Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi

(1207-1273)
 Jalal: majesty; Din: religion; Rumi: the Roman

 “For many years now, the most popular poet in

America has been a 13th-century mystical Muslim
scholar.” BBC 2007
 Afghanistan > Baghdad > Mecca > Damascus >
Konya in Turkey
Konya: A city of southwest-central Turkey south of
Ankara. Konya was a powerful Seljuk sultanate from
the 11th to the 13th century. Population: 742,000.
Genghis Khan's marauding Mongol invaders
 Arabic, law, history, the Qur'an, hadith, theology,
philosophy, mathematics and astronomy
 Until the age of about 35, Rumi lived a fairly
non-descript life.
 1244 Rumi met a travelling Sufi, called Shams (or
Shamsi Tabrizi) and the whole course of his life
changed.
 Disappearance of Shams and Rumi’s outpouring
of his soul through poetry
 In his travelogue, the medieval globetrotter Ibn
Battuta relates an anecdotal tale pertaining to the
Masnavi's composition. In his youth, Rumi served as
an instructor in a religious school. One day while he
was lecturing to his students, he noticed a
sweetmeats vendor pass by. After calling the man in
and sampling his wares, Rumi went off with him.
When his students subsequently tried to locate their
absent instructor, they discovered that he had
completely vanished from the neighborhood. Some
years later, Rumi reappeared, uttering nothing but
rhymed Persian couplets. His students redacted this
poetry into the Masnavi.
 Outwardly about Shams, but in fact his poems
describe his overpowering love of Allah.

 His student Husam Chulabi

 The Mevlevi Order, or Whirling Dervishes,

after his death

 2007 was designated the UNESCO Year of

Rumi.
 Diwan-e Shamsi Tabrizi (about 40,000 verses)

 Masnavi-e-manavi (25,000 verses, in six

books): 424 stories that illustrate man's
predicament in his search for God.

 Masnawi: Indeed, throughout the Perso-centric

Islamic world, the masnavi has been a
tremendously popular poetic form. It consists of
an indefinite number of couplets, with the rhyme
scheme aa/bb/cc, etc.
 “I am the servant of the Qur'an as long as I
have life. I am the dust on the path of
Muhammad, the Chosen one. If anyone
quotes anything except this from my
sayings, I am quit of him and outraged by
these words.” Rumi's Quatrain, No. 1173

 “… spiritual love between people and God,

not earthly love.”
 Madonna

 Separation of his poems on love from his

belief in God and Islam?
“Many translations of his work have become
mere love poems, and Rumi himself has
become known as a love poet. Love is an
overwhelming part of Rumi's work, but for
Rumi, this love was a higher love for God,
and not for humans.”
Professor Abdullah Rohen

 Many western fans of Rumi have secularised

his message. It was in fact a religious one;
and, says Prof Rohen, Christians and Jews as
well as Muslims flocked to his funeral.
 “Mawlana says - if the sky is not in love,
then it will not be so clear. If the sun is
not in love, then it will not be giving
any light. If the river is not in love, then
it will be in silence, it will not be
moving. If the mountains, the earth are
not in love, then there will be nothing
growing.”
 Mevlana Jalalludin Mohammad
(Rumi)(Balkhi)
 “Jalalludin Mohammad was born in Balkh - in the
north-eastern provinces of Persia (Iran), present
day Afghanistan. His father Baha'u-'d-Din decided
to leave Balkh. After a long travel, they eventually
settled at Konya. Mevlana's Work are in Persian,
so he is part of Persian Culture, not other
Cultures.”
http://www.mevlana-jalaluddin.com/2007/01/01/masnavie_manavi.html
 His message
 Morality is lost in the life of today’s man. Mevlana
is one of the few great men of literature and
meditation, who have invited people to live a
moral life in all of their works. What Mevlana said
800 years ago is still new to the man of the 21st
century. This is why his works are still being
translated to different languages.
 Works
 Masnavi-e Manavi (Spiritual Couplets)
 Diwan-e Shams-e Tabriz-i
 Fihi Ma Fih (In It What's in It)
 Majalis-i Sab'a (Seven Sessions)
 Robai’yat (the quatrains)
 Makateb (the written pieces)
 Death
 The poet passed away at the age of 68. Konya was all
in black. Even Christians and Jewish people of the
city mourned for him. Mawlana was buried beside
his father in Konya, Turkey. A tomb was built for the
great Sufi poet and remains a sacred site that is
visited by visitors from every part of the world.
Please read this article:
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/nov/05/
featuresreviews.guardianreview26
Islamic perspectives on “Love Poems”
“One I seek, One I know, One I see, One I call.”
Qur’anic reference: “Say, ‘He is God the One, God the eternal.
He begot no one nor was He begotten. No one is comparable
to Him.’” (Qur’an, 112:1-4)

