Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi
A page from a copy dated circa 1503 displays the intricate layout of the Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi. This collection contains more than 40,000 verses according to scholar Badi al-Zaman Foruzanfar. The work includes over 3,000 ghazals written in fifty-five different metres. Most poems follow the traditional form of a ghazal lyric poem used for themes of love and friendship. Poets often adopted poetic personas called takhallos which they invoked as pen names at the end of their works. Rumi signed off most of his own ghazals as either Khâmush or Shams-i Tabrizi. He found the traditional metrical constraints of ghazals to be constraining. In one ghazal he lamented that fitting his poems into the standard dum-ta-ta-dum metre was so dreadful it nearly killed him. His extemporaneous manner gave much of his poetry an ecstatic trance-like style. This approach differed significantly from the works of other professional Islamic poets.
In 1244 C.E. Rumi met a wandering Persian Sufi dervish named Shams-i Tabrizi in Konya. At this time Rumi worked as a jurist and spiritual counselor under the Seljuk Sultan of Rûm. Previously Rumi had no background in poetics before this encounter. Shams acted as a spiritual teacher who introduced Rumi to music sung poetry and dance through Sufi samas. The relationship between the two men developed quickly after their first meeting. Shams abruptly left Konya in 1246 C.E. only to return a year later. He vanished again in 1248 C.E. possibly having been murdered. During Shams initial separation from Rumi the poet wrote letters pleading for his return. These events set the stage for the creation of the Divan which would be collected after Rumi's death by his students.
A major portion of the Divan poems were written in the immediate aftermath of Shams second disappearance. Most of these verses probably date from around 1247 C.E. and continued until Rumi overcame his grief. Another seventy poems appeared after Rumi confirmed that Shams was dead. Rumi dedicated these specific poems to his friend Salah al-Din Zarkub who died in December 1258. Following Shams second disappearance Rumi returned to writing poetry lauding Shams and lamenting his loss. The collection contains many verses praising him and mourning his absence. Some creation dates remain unknown but the bulk of the work emerged during this period of intense emotional turmoil. The poems reflect a deep personal struggle rather than a didactic theological treatise.
By the sixteenth century editors organized the poems alphabetically by the last letter of each line. This method disregarded varying meters and topics yet remains standard in modern Iranian editions. Turkish editions instead follow the practice of the Mevlevi Order grouping poems by metre. The first printed copy appeared in Europe in 1838 by Vincenz von Rosenzweig-Schwannau. He published seventy-five poems of dubious authenticity. Reynold A. Nicholson produced a more selective text containing fifty ghazals. Badi al-Zaman Foruzanfar later determined several of Nicholson's selections to be inauthentic. In 1957 Foruzanfar published a critical edition based on manuscripts written within a hundred years of Rumi's death. His version is now considered the authoritative source for scholars studying the original Persian texts.
Rokus de Groot argues that Rumi rejects longing in favor of divine unity or tawhid. De Groot considers this concept to originate in the Shahada declaration that there is no other god save God. According to his view those drunk with love are double whereas those drunk with god are united as one. Rumi signed about a third of the Divan under Shams-i Tabrizi's name to repudiate longing. Mostafa Vaziri offers a contrasting non-Islamic interpretation of the work. Vaziri posits that Rumi references to love compose a separate Mazhab-e Ishq or Religion of Love. This perspective views the notion of love as universalist rather than uniquely Islamic. Vaziri suggests these references refer not to the person of Shams but to an all-encompassing universality of love-reality.
American Transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman were acquainted with the Divan. They drew inspiration from its philosophical mysticism during the nineteenth century. Many late Victorian and Georgian poets in England also knew Rumi through Nicholson's translation. Prominent interpreter Coleman Barks used selections from Nevit Ergin's translation for his own reinterpretations. His approach generated controversy regarding accuracy and authenticity within academic circles. Publication of a twenty-volume English translation by Jeffrey R. Osborne was completed in 2020. The work has influenced numerous writers across different cultures and time periods. Its legacy continues to shape modern understandings of Sufi poetry and spiritual expression.
Common questions
What is the Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi?
The Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi is a large collection of poems by Rumi containing more than 40,000 verses. This work includes over 3,000 ghazals written in fifty-five different metres and follows the traditional form of a ghazal lyric poem used for themes of love and friendship.
When did Rumi meet Shams-i Tabrizi to create the Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi?
Rumi met the wandering Persian Sufi dervish named Shams-i Tabrizi in Konya in 1244 C.E. At this time Rumi worked as a jurist and spiritual counselor under the Seljuk Sultan of Rûm before he began writing poetry inspired by their relationship.
Who wrote the authoritative edition of the Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi published in 1957?
Badi al-Zaman Foruzanfar published an authoritative critical edition of the Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi in 1957 based on manuscripts written within a hundred years of Rumi's death. His version is now considered the standard source for scholars studying the original Persian texts.
Why does Rumi sign some poems in the Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi as Shams-i Tabrizi?
Rumi signed about a third of the Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi under Shams-i Tabrizi's name to repudiate longing and achieve divine unity or tawhid. He also used pen names such as Khâmush or Shams-i Tabrizi at the end of his works to adopt poetic personas.
When was the first printed copy of the Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi published in Europe?
The first printed copy appeared in Europe in 1838 by Vincenz von Rosenzweig-Schwannau who published seventy-five poems of dubious authenticity. A more selective text containing fifty ghazals was later produced by Reynold A. Nicholson before Badi al-Zaman Foruzanfar established the modern scholarly standard.