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Rumi: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Rumi
Jalal al-Din Rumi was born on the 30th of September 1207 in a village called Wakhsh, located on the east bank of the Vakhsh River in what is now Tajikistan. His father, Bahauddin Walad, was a renowned theologian and mystic who had traveled from Balkh, a major center of Persian culture, to escape the encroaching Mongol hordes. The family's journey westward was not merely a relocation but a desperate flight from destruction, forcing them to traverse cities across Iran, Baghdad, and Damascus before finally settling in Konya, Anatolia. This region, once part of the Eastern Roman Empire, was known to Arabs, Persians, and Turks as Rum, giving the young boy his enduring name, Rumi, meaning the Roman. The cultural landscape of his childhood was a tapestry of Persian, Turkish, and Greek influences, yet the shadow of the Mongol invasion loomed large, dictating the trajectory of his early life and the eventual displacement of his family. By the time he was five years old, the family had moved to Samarkand, leaving behind his grandmother, who lived to the 1200s, and continuing their migration through a world in turmoil. The story of Rumi begins not in the quiet of a library, but in the chaos of a refugee caravan, where a young boy's destiny was inextricably linked to the survival of his family and the preservation of their spiritual heritage.
The Scholar And The Stranger
For the first twenty-five years of his life, Rumi was groomed to follow in his father's footsteps as an Islamic scholar, a role that demanded adherence to the Shariah and the study of jurisprudence. He inherited his father's position as the head of a madrassa in Konya, where he issued fatwas and delivered sermons, becoming a respected figure in the religious community. His public life was defined by the rigid structures of Islamic law and the expectations of a society that revered his lineage and learning. However, the course of his life was irrevocably altered on the 15th of November 1244, when he met a wandering dervish named Shams Tabrizi. Shams, who had traveled the Middle East searching for someone to endure his company, arrived in Konya with a singular purpose: to find a soul that could match his own. The meeting between the established scholar and the mysterious stranger was immediate and intense, transforming Rumi from a conventional religious authority into an ascetic seeker of divine love. Shams challenged Rumi's scholarly complacency, urging him to look beyond the texts and into the heart of spiritual experience. Their bond was so profound that Rumi neglected his duties as a teacher and jurist, becoming infatuated with the stranger who had come to disrupt his orderly world. This relationship was the catalyst for a spiritual awakening that would redefine the very nature of his existence and set the stage for his greatest poetic works.
Common questions
Where was Jalal al-Din Rumi born and when?
Jalal al-Din Rumi was born on the 30th of September 1207 in a village called Wakhsh, located on the east bank of the Vakhsh River in what is now Tajikistan. His family traveled westward to escape the encroaching Mongol hordes before settling in Konya, Anatolia.
Who was Shams Tabrizi and when did he disappear from Rumi's life?
Shams Tabrizi was a wandering dervish who met Rumi on the 15th of November 1244 and transformed him from a conventional religious authority into an ascetic seeker of divine love. Shams Tabrizi disappeared from Rumi's life on the night of the 5th of December 1248, never to be seen again.
What is the Masnavi and how many lines does it contain?
The Masnavi is a six-volume masterpiece often referred to as the Quran in Persian that Rumi dictated to his scribe Hussam-e Chalabi over the next twelve years. The work contains approximately 27,000 lines and combines the Canon Law of Islam with the Sufi Path and the Divine Reality.
When did the Mevlevi Order form and when was it banned in Turkey?
The Mevlevi Order, also known as the Order of the Whirling Dervishes, was founded in 1273 by Rumi's followers after his death. The order's ceremonies were banned in 1925 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who closed all dervish lodges and prohibited the use of mystical names and costumes.
When did Jalal al-Din Rumi die and where is he buried?
Rumi died on the 17th of December 1273 in Konya and was interred beside his father. A splendid shrine known as the Green Tomb was erected over his place of burial, sponsored by the Georgian princess and Seljuq queen Tamar Gurju Khatun.
