About
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273) was a 13th-century Persian Sufi mystic and poet whose works — primarily the Masnavi (a 6-volume poem, 25,000 verses, in Persian) and the Divan-i Shams (lyric poetry) — are among the most widely read poetry in the world. His translations (especially Coleman Barks's renderings into American free verse) have made Rumi the best-selling poet in the United States for much of the past 30 years.
Rumi's poetry explores themes of divine love, the soul's yearning for reunion with God, the power of music and dance as paths to spiritual ecstasy, and the unity of all religions in their pursuit of the divine. The Whirling Dervishes (the Mevlevi Order, founded by Rumi's followers) practice sama (spinning meditation) as a form of active prayer — the most distinctive religious practice in the world. Rumi lived in Konya (modern Turkey) after fleeing the Mongol invasion of his native Khorasan.
# Top 10 Rumi facts
- 1Masnavi (25,000 verses)
- 2best-selling US poet 30 years
- 3Sufi mysticism
- 4Whirling Dervishes
- 5friendship with Shams of Tabriz (transformative mentor)
- 6fled Mongol invasion
- 7Konya (death and shrine)
- 8Coleman Barks translations
- 9'Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there'
- 10influence on Hafez and Persian poetry
Fascinating Facts
- ◆Rumi's friendship with the wandering dervish Shams of Tabriz transformed him from a respected legal scholar into an ecstatic poet — when Shams disappeared (possibly murdered by Rumi's jealous disciples), Rumi's grief produced his greatest poetry
- ◆Rumi is the best-selling poet in the United States — in a country where poetry is commercially marginal — driven by Coleman Barks's translations that have sold millions of copies since 1995
- ◆The Whirling Dervishes' spinning (sama) is not performance but prayer — they spin to induce a meditative state, right hand raised to heaven and left hand pointed to earth, channeling divine energy through their bodies
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