Listen to the Reed Song

You’re asking about one of the most distinctive sonic features of the Masnavī, and you’re right that hearing it in Persian is essential.

1. What meter is the Masnavī in?

The Masnavī-ye Maʿnavī of Jalal al-Din Rumi is written almost entirely in the Arabic–Persian quantitative meter:

Ramal-e musaddas-e maḥdhūf

رَمَلِ مُسَدَّسِ مَحْذوف

Its formal pattern

In classical prosody (ʿarūḍ):

فَاعِلاتُن / فَاعِلاتُن / فَاعِلُن

fāʿilātun / fāʿilātun / fāʿilun

Your intuitive rhythm is very good:

dum–da–dum–dum / dum–da–dum–dum / dum–da–dum

This meter is:

• Flowing

• Wave-like

• Ideal for oral recitation

• Naturally suited to didactic narrative and trance-like repetition

That is exactly why Rumi chose it for a 25,000+ verse spiritual teaching poem.

2. Why Ramal is perfect for the Masnavī

Ramal has:

• A gentle forward sway (often described as “walking” or “breathing”)

• No harsh stops

• A hypnotic cadence that supports samāʿ (listening as spiritual practice)

Rumi dictated the Masnavī aloud; this meter carries speech naturally, almost like heightened conversation.

3. Other major poets who used this meter

Ramal was well established before Rumi, but he made it spiritually iconic.

Notable users:

• Sanai – especially Ḥadīqat al-Ḥaqīqa

• Attar of Nishapur – narrative and mystical works

• Jami

• Nizami Ganjavi – for narrative masnavīs

Rumi inherited this tradition—but expanded it into an ecstatic, improvisatory instrument.

4. “One must listen in Persian” — why this is true

Persian quantitative meter works through:

• Vowel length

• Stress through duration, not accent

• Sound symbolism (long ā, ī, ū creating emotional space)

No English translation can preserve:

• The temporal swing

• The subtle rhyme echo at each couplet end

• The breath-based phrasing

Even understanding nothing of Persian, listeners often feel the pull.

5. Where to listen with Persian + English together (best options)

⭐ Best scholarly + audible experience

Nicholson Masnavi Online

• Persian text (critical)

• English translation (E. H. Nicholson)

• Audio recitation available for selected passages

• Excellent for the Reed Song (opening lines)

⭐ Best living oral tradition style

Shahram Nazeri

• Sung/recited Masnavī passages

• Deep rhythmic embodiment of Ramal

• YouTube recordings often show Persian verses onscreen

⭐ Clear spoken Persian with text

Hossein Alizadeh

• Musical settings of Masnavī lines

• Ideal for hearing meter clearly

⭐ Practical modern option (very effective)

On YouTube, search:

Masnavi ney nama Persian English

Look for videos that show:

• Persian text line by line

• English subtitle below

• Slow, measured recitation

6. The opening line (Reed Song) — meter in action

Persian

بشنو از نی چون حکایت می‌کند

از جدایی‌ها شکایت می‌کند

Scansion (simplified)

fa-ʿi-lā-tun | fa-ʿi-lā-tun | fa-ʿi-lun

When heard aloud, the meter teaches itself.

7. How to listen (important)

When you listen:

1. Ignore meaning first

2. Feel the three-beat wave

3. Notice how each couplet settles at the rhyme

4. Only then read the translation

This is how the Masnavī was meant to enter the heart.

If you want, I can:

• Scan the first 2–3 lines rhythmically for you

• Recommend the single best recording of the Reed Song

• Explain how Ramal differs from hazaj (used in ghazals)

• Show how the meter mirrors breath and remembrance (dhikr)

Just tell me which you’d like next.