On the night of the 5th of December 1248, Shams Tabrizi disappeared from Rumi's life, never to be seen again. The circumstances of his disappearance remain shrouded in mystery, with theories ranging from his murder by Rumi's own son to his voluntary departure to continue his spiritual journey. For more than a month, Rumi refused to believe the rumors of Shams's death, waiting in vain for his return. When the reality of the loss finally set in, Rumi entered a period of intense grief that manifested in an outpouring of lyric poems known as the Divan of Shams Tabrizi. This collection, containing approximately 35,000 Persian couplets and 2,000 quatrains, became the vessel for his sorrow and his longing, transforming his personal pain into a universal expression of love and loss. Rumi himself went searching for Shams, traveling to Damascus in a futile attempt to find him, only to realize that Shams was not a person to be found but a state of being to be realized. The grief of this separation became the defining moment in the evolution of Rumi's spiritual worldview, marking the beginning of his prolific poetic output. The Divan of Shams Tabrizi stands as a testament to the power of love and the transformative nature of loss, capturing the essence of a man who had been stripped of his greatest companion and forced to find the divine within himself.
The Book Of The Soul
In the years following Shams's disappearance, Rumi found a new companion in Hussam-e Chalabi, his scribe and favorite student. One day, while wandering through the Meram vineyards outside Konya, Hussam suggested that Rumi write a book that would serve as a companion to troubadours, filling their hearts with wisdom and inspiring music. Rumi smiled and produced the opening eighteen lines of what would become the Masnavi, a six-volume masterpiece often referred to as the Quran in Persian. Over the next twelve years, Rumi dictated the Masnavi to Hussam, weaving together fables, scenes from everyday life, Qur'anic revelations, and metaphysics into a vast and intricate tapestry of approximately 27,000 lines. The Masnavi, with its internal rhyme and unique meter, became one of the greatest poems in the Persian language, influencing literary traditions across the Ottoman Turkish, Chagatai, Pashto, Kurdish, Urdu, and Bengali languages. It is a work that combines the Canon Law of Islam with the Sufi Path and the Divine Reality, offering a commentary on the Qur'an's occult mystery and a clarification of prophetic utterances. The Masnavi remains a crowning glory of classical Persian literature, a testament to Rumi's ability to translate the ineffable into words that resonate across centuries and cultures.
The Dance Of The Dervishes
Rumi's teachings extended beyond the written word into the realm of music, poetry, and dance, forming the foundation of the Mevlevi Order, also known as the Order of the Whirling Dervishes. He believed passionately in the use of music and dance as a path to reach God, with the ney, or reed flute, being his favorite instrument. The practice of Sama, or the sacred dance, was developed from his ideas, representing a mystical journey of spiritual ascent through mind and love to the Perfect One. In this ritual, the seeker symbolically turns towards the truth, grows through love, abandons the ego, and finds the truth before returning to the world to serve all of creation without discrimination. The Mevlevi Order, founded in 1273 by Rumi's followers after his death, became a well-established Sufi order in the Ottoman Empire, with centers in Konya and Istanbul. The order's ceremonies were banned in 1925 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who closed all dervish lodges and prohibited the use of mystical names and costumes, but the tradition was revived in the 1950s and is now recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The whirling dervishes continue to perform the Sama ceremony, a living testament to Rumi's vision of unity and love that transcends religious and cultural boundaries.
The Death And The Legacy
Rumi died on the 17th of December 1273 in Konya, predicting his own death and composing a well-known ghazal that begins with the verse, I am the servant of the Qur'an as long as I have life. His death was mourned by the diverse community of Konya, with local Christians and Jews joining the crowd that converged to bid farewell as his body was carried through the city. He was interred beside his father, and a splendid shrine, the Green Tomb, was erected over his place of burial, sponsored by the Georgian princess and Seljuq queen Tamar Gurju Khatun. The shrine, now known as the Mevlana Museum, remains a destination of pilgrimage to this day, visited by adherents of every major religion. Rumi's legacy has transcended national borders and ethnic divisions, influencing the literary traditions of the Ottoman Turkish, Chagatai, Pashto, Kurdish, Urdu, and Bengali languages. His poetry has been translated into many of the world's languages, including Russian, German, Urdu, Turkish, Arabic, Bengali, French, Italian, Spanish, Telugu, and Kannada, and is being presented in a growing number of formats, including concerts, workshops, readings, and dance performances. The English interpretations of Rumi's poetry by Coleman Barks have sold more than half a million copies worldwide, making him one of the most widely read poets in the United States and the best-selling poet in recent years. The 800th anniversary of his birth was celebrated in 2007 by UNESCO, with events in Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan, highlighting the enduring relevance of his message of love and unity.