Rumi
جلال الدين الرومي
The Master of Ecstatic Love
Born: 1207
Died: 1273
Also known as: Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi, Mawlana, Mevlana
Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, and Sufi mystic whose six-volume Masnavi-yi Ma'navi is regarded as one of the greatest works of mystical literature ever written. His transformative friendship with the wandering dervish Shams-i Tabrizi turned a respected scholar into the most celebrated poet of the Islamic world.
Key Accomplishments
- Composed the Masnavi-yi Ma'navi, one of the greatest works of mystical poetry in any language
- Wrote the Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi, a vast collection of lyric and ecstatic poetry
- Inspired the founding of the Mevlevi Sufi Order and its whirling meditation practice
- Became one of the most widely read and translated poets in the modern world
The Full Story
Born in Balkh (in present-day Afghanistan), Rumi's family fled the Mongol invasions during his childhood, eventually settling in Konya in Anatolia, then part of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum. There his father, Baha al-Din Walad, was a respected theologian and preacher. Rumi succeeded his father as a religious teacher and jurist, gaining a wide following for his sermons and scholarly lectures.
In 1244, Rumi encountered the enigmatic wandering dervish Shams al-Din Tabrizi, a meeting that transformed him utterly. Their intense spiritual friendship drew Rumi away from conventional scholarship into ecstatic poetry and mystical practice. When Shams disappeared, Rumi poured his grief and longing into the Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi, a vast collection of lyric poems that ranks among the finest in the Persian language.
Rumi's later masterpiece, the six-volume Masnavi-yi Ma'navi, composed over the last years of his life at the urging of his disciple Husam al-Din Chalabi, is a sprawling epic of mystical teaching woven through stories, parables, and Quranic commentary. Called "the Quran in Persian" by the poet Jami, the Masnavi explores themes of divine love, the soul's journey to God, and the unity of existence. After his death in 1273, his followers organized the Mevlevi Order, famous for its whirling meditation ceremony. Today Rumi is one of the best-selling poets in the United States.
Notable Words
“What you seek is seeking you.”
- Fihi Ma Fihi (Discourses)
“Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation.”
- Attributed, Masnavi tradition
Places
Connected Figures
Farid al-Din Attar
The Apothecary of the Soul
Earlier Sufi poet whose Conference of the Birds deeply influenced Rumi
Thinkers & PoetsIbn Arabi
The Greatest Master of Sufi Metaphysics
Contemporary Sufi master of a parallel but distinct mystical tradition
Thinkers & PoetsHafiz
The Tongue of the Unseen
Later Persian poet who continued the tradition of mystical lyric poetry
Thinkers & PoetsJami
The Last Great Medieval Persian Poet
Later poet who called the Masnavi "the Quran in Persian"
Notes
Sources
- [1]Lewis, Franklin D. Rumi: Past and Present, East and West. Oneworld, 2000.
- [2]Schimmel, Annemarie. The Triumphal Sun: A Study of the Works of Jalaloddin Rumi. SUNY Press, 1993.
- [3]Chittick, William C. The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi. SUNY Press, 1983.