Rumi
Who was Rumi?
Iranian poet
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Rumi (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, known simply as Rumi, was born on September 30, 1207, in Vakhsh, in present-day Tajikistan. His family originated from Balkh in Afghanistan, where his father Bahā ud-Dīn Walad served as a prominent Islamic scholar and mystic. The advancing Mongol invasions under Genghis Khan forced the family to flee westward when Rumi was still a child, beginning a period of migration that would take them through various cities including Nishapur, Baghdad, Damascus, and Erzurum before finally settling in Konya in 1228.
In Konya, then part of the Sultanate of Rum (hence his epithet 'Rumi' meaning 'Roman'), Rumi initially followed his father's path as an Islamic jurist and scholar. He married Gawhar Khatun and established himself as a respected teacher and preacher. His life took a transformative turn in 1244 when he encountered Shams-e Tabrizi, a wandering Sufi mystic. Their intense spiritual friendship profoundly altered Rumi's understanding of divine love and mystical experience, leading him to abandon his conventional scholarly pursuits in favor of Sufi practices.
The mysterious disappearance of Shams in 1248 plunged Rumi into profound grief, which catalyzed his emergence as one of history's greatest mystical poets. During this period, he composed the Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi, a collection of lyrical poems expressing his spiritual longing and divine love. His masterwork, the Masnavi, consists of six books containing approximately 25,000 verses that explore themes of spiritual evolution, divine love, and the soul's journey toward God. This epic poem earned recognition as the 'Quran in Persian' and became one of the most influential works in Islamic literature.
Rumi founded the Mevlevi Order, known in the West as the 'Whirling Dervishes' for their distinctive rotating meditation practice called sema. He continued teaching, writing, and guiding disciples until his death on December 17, 1273, in Konya, where his tomb became a site of pilgrimage. His other significant works include Fihi Ma Fihi (a collection of discourses), Seven Sessions (lectures), and Maktubat (letters), all of which contributed to his reputation as both a profound mystic and accomplished literary figure.
Before Fame
Rumi's early years were marked by displacement and scholarly training. Born into a family of Islamic scholars in Vakhsh, he experienced the upheaval of Mongol invasions that forced his family into a prolonged migration across the Islamic world. His father Bahā ud-Dīn Walad was already an established religious authority, providing Rumi with access to the highest levels of Islamic scholarship from childhood.
After settling in Konya at age 19, Rumi spent over two decades establishing himself as a conventional Islamic scholar and jurist. He inherited his father's position as head of a religious school and built a reputation as an orthodox teacher and preacher. This period of traditional scholarship provided him with the theological foundation that would later inform his mystical poetry, though his transformation into a Sufi mystic would not occur until his encounter with Shams-e Tabrizi in his late thirties.
Key Achievements
- Composed the Masnavi, a six-volume epic poem of 25,000 verses considered the greatest work of Persian mystical literature
- Founded the Mevlevi Order of Sufi dervishes, establishing the whirling meditation practice that continues today
- Created the Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi, containing over 40,000 verses of lyrical poetry expressing divine love
- Developed a unique synthesis of Islamic theology, Persian literary tradition, and Sufi mysticism
- Established Konya as a major center of Sufi learning and practice that attracted disciples from across the Islamic world
Did You Know?
- 01.Rumi's name derives from his residence in the former Eastern Roman territories, as 'Rumi' literally means 'Roman' in Arabic and Persian
- 02.His friendship with Shams-e Tabrizi was so intense that Rumi's disciples became jealous and possibly murdered Shams, leading to his mysterious disappearance
- 03.The Mevlevi whirling ceremony represents the soul's spiritual ascent through love, with the right hand pointing to heaven and left hand pointing to earth
- 04.Rumi wrote most of his poetry while in states of spiritual ecstasy, often dictating verses to scribes while performing his whirling meditation
- 05.His tomb in Konya displays the inscription 'When we are dead, seek not our tomb in the earth, but find it in the hearts of men'