🙏 Sponsored by the DhunAnand Foundation
💎 Free through Sept 30, 2026
Learn the Persian Alphabet with Rumi’s Masnavi: The Soulful & Effective Way
Join a 12-session journey that teaches you the Persian alphabet through the soul-stirring verses of the Neynameh.
Go beyond dry alphabet drills. Join Dr. Leila in live class recordings as she breaks down the first 18 verses of Rumi’s Neynameh word-by-word. Learn Persian through poetry, music, and Sufi wisdom—a foundation no app can replicate.
🎥 Live Class Recordings🔍 Word-by-Word Analysis📆 1-Year Access
Course at a Glance
Dr. Leila Seyedghasem
Dr. Leila Seyedghasem is an award-winning Persian literature scholar with over a decade of teaching experience. She has taught Persian language and literature at the University of Kashan and Shahid Beheshti University and has helped hundreds of students worldwide connect with Persian through both language and literature.
For this course, Dr. Leila combines her academic expertise with a beginner-friendly teaching style. Instead of memorizing isolated letters, you’ll learn to read Persian naturally through carefully guided lessons based on the opening verses of Rumi’s Masnavi.
Why Students Love Learning with Dr. Leila
- Award-winning Persian literature scholar
- 10+ years of university and online teaching experience
- A patient, step-by-step approach designed for absolute beginners
- A unique method that connects Persian language with its literary and cultural heritage
🎯 By the End of This Course, You’ll Be Able To
Your Rumi Learning Journey
Welcome to a poetic journey into the Persian alphabet, designed around the soul-stirring verses of Rumi’s Neynameh. Here’s what your path includes:
📘 Course Overview
✅ 12 live-recorded sessions unpacking 18 verses of Rumi’s Neynameh
⏳ Flexible pace: 1 session per week—or linger on a single verse for days
📅 Estimated time: ~3 months at a poetic rhythm (or binge the full ~12 hours)
🔓 Access: Enjoy 1 full year to review and practice anytime
🌱 Weekly unlocks keep you consistent—never overwhelmed
آهسته رو، پیوسته رو
Slow and steady wins the race
Beshno بشنو
“Listen to the reed, how it tells a tale”
- Letters: ب · ش · ن · و
- Focus: The sound of separation
- Time: 51 min
Neyestan نیستان
“Ever since they cut me from the reed-bed”
- Letters: ی · س · ت · ا
- Focus: The soul’s origin
- Time: 1 hr 20 min
Feragh فراق
“A bosom shred and shred, to utter the pain of longing”
- Letters: ف · ر · ق
- Bonus: How to pronounce R (re)
- Time: 49 min
Review مرور
Consolidating Verses 1–3
- Letters: All letters so far
- Focus: Strengthening your foundation
- Time: 1 hr 6 min
Asl-o-Vasl اصل و وصل
“Whoever is distanced from his roots seeks union”
- Letters: ص · ل
- Bonus: Persian vowels (short & long)
- Time: 1 hr
Khosh-hal خوشحال
“Consorting with the joyous and the sorrowful”
- Letters: ج · چ · ح · خ
- Focus: Joy & sorrow in one breath
- Time: 56 min
Zann ظنّ
“Everyone befriended me following his own opinion”
- Letters: ط · ظ
- Bonus: The Tashdid mark
- Time: 51 min
Verses 7–8 بیت ۷ و ۸
“The reed’s secret is not far from its lament”
- Letters: د · ذ · ز · ژ · ض
- Focus: The “Z” family
- Time: 1 hr 3 min
Eshgh عشق
“The fire of Love that befell the reed”
- Letters: ع · غ
- Focus: The central flame
- Time: 1 hr 9 min
Zahr زهر
“Who has ever seen a poison and an antidote like the reed?”
- Letters: ه
- Bonus: Mughal art from the British Library
- Time: 53 min
Pak پاک
“O Thou like whom there is no one pure”
- Letters: پ · ک · گ
- Focus: Purity & longing
- Time: 47 min
Masnavi مثنوی
“The state of the ripe — farewell to the Neynameh”
- Letters: م · ث
- Bonus: Hamzeh + Masnavi structure + musical finale
- Time: 58 min
Start Your Free Access
Start with a free session from Learn Persian with Rumi and experience how Dr. Leila breaks down the first verse of the Neynameh word-by-word—no prior Persian needed. See for yourself how poetry, music, and 166 visual flashcards remove the guesswork and make the alphabet unforgettable from day one.
A Journey Through the Neynāmeh
The 18 Verses You Will Master
The Neynāmeh (“The Song of the Reed”) is the opening poem of Rumi’s Masnavi and one of the most celebrated passages in Persian literature. For centuries, these eighteen verses have served as a gateway to Rumi’s spiritual and poetic world.
As your Persian reading skills grow, you’ll gradually explore these verses in their original language, discovering timeless themes of longing, separation, love, and the soul’s search for its true home.
By the end of this journey, you won’t just recognize Persian letters—you’ll be reading one of the most influential texts ever written in Persian.
A tale of all the separations of which it complains.
از جداییها شکایت میکند
Men and women bemoaned my lament.
از نفیرم مرد و زن نالیدهاند
So as to utter the description of the pain of longing.
تا بگویم شرح درد اشتیاق
Seeks to return to the days of his union.
باز جوید روزگارِ وصل خویش
Note: Text based on Reynold A. Nicholson Edition. Verses translated by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, from “The Lament of the Reed: Rumi”. Verse 13 translation is omitted in Nasr’s version and has been supplemented from Reynold A. Nicholson’s translation.
Notable Alumni & Sponsor
Shivpreet Singh — Composer, Poet, Founder of DhunAnand Foundation
🎵 Pioneer of Indo-American fusion kirtan; EMI recording artist since 1997
📚 10th-generation descendant of Bhai Nandlal Goya, court poet of Guru Gobind Singh Ji
🎓 UC Berkeley (Biochemistry) + University of Chicago (MBA)
💚 Founded DhunAnand Foundation (2021), a 501(c)(3) supporting artists for global causes
❤️Sponsored this course — making it free for learners worldwide through Sept 30, 2026
What happened next?
He composed Beshno Az Ney, a concept track inspired by the Neynameh, blending Sufi poetry with his signature Indo-American fusion sound.
Continue Your Journey After Persian Alphabet
A2 is the next step in your comprehensive journey from foundational skills to true fluency and literary appreciation.
Persian Alphabet
✅ Effortless Persian: Learn Persian with Rumi
– The Complete Persian Alphabet (Coming Soon!)
→ Core Curriculum
– Let’s Learn Persian (A1)
– Let’s Learn Persian (A2)
– Let’s Learn Persian (B1-1)
– Let’s Learn Persian (B1-2) (Coming Soon!)
→ Beyond the Core
– Damavand
– Deserts of Iran
– Mosques of Iran
– Saadi
→ Persian Literature
Classical Texts:
– Golestan of Sa’di
– Masnavi of Rumi
– Rubaiyat of Khayyam
– History of Beyhaghi
Modern Texts:
– Little Black Fish
Start Your Persian Journey Today
– made free by the DhunAnand Foundation
You can start learning right away — the first lesson is free and open to everyone.
Full access activates within 1 business day.
Price: €25 €0
🎓 12 Live-Recorded Sessions 📜 18 Neynameh Verses 🧠 166 Visual Flashcards 🎵 Sufi Poetry & Music⏳ Full Year Access
No payment required — just apply code RUMIDAF1 on the next screen via Buy Me a Coffee.
Your Questions, Answered
Do I need any prior knowledge of Persian to take this course?
No. This course is designed for absolute beginners. Dr. Leila teaches the Persian alphabet from scratch, using Rumi’s Neynameh as your living textbook. Each letter is introduced through the poetry itself—so you learn the script and the soul of the language simultaneously.
I can speak Persian with my family, but I never learned to read or write. Is this course for me?
Absolutely. Many of our students are heritage learners—fluent speakers who want to reconnect with the written word. This course bridges that gap through poetry, not dry drills. You’ll finally see the letters your grandparents’ handwriting contained.
How is this different from your Let’s Learn Persian A1 course?
Let’s Learn Persian A1 is a comprehensive, structured language course for CEFR proficiency. Learn the Persian Alphabet with Rumi is a content-based immersion: you learn the alphabet through 18 verses of classical poetry, live class recordings, and Sufi music. Think of it as your cultural foundation—perfect before, during, or alongside A1.
Will I really be able to read Rumi’s original text by the end?
You will read, understand, and feel the first 18 verses of the Neynameh in their original Persian. Not just decoding letters, but grasping the grammatical nuances, cultural context, and spiritual depth—word by word, with Dr. Leila guiding you through every nuqta and vowel.
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