Sharḥ-i dard-i ishtiyāq: bāznivīsī-i ḥikāyāt-i masnavī bih nas̱r

Sharḥ-i dard-i ishtiyāq is Muḥammad Ḥusayn Makārim’s prose retelling of stories from the six books of the Masnavī of Mawlavī, Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad. Arranged in three volumes, the work follows the sequence of the poem, bringing its episodes into a prose setting while retaining their connection with mystical and ethical concerns. The stories explore love, separation, self-knowledge, human weakness and the search for spiritual understanding through encounters between rulers, servants, merchants, animals and religious figures. Episodes in the opening books include the king and the handmaiden, the merchant and the parrot, and Moses and the shepherd. Selected verses accompany the prose narrative, keeping the language of the source poem alongside the retelling. The collection offers a route through the narrative world of the Masnavī, allowing readers to follow its characters and situations while considering the meanings conveyed by their choices, misunderstandings and transformations.