Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, commonly known as Rumi (September 30, 1207 – December 17, 1273), was a Sufi mystic, poet, and founder of the Islamic brotherhood called the Mevlevi Order. His family came from Balkh. Rumi is an important figure in Sufism, and his ideas and writings have had a major influence on Persian literature and mystical poetry. Today, his works are read and appreciated worldwide.

The fast-moving Mongol armies forced his family to leave their home and move west when he was young. After living in many cities across Iran, Baghdad, and Damascus, he moved to Konya with his family at age 19. Until recently, Konya was part of the Eastern Roman Empire, which is why he was called Rumi, meaning "the Roman." Although he was introduced to Sufi ideas as a child, he was expected to follow his father’s path as an Islamic scholar.

Later, the arrival of a mysterious wandering dervish named Shams Tabrīzī changed Rumi’s life forever. Rumi and Shams became deeply interested in each other, causing Rumi to neglect his duties. When Shams suddenly disappeared, Rumi experienced deep sorrow, which is shown in his work Divan of Shams Tabrīzī. This event marked a major turning point in Rumi’s spiritual journey and began his career as a poet.

His Masnavi, often called a "Qur'an in Persian," is considered one of the greatest poems in the Persian language. Many Muslims, especially in regions influenced by Turkish and Persian cultures, regard the Masnavi as one of the most important works of Islamic literature, second only to the Quran.

Today, Rumi’s writings are widely read in his homeland of Greater Iran and in Turkey, where the Sufi brotherhood he founded is based. His poems have been translated into many languages, and Rumi has been described as the "world's most popular poet." In the United States, he is the best-selling poet in recent years.

Name

Rumi is most often referred to as Rumi in English. His full name, as recorded by his contemporary Faridun bin Ahmad Sipahsalar, is Muhammad bin Muhammad bin al-Husayn al-Khatibi al-Balkhi al-Bakri (Arabic: محمد بن محمد بن الحسين الخطيبي البلخي البكري). He is more widely known as Mawlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (Arabic: مولانا جلال‌الدین محمد رومی). The name Jalal ad-Din means "Glory of the Faith" in Arabic. The terms Balkhī and Rūmī are his nisbas, which indicate his origins: "from Balkh" and "from Rûm," as he was born in the Sultanate of Rûm in Anatolia.

According to Franklin Lewis, an expert on Rumi from the University of Chicago, the Anatolian peninsula was once part of the Byzantine, or Eastern Roman, Empire. It was only recently conquered by Muslims. Even after Muslim Turkish rulers controlled the region, it was still called "Rum" by Arabs, Persians, and Turks. This name comes from Persian and refers to the area historically associated with the Byzantine Empire or Anatolia itself. Rumi was also known as "Mullah of Rum" (Arabic: ملای روم or ملای رومی).

Rumi is widely known by the title Mawlānā (Persian: مولانا) in Iran and as Mevlânâ in Turkey. The word Mawlānā means "our master" in Arabic. Other terms used for him include Mawlawī (Persian) and Mevlevi (Turkish), both of which also mean "my master" in Arabic.

Life

Rumi was born to Persian parents in Wakhsh, a village on the east bank of the Wakhsh River, known as Sangtuda in present-day Tajikistan. This area was close to Balkh, where Rumi’s father, Bahâ' uddîn Walad, was a preacher and jurist. He lived and worked there until 1212, when Rumi was about five years old, and the family moved to Samarkand.

At that time, Greater Balkh was a major center of Persian culture and Sufism. The most important influences on Rumi, besides his father, were the Persian poets Attar and Sanai. Rumi expressed his admiration for them in poems, such as: “Attar was the spirit, Sanai his eyes twain, And in time thereafter, Came we in their train.” His father was also connected to the spiritual lineage of Najm al-Din Kubra.