“He is God: there is no god other than Him. It is He who

knows what is hidden as well as what is in the open, He is the
Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy. He is God: there is no god
other than Him, the Controller, the Holy One, Source of
Peace, Granter of Security, Guardian over all, the Almighty,
the Compeller, the Truly Great; God is far above anything
they consider to be His partner. He is God: the Creator, the
Originator, the Shaper. The best names belong to Him.
Everything in the heavens and earth glorifies Him: He is the
Almighty, the Wise.” (Qur’an, 59: 22-24)
“He is the first, He is the last, He is the
outward, He is the inward.”

“He is the First and the Last; the Outer and the Inner;
He has knowledge of all things” (Qur’an, 57: 3-4).
“When Thou art manifest, I am of the
faithful.”

“We have made you [believers] into a just community, so

that you may bear witness [to the truth] before others
and so that the Messenger may bear witness [to it]
before you…” (Qur’an, 2: 143)
“I am intoxicated with Love’s cup … carouse and revelry.”

“… those who have attained to faith love God more than all
else….” (Qur’an, 2: 165)

“Behold, God has bought of the believers their lives and their
possessions, promising them paradise in return,[and so] they
fight in God’s cause, and slay, and are slain: a promise which
in truth He has willed upon Himself in [the words of] the
Torah, and the Gospel, and the Qur’an. And who could be
more faithful to his covenant than God? Rejoice, then, in the
bargain which you have made with Him: for this, this is the
triumph supreme!” (Qur’an, 9: 111)
Love for Allah, and hate for Allah
We will sing this trilingual song in the class. Please
practice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRp4sbwlwjs
“Save what thou willest, what will have I?”
“If thou keep’st me that, that I am;
If thou would’st have me this, I am this.”

“Now whenever God and His Apostle have decided a

matter, it is not for a believing man or a believing
woman to claim freedom of choice insofar as they
themselves are concerned: for he who [thus] rebels
against God and His Apostle has already, most obviously,
gone astray.” (Qur’an, 33: 36)
“Thou mak’st grow out of me now a thorn and now a rose;
Now I smell roses and now pull thorns.”

“Who am I, what is my love and hate?”

Abu Umamah reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace

and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever loves for the
sake of Allah, hates for the sake of Allah, gives for the
sake of Allah, and withholds for the sake of Allah has
perfected the faith.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRp4sbwlwjs
“Thou wert first, and last thou shalt be;
Make my last better than my first.”

“He is the First and the Last; the Outer and the Inner;
He has knowledge of all things.” (57: 3)

“and the future will be better for you than the past.” (93:
4)

Ibn ‘Umar said the Messenger of Allah said: One whose

two days are equal is a loser …”
“Look now, here is a bargain: give one life and receive a
hundred.”

“You who believe, shall I show you a bargain that will save you from
painful torment? Have faith in God and His Messenger and
struggle for His cause with your possessions and your persons –
that is better for you, if only you knew.” (61: 10-12)

“God has purchased the persons and possessions of the believers

in return for the Garden– they fight in God’s way: they kill and are
killed– this is a true promise given by Him in the Torah, the Gospel,
and the Qur’an. Who could be more faithful to his promise than
God? So be happy with the bargain you have made: that is the
supreme triumph.” (9: 111)
“Cease to behave as wolves and dogs…”

“And most certainly have We destined for hell many of

jinn (the invisible beings) and humans who have hearts
with which they fail to grasp the truth, and eyes with
which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to
hear. They are like animals - nay, they are even less
conscious of the right way: it is they, they who are the
[truly] heedless!” (Qur’an, 7: 179)
“Care for the soul is better than feeling care for one’s
bread.”

“Prosperous are those who purify themselves.” (87: 14)

“The one who purifies his soul Succeeds.” (91: 9)

“Why, when God’s earth is so wide, have you fallen
asleep in a prison?”

“When the angels take the souls of those who have

wronged themselves, they ask them, ‘What
circumstances were you in?’ They reply, ‘We were
oppressed in this land,’ and the angels say, ‘But was God’s
earth not wide enough for you to migrate to some other
place?’ These people will have Hell as their refuge, an
evil destination.” (Qur’an, 4:97)
“Avoid entangled thoughts, that you may see the
explanation in Paradise.”

