The Subject of Transformation and the Transformation of the Subject in Jalal al-Din Rumi’s Masnavi

Commentators and scholars do not see mystical value in bawdy passages of Rumi’s mystical epic, the Masnavi. Consequently, these kinds of stories have been marginalized and their significance overlooked. This kind of thinking is the result of the dichotomy and distinction made between mystical and nonmystical imagery that has been imposed on Iranian studies by scholars. The goal of this article is first to demonstrate the fallacy of this outlook. The second goal is to show that in the Masnavi, the apparently nonmystical indeed has mystical significance. In fact, in two stories in the Masnavi Rumi uses one of the most vulgar words in the Persian language, kir (“penis”), as a concealed signifier of esoteric secrets. To unpack the mystical significance of this signifier we must venture outside the restraining boundaries of the usual epistemologies and deploy relevant conceptual tools from semiotics and gender studies.