Rumi lived most of his life under the Persianate Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, where he created his works and died in 1273 AD. He was buried in Konya, and his shrine became a place of pilgrimage. After his death, his followers and his son, Sultan Walad, founded the Mevlevi Order, also known as the Order of the Whirling Dervishes, famous for the Sufi dance called the Sama ceremony. He was buried beside his father, and a shrine was built over his remains. A hagiographical account of Rumi is described in Shams ud-Din Ahmad Aflāki’s Manāqib ul-Ārifīn (written between 1318 and 1353). This biography includes both legends and facts about Rumi. For example, Professor Franklin Lewis of the University of Chicago, who wrote the most complete biography on Rumi, separates the hagiographical details from the actual historical facts.

Rumi’s father, Bahā ud-Dīn Walad, was a theologian, jurist, and mystic from Wakhsh. He was also known by Rumi’s followers as Sultan al-Ulama or “Sultan of the Scholars.” According to Sultan Walad’s Ibadetname and Shamsuddin Aflaki (c. 1286–1291), Rumi was a descendant of Abu Bakr. However, some modern scholars reject this claim, stating it lacks historical evidence. The claim that Rumi or his father had maternal descent from the Khwarazmshah is also considered a non-historical tradition designed to connect the family with royalty, but this is rejected for chronological and historical reasons. The most complete genealogy of the family traces back to six or seven generations of famous Hanafi jurists.

The name of Baha al-Din’s mother is not recorded in the sources, though he referred to her as “Māmi” (a colloquial Persian term for “Mama”). She was a simple woman who lived into the 1200s. Rumi’s mother was Mu'mina Khātūn. For several generations, the family worked as Islamic preachers in the relatively liberal Hanafi Maturidi school. This tradition continued with Rumi (as seen in Fihi Ma Fih and Seven Sermons) and Sultan Walad (as seen in Ma'rif Waladi).

When the Mongols invaded Central Asia between 1215 and 1220, Baha ud-Din Walad, with his family and disciples, traveled westward. According to a hagiographical account (not universally accepted by scholars), Rumi met Attar, a famous mystic poet, in Nishapur, located in the province of Khorāsān. Attar recognized Rumi’s spiritual potential and gave him a book called Asrārnāma, which discusses the soul’s struggle with the material world. This meeting deeply influenced the eighteen-year-old Rumi and inspired his later works.

From Nishapur, Walad and his group traveled to Baghdad, meeting scholars and Sufis there. They then went to Hejaz, performed the pilgrimage at Mecca, and continued through Damascus, Malatya, Erzincan, Sivas, Kayseri, and Nigde. They settled in Karaman for seven years, where Rumi’s mother and brother died. In 1225, Rumi married Gowhar Khatun in Karaman. They had two sons: Sultan Walad and Ala-eddin Chalabi. After his wife’s death, Rumi married again and had another son, Amir Alim Chalabi, and a daughter, Malakeh Khatun.

On 1 May 1228, likely due to the invitation of 'Alā' ud-Dīn Key-Qobād, ruler of Anatolia, Baha' ud-Din moved to Konya in Anatolia, within the westernmost territories of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm.

Baha' ud-Din became the head of a madrassa (religious school). When he died, Rumi, aged twenty-five, inherited his position as an Islamic molvi. One of Baha' ud-Din’s students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued training Rumi in the Shariah (Islamic law) and Tariqa (Sufi spiritual path), especially the teachings of his father. For nine years, Rumi practiced Sufism under Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi then began his public life as an Islamic jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in Konya’s mosques. He also taught at the madrassa.

During this time, Rumi traveled to Damascus and spent four years there.

Rumi’s life changed completely when he met the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244. From a respected teacher and jurist, Rumi became an ascetic. Sufi mysticism emphasizes the master-disciple relationship, where a disciple studies under a master to reach fana, the highest level of spiritual development in Sufism.

Shams had traveled across the Middle East searching for someone who could “endure my company.” A voice asked him, “What will you give in return?” Shams replied, “My head!” The voice then said, “The one you seek is Jalal ud-Din of Konya.”

On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door and left, never to be seen again. Many theories exist about his disappearance, including that Rumi’s youngest son killed him, that he was killed for blasphemy, or that Shams, a known wanderer, simply chose to leave.

For over a month, Rumi refused to believe the rumors of Shams’s death and waited for his return. After forty days, Rumi accepted Shams was dead and began wearing black to mourn him. Rumi’s grief and love for Shams inspired a flood of lyric poems, collected in Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. Rumi searched for Shams and returned to Damascus, where he realized:

Mewlana had been writing ghazals (Persian poems), which were later collected in the Divan-i Kabir or Diwan Shams Tabrizi.

Teachings

Rumi was a Persian poet and teacher who shared messages about love and spirituality. His teachings include a message from a Quran verse that Shams-e Tabrizi said shows the main idea of guidance from prophets: "Know that ‘There is no god but He,’ and ask forgiveness for your sin" (Q. 47:19).

According to Shams-e Tabrizi’s explanation, the first part of this verse tells people to learn about tawhid, which means the belief in one God. The second part teaches people to forget their own importance. Rumi believed that tawhid is best lived through love. He wrote that love is "that flame which, when it blazes up, burns away everything except the Everlasting Beloved."

Rumi’s desire to reach this ideal is shown in a poem from his book The Masnavi:

"From the state of a mineral, I died and became a plant. From the state of a plant, I died and became an animal. From the state of an animal, I died and became a human. What should I fear? I have never become less by dying. At the next step, I will die to human nature so I can rise among the angels. I must also leave the state of an angel, for everything perishes except His Face. Again, I will become like nothing, and then I will return to Him."

The Masnavi combines stories, scenes from daily life, Quran verses, and spiritual ideas into a detailed and complex work.

Rumi believed music, poetry, and dance could help people connect with God. He thought music helped people focus completely on the divine, leading to a deep spiritual change. From these ideas, the practice of whirling Dervishes, who spin in a ritual dance, developed. Rumi’s teachings formed the basis of the Mevlevi order, created by his son, Sultan Walad. Rumi encouraged Sama, which means listening to music and dancing. In the Mevlevi tradition, Sama represents a journey to spiritual growth through love and understanding. This journey leads the seeker to find truth, let go of selfishness, and return with wisdom to love and serve all people, without discrimination based on beliefs, races, or backgrounds.

In other parts of The Masnavi, Rumi explains love as a universal message. His favorite instrument was the ney, a reed flute.

Major works

Rumi's poetry is divided into several categories: the quatrains (rubayāt) and odes (ghazal) found in the Divan, and the six books of the Masnavi. His prose works include The Discourses, The Letters, and the Seven Sermons.

• Rumi's most famous work is the Masnavi (Spiritual Couplets; مثنوی معنوی). This six-volume poem holds an important role in Persian Sufi literature and is often called "the Quran in Persian." Many scholars consider it the greatest mystical poem in world literature. It contains about 27,000 lines, each made of a couplet with an internal rhyme. While the mathnawi style of poetry uses many different rhythms, Rumi's choice of rhythm became the most common for this style. The first recorded use of this rhythm in a mathnawi poem happened at the Nizari Ismaili fortress of Girdkuh between 1131 and 1139. This likely influenced later poets like Attar and Rumi.

• Another major work by Rumi is the Dīwān-e Kabīr (Great Work) or Dīwān-e Shams-e Tabrīzī (The Works of Shams of Tabriz; دیوان شمس تبریزی), named after Rumi's teacher, Shams. It includes about 35,000 Persian couplets, 2,000 Persian quatrains, 90 ghazals, and 19 quatrains in Arabic. It also contains a few dozen couplets in Turkish (mostly mixed Persian and Turkish poems) and 14 couplets in Greek (found in three mixed Greek-Persian poems).

• Fihi Ma Fihi (It is What It Is; Persian: فیه ما فیه) is a collection of seventy-one talks and lectures Rumi gave to his followers. These were recorded by his disciples, so Rumi did not write the work himself. An English translation, titled Discourses of Rumi, was first published by A.J. Arberry in 1972. A second book was translated by Wheeler Thackston as Sign of the Unseen in 1994. The style of Fihi Ma Fihi is simple and intended for middle-class men and women, with less use of complex wordplay.

• Majāles-e Sab'a (Seven Sessions; Persian: مجالس سبعه) includes seven Persian sermons or lectures given during seven different gatherings. These sermons explain deeper meanings of the Quran and Hadith and include quotes from poems by Sana'i, Attar, and others, including Rumi. After Shams-e Tabrīzī, Rumi gave sermons at the request of important figures, such as Salāh al-Dīn Zarkūb. The Persian used in these sermons is simple, but the inclusion of Arabic quotes and references to Islamic history and Hadith shows Rumi's knowledge of Islamic teachings. His style matches the way Sufi teachers and spiritual leaders usually speak.

• Makatib (The Letters; Persian: مکاتیب) or Maktubat (مکتوبات) is a collection of letters Rumi wrote in Persian to his followers, family members, and influential people. These letters show that Rumi was very active in helping his family and managing a growing community of followers. Unlike the simpler style of the previous works (which were lectures and sermons), the letters use a more formal and structured style, fitting for writing to nobles, leaders, and kings.

Religious outlook

Rumi clearly believes Islam is the best religion. As a Muslim, he praises the Quran, not only as the holy book of Muslims but also as a tool that helps people tell what is true from what is false. The Quran is described as a guide for all people who want to understand the world and its true nature.

According to Rumi, the prophets of Islam are the highest examples of spiritual growth and are closest to God. In his writings, Muhammad is shown as the most perfect example of all the prophets who came before him.

Even though Rumi strongly supports Islam, his work also includes ideas that show respect for other religions. He believes that while religions may have differences in their teachings, the core message of all religions is the same. Rumi criticizes Christianity for making the image of God too complicated with extra rules. However, he also says, "The lamps are different, but the Light is the same; it comes from beyond." Shibli Nomani, in his book Sawanih Maulana Rum, explains that Rumi should be seen not only as a mystical poet but also as a serious theologian.

Rumi’s spiritual vision went beyond small religious disagreements. In one poem, he writes:

"On the seeker's path, the wise and the crazed are one. In the way of love, kin and strangers are one. The one who was given the wine of union with the beloved, in his path, the Kaaba and the house of idols are one."

The Quran describes Muhammad as a mercy sent by God. Rumi agrees with this, saying:

Rumi also states that Islam is the most important religion by saying:

Many of Rumi’s poems show the importance of following religious practices and the central role of the Quran.

On the first page of the Masnavi, Rumi writes:

Hadi Sabzavari, an important 19th-century Iranian philosopher, connects the Masnavi to Islam in the introduction to his book about it:

Seyyed Hossein Nasr says:

Rumi writes in his Dīwān:

Language

Rumi wrote his works in Persian, which was his native language. He sometimes used words from Arabic, Turkish, and Greek in his poetry. Over the past 700 years, people from many different countries and backgrounds, including Iranians, Afghans, Tajiks, Turks, Kurds, Greeks, Central Asian Muslims, and Muslims from the Indian subcontinent, have valued Rumi’s spiritual teachings. His poetry not only influenced Persian literature but also shaped the writing styles of Ottoman Turkish, Chagatai, Pashto, Kurdish, Urdu, and Bengali.

Legacy

Rumi's writings have been translated into many languages, including Russian, German, Urdu, Turkish, Arabic, Bengali, French, Italian, Spanish, Telugu, and Kannada. His work is now available in many different forms, such as concerts, workshops, readings, dance performances, and other artistic creations. The English versions of Rumi's poetry by Coleman Barks have sold over 500,000 copies worldwide. Rumi is one of the most widely read poets in the United States. There is a famous landmark in Northern India called Rumi Gate, located in Lucknow (the capital of Uttar Pradesh). It is named after Rumi. An Indian filmmaker named Muzaffar Ali, who is from Lucknow, made a documentary titled Rumi in the Land of Khusrau (2001). The film includes concerts based on Rumi's and Amir Khusrau's works and shows similarities between their lives.

Cultural, historical, and linguistic connections between Rumi and Iran have made him an important Iranian poet. Many respected Rumi scholars, such as Foruzanfar, Naini, and Sabzewari, are from modern Iran. Rumi's poetry is displayed on walls in many cities across Iran, sung in Persian music, and included in school books.

Rumi's poetry is the foundation of much classical Iranian and Afghan music. Modern classical interpretations of his work are performed by musicians like Muhammad Reza Shajarian, Shahram Nazeri, Davood Azad (from Iran), and Ustad Mohammad Hashem Cheshti (from Afghanistan).

The Mewlewī Sufi order was founded in 1273 by Rumi's followers after his death. Rumi's first possible successor was Salah-eddin Zarkoub, who served him for a decade and was respected by Rumi. Although Zarkoub was illiterate and made some mistakes in his speech, Rumi used some of these incorrect words in his poems to show his support and humility. Zarkoub died before Rumi, so Rumi's first successor was Husam Chalabi. After Chalabi's death in 1284, Rumi's younger and only surviving son, Sultan Walad (died 1312), became the grand master of the order. Sultan Walad is also known as the author of the mystical Maṭnawī Rabābnāma, or The Book of the Rabab. Since then, leadership of the order has remained within Rumi's family in Konya without interruption. The Mewlewī Sufis, also called Whirling Dervishes, perform their dhikr (spiritual practice) through a ceremony called Sama. During Rumi's time, his followers gathered for musical and turning practices, as recorded in Manāqib ul-Ārefīn by Aflākī.

According to tradition, Rumi was a skilled musician who played the robāb, though his favorite instrument was the ney or reed flute. The music during samāʿ (ceremony) includes settings of poems from Maṭnawī and Dīwān-e Kabīr, or poems by Sultan Walad. The Mawlawīyah was a well-known Sufi order in the Ottoman Empire, and many members held official positions in the Caliphate. The center of the Mevlevi order was in Konya. There is also a Mewlewī monastery (dargāh) in Istanbul near the Galata Tower, where samāʿ is performed and open to the public. The Mewlewī order invites people of all backgrounds with these words:

"Come, come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, idolater, worshiper of fire,
Come even if you have broken your vows a thousand times,
Come, and come yet again.
Ours is not a caravan of despair."

During the Ottoman Empire, the Mevlevi order produced many notable poets and musicians, including Sheikh Ghalib, Ismail Rusuhi Dede of Ankara, Esrar Dede, Halet Efendi, and Gavsi Dede. These individuals are buried at the Galata Mewlewī Khāna (Mevlevi-Hane) in Istanbul. Music, especially the ney, plays a key role in the Mevlevi tradition.

When the modern, secular Republic of Turkey was established, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk removed religion from public policy and limited it to personal matters. On December 13, 1925, a law was passed to close all tekkes (dervish lodges) and zāwiyas (main dervish lodges), ending Sufi Orders and banning their ceremonies, titles, and costumes. The law also punished those who tried to revive the orders. In 1927, the Mausoleum of Mevlâna in Konya was allowed to reopen as a museum.

In the 1950s, the Turkish government permitted the Whirling Dervishes to perform once a year in Konya. The Mewlānā festival, held over two weeks in December, ends on December 17, the anniversary of Rumi's death, called Šab-e Arūs ("nuptial night"). In 1974, the Whirling Dervishes were allowed to travel to the West for the first time. In 2005, UNESCO declared "The Mevlevi Sama Ceremony" a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Rumi and his mausoleum were shown on the back of Turkish 5000 lira banknotes from 1981 to 1994.

As Edward G. Browne noted, Rumi, Sanai, and Attar were all Sunni Muslims, and their poetry praises the first two caliphs, Abu Bakr and