“And, behold, well do We know that among you are such

as will give the lie to it: yet, behold, this [rejection] will
indeed become a source of bitter regret for all who deny
the truth [of God's revelation] for, verily, it is truth
absolute! (Qur’an, 69: 49-51)

“Nay, in time you will come to understand! And once

again:2 Nay, in time you will come to understand!”
(Qur’an, 102: 3-4)
“Refrain from speaking, that you may win speech
hereafter.”

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Prophet said, “He who believes in Allah and in the
Last Day must speak good or remain silent.” [Muslim]
“Do not sit with the frigid, for you will be chilled by their
breath.”
“It is time that you should consort with a sympathetic
companion.”
The Prophet (SAAS) said: “The example of a good
companion (who sits with you) in comparison with a bad
one is like that of the musk seller and the blacksmith’s
bellows; from the first you would either buy musk or
enjoy its good smell while the bellows would either burn
your body or your clothes or you get a bad nasty smell
thereof.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
The Prophet said: “A person is upon the religion of his
close friend, so beware whom you befriend.” [Abu
Dawud & Tirmidhi]
“Joyful, and secure from foolish babble, thou and I.”

“There they will hear only peaceful talk, nothing bad; there
they will be given provision morning and evening. That is the
Garden We shall give as their own to those of Our servants
who were devout.” (19: 62-63)

“They will hear no idle or sinful talk there, only clean and
wholesome speech.” (56: 25-26)

“There they will hear no vain or lying talk: a reward from

your Lord, a fitting gift from the Lord of the heavens and
earth and everything between, the Lord of Mercy. They will
have no authority from Him to speak.” (78: 35-37)
“To Him we shall return.”

“We shall certainly test you with fear and hunger, and
loss of property, lives, and crops. But [O Prophet], give
good news to those who are steadfast, those who say,
when afflicted with a calamity, ‘We belong to God and to
Him we shall return.’ These will be given blessings and
mercy from their Lord, and it is they who are rightly
guided.” (2: 155-57)
“When the leaf grows yellow, the fresh root makes it
green.”

“Believers, respond to God and His Messenger when he

calls you to that which gives you life. Know that God
comes between a man and his heart, and that you will be
gathered to Him.” (8: 24)
“The Greek and the Chinese Artists, on the
Difference Between Theologians and Mystics”

“The Sufi, the Fakih, and the Sharif, and How Their
Solidarity Was Destroyed”

Sufi
“You dog! It is part of your Sufism that you hop into
my orchard in my despite? Did Junaid and
Bayazid show you this way? From which Shaikh
and Pir did you get this instruction?”
“My troubles are over!... What I have tasted
you will also have to taste; such a draught
as this is the recompense of every rotter.”

“O Sharif, pray go to the house. I have

baked some delicious wafers for
breakfast. Shout to Qaimaz from the door
to fetch the wafers – and the goose as
well.”
 Purification of soul
 “S/he is indeed successful who purifies their self
(character) and causes it to grow.” (Surah As-shams,
verse 9)

 “O Allah! Give my character taqwa and purify it!”

(hadith)
 Unity among Muslims
 And hold fast by the rope/covenant of Allah all together
and be not disunited, and remember the favor of Allah on
you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts so
by His favor you became brethren; and you were on the
brink of a pit of fire, then He saved you from it, thus does
Allah make clear to you His communications that you may
follow the right way. (Qur’an, 3:103)

 Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) says: "Stay with the group (of

righteous Muslims), for the wolf eats the sheep that strays
away from the herd." (Ahmad and Al-Tirmidhi)
 “Whoever prays like us and faces our Qibla and eats
our slaughtered animals is a Muslim and is under
Allah’s and His Apostle’s protection. So do not
betray Allah by betraying those who are in His
protection.”

 The similitude of believers in regard to mutual

love, affection, fellow-feeling is that of one body;
when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches,
because of sleeplessness and fever.

 http://www.onislam.net/english/reading-
islam/research-studies/islamic-thought/458385-
scriptural-knowledge-unity-and-dissention-.html
Right information about Muslims
“O you who have attained to faith! If any iniquitous
person comes to you with a piece of information, use
your discernment and investigate, lest you hurt people
unwittingly and afterwards be filled with remorse for
what you have done.” (Qur’an, 49: 6)