The Concept of "Sale and Transaction" in the Story of "The King and the Handmaiden" in the Masnavi Manavi

This is a scholarly article examining the legal dimensions of a story from the first book of Rumi's Masnavi-ye Ma'navi. The story, "The King and the Handmaiden," involves the purchase of an enslaved woman, and the article analyses that transaction using classical Islamic jurisprudence and legal terminology, covering the types, conditions, characteristics, and consequences of a contract of sale. The author argues that slavery and its associated legal practices were familiar in Rumi's era but are poorly understood today, and that ignoring this context opens the door to unfair judgements against religion and culture.