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Introduction

A few decades ago, few people would have required evidence that Mawl¥n¥ Jal¥l al-DÏn Mu^ammad ibn Mu^ammad, known to many today simply as ‘R‰mÏ’, was a serious Muslim. But nowadays, many of the published presentations of his work and thought seem concerned in showing this great Islamic scholar, teacher and saint as ‘the acceptable face of Islam’: a mediaeval Muslim civilized and humanistic enough to know how to keep Islam in its proper place, so to speak. (To say this is not to deny that Mawl¥n¥ R‰mÏ is a highly appropriate voice for Islam in this day and age.) Moreover, some of the English interpretations of his work that have sold in large numbers are skilfully written but seriously inaccurate. In extreme cases, they evoke an image of a R‰mÏ who embraced, far ahead of his time, some of the heresies and vices most detested in normative Islam. The version of Jal¥l al-DÏn that became ‘the best-selling poet in North America today’ is not altogether authentic. As he himself writes, in one of the first lines of his masterpiece, the MathnawÏ-i ma¢nawÏ: ‘Everyone has, in their view, become my close friend / but they have not sought out the secrets within me.’ By contrast with this contrived image of a ‘New Age R‰mÏ’, this book aims to prove and illustrate, by presenting relevant texts in translation, the thoroughly traditional basis of the teachings of a man whose personal name (ism) is that of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; and whose honorary title (laqab) means ‘Majesty of the Faith’.

That is not, however, the sole purpose of this book. For many Muslims and non-Muslims, the current discourse concerning Islam is so dominated by concerns to do with extremism and terrorism that little time or space is left to consider the central aspects of the DÏn, these being the relationships between each individual human being and (i) his or her Lord and Cherisher, the Master and Owner of the entire universe; (ii) the Emissary of God, to whom he or she addresses greetings in every prayer; (iii) the rest of humankind, to whom the DÏn assigns us a hierarchy of obligations; and (iv) our mother and temporary home, the Earth, and all its creatures. The faith of Islam as conveyed by the Seal of the Prophets, may God exalt and preserve him, has an abundance of teachings on all these subjects. Since his time it has been and remains the duty of his inheritors, the people of sacred learning, to safeguard, propagate and explain those teachings. Prominent among these people have been the masters of the science of Ta|awwuf (Sufism), the subject matter of which is the purification of the self and i^s¥n, or excellence, in worshipping and serving God Most High wholeheartedly and with sincere intentions, and in coming to know and have a close relationship with the Lord and Cherisher of all Existence. To strive to achieve such excellence to the very best of one’s ability is to fulfil the purpose for which humankind was created.

The aim in compiling this Treasury has been to present a small but telling selection of excerpts from the teachings of Mawl¥n¥ R‰mÏ, representing the variety of broad themes and types of discourse to be found in them. The easiest way to achieve this would have been to confine oneself to the prose works, which are in general the most accessible to the modern reader. Moreover, the format of the Treasury series calls for excerpts that are brief, and the more discursive nature of R‰mÏ’s verse narratives and teaching makes it difficult to find passages that are not only concise but also ‘self-contained’. It also precludes the inclusion of the longer narratives characteristic of the MathnawÏ.

To omit the poetical works entirely, however, would have been a disservice not to only to the author but also to the reader. Many Muslims today are brought up and educated having little contact with poetry, and consequently may find it more challenging to follow, understand and fully appreciate the points being made. Inshall¥h the comments attached to each excerpt will help them to understand, contextualize, and benefit from the content. In addition, while a rhyming and rhythmic text is easier to memorize, part of the wisdom behind imparting teachings in verse form is to demand more of the reader. Making the effort to interpret, engage with, and absorb them may aid retention or memorization. The same can be said of the Holy Qur’an, which demands our attention and effort, as well as evoke wonder in us, by employing parables, symbols and metaphors with miraculous power and eloquence. The words of R‰mÏ cannot be placed on the same level as the Qur’an, but many passages in his MathnawÏ and other works are in effect pieces of Qur’anic commentary, as we shall see.

The following abbreviations have been used in referring to sources:

D	DÏw¥n-i kabÏr (Kulliyyat-i Shams);
DOR	Discourses of Rumi;
FMF	FÏh m¥ fÏh;
M	MathnawÏ;
MS	Maj¥lis-i sab‘a
SOTU	Signs of the Unseen

The Life and Times of Jal¥l al-DÏn R‰mÏ

Historical Background

The seventh century AH (thirteenth century CE) was a time of immense turmoil in Central and Western Asia. The cataclysm of the Mongol invasion and conquest, a turning point in history, had as great an impact on these particular regions as on any other. The Seljuks of R‰m, the ruling dynasty in much of Asia Minor, often suffered from weak governance and internecine conflict. It was part of the Sufis’ mission to try to improