The Fihi ma fihi (Persian: فیه مافیه; from Arabic: فیه ما فیه), literally means "It Is What It Is", or "In it what is in it") is a Persian prose work of the 13th century Sufi writer Mewlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī. The book consists of 72 short discourses.
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According to J. M. Sadeghi the title "Fihi ma fihi" has appeared on a copy dated 1316. Another copy of the book dated 1350 has the title "Asrar al-jalalieh". Rumi himself in the fifth volume of Masnavi-i Ma'navi mentions[1] that
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بد میان زاهد و رب الوری که زمین و آسمان پر نور شد در مقالات آن همه مذکور شد |
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which most likely refers to this book. The title "Maghalat-e Mowlana" of copies of the book published in Iran follows this.
Not much is known about the publication time and the writer of the book. According to B. Forouzanfar, the editor of the most reliable copy of the book, it is likely that the book was written by Sultanwalad, the eldest son of Rumi, based on manuscripts and notes taken by himself or others from the lectures of his father on Masnavi-i Ma'navi.
The significance of this work is in being one of the first Persian prose books after the so called Persian literature revolution (enghelāb-e adabi). Moreover the book has become an introduction to the Masnavi. Also many concepts in Sufism are described in this book in simple terms.
The book has been (freely) translated into English under the title "Discourses of Rumi" by A. J. Arberry in 1961 and consists of 71 discourses. An authoritative translation by Dr. Bankey Behari was published in 1998 under the title "Fiha Ma Fiha, Table Talk of Maulani Rumi" (DK Publishers, New Delhi), ISBN 81-7646-029-X.
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