Mathnawi

A mathnawi (also spelled masnavi, masnavi, or mathnavi; Persian: مثنوی‎) is a rhyming couplet verse form, a significant genre in Persian, Urdu, Turkish, and other literatures of the Islamic world. It consists of a series of independently rhyming couplets, where each couplet has its own unique rhyme (AA, BB, CC, DD, and so on). This structure allows for greater length and flexibility than monorhyme forms, making it well-suited for narrative poems, didactic works, and mystical treatises.

The mathnawi is generally used for epic poems, romances, and works of instruction. The rhyme scheme provides a memorable and easily adaptable structure for extended compositions.

Among the most famous examples of the mathnawi form is Rumi's Masnavi-ye Ma'navi, a six-volume spiritual masterpiece considered one of the greatest works of Sufi literature. Other notable examples include Ferdowsi's Shahnameh (though this is in a specific variant of the mathnawi meter, closer to epic verse) and Nizami Ganjavi's Khamsa ("Quintet"). The form was widely adopted across various Islamic cultures, resulting in numerous significant works in languages such as Urdu and Turkish.