Rumi, known in Iran and Central Asia as Mowlana Jalaloddin Balkhi, was born in 1207 in the
province of Balkh, now the border region between Afghanistan and ...
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Rumi, known in Iran and Central Asia as Mowlana Jalaloddin Balkhi, was born in 1207 in the
province of Balkh, now the border region between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. His family emigrated when
he was still a child, shortly before Genghis Khan and his Mongol army arrived in Balkh. They settled
permanently in Konya, central Anatolia, which was formerly part of the Eastern Roman Empire (Rum). Rumi
was probably introduced to Sufism originally through his father, Baha Valad, a popular preacher who also
taught Sufi piety to a group of disciples. However, the turning-point in Rumi’s life came in 1244, when
he met in Konya a mysterious wandering Sufi called Shamsoddin of Tabriz. Shams, as he is most often
referred to by Rumi, taught him the profoundest levels of Sufism, transforming him from a pious
religious scholar to an ecstatic mystic. Rumi expressed his new vision of reality in volumes of mystical
poetry. His enormous collection of lyrical poetry is considered one of the best that has ever been
produced, while his poem in rhyming couplets, the
Masnavi, is so revered as the most
consummate expression of Sufi mysticism that it is commonly referred to as ‘the Qur’an in Persian’.When Rumi died, on 17 December 1273, shortly after having completed his work on the
Masnavi, his passing was deeply mourned by the citizens of Konya, including the
Christian and Jewish communities. His disciples formed the Mevlevi Sufi order, which was named after
Rumi, whom they referred to as ‘Our Lord’ (Turkish ‘Mevlana’, Persian ‘Mowlana’). They are better known
in Europe and North America as the Whirling Dervishes, because of the distinctive dance that they now
perform as one of their central rituals. Rumi’s death is commemorated annually in Konya, attracting
pilgrims from all corners of the globe and every religion. The popularity of his poetry has risen so
much in recent decades that the
Christian Science Monitor identified Rumi as the most
published poet in America in 1997.
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