising in ‘Ilm al-Rijal (the study of the narrators of Hadith) and has ijaza (licenses) from many mashayakh, including Abul Hasan Ali Al-Nadwi, Abdul-Fattah Abu Ghuddah, Ramadan Buti, AbdurRahman Kittani and Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Over the course of three decades he has authored, translated and conducted research on many titles related to fiqh, Qur’an, hadith and sufi orders. He has published widely in Urdu, Persian, Arabic, and English on Shah Wali Allah, a critical edition of Usūl al-Shāshī in Ḥanafī jurisprudence, original monographs on Islamic law, Quran and hadith sciences, and figures such as Abū Ḥanīfah, including his monumental 43 volume work on Al-Muhaddithaat –The Women Scholars in Islam. He was a research fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford University, and is recipient of the ‘Allāmah Iqbāl prize for contribution to Islamic thought and is the Principal and Co-Founder of Al-Salam Institute. As co-founder of Al-Salam Institute, he continues to teach advanced levels of Islamic Scholarship Program.

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AUDIENCE: Open to ALL and any one interested in Islamic spirituality, metaphysics, mysticism, philosophy and classical Islamic scholarship across the various Islamicates.

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All welcome, limited spaces, pre-registration required!

DEADLINE FOR BOOKINGS APPLY after which prices increase

For more information call/tel: 07956735301 or email: [email protected]

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* Please note, time and resources have been set aside to ensure the programme runs in a smooth and professional manner for the maximum benefit of participants and thus unless the programme has been postponed or cancelled, there are NO REFUNDS as part of the terms and condition policy.

*Lunch and refreshments can be purchased at cafe's or restaurant's near to the venue and NOT included in ticket price.

*The course is BOTH in person ONSITE in London and for those who can not attend in person can purchase the LIVE ONLINE STREAMING ticket to watch it from their device and those coming in person, should decide not to attend person on the day or half the day, you will still recieve a link to the live online streaming, irrespective but are encouraged to attend in person if you have registered for that ticket, as this helps with allows room allocation, respectively for fellow participants

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Host or Publisher Islamic Courses - Islamic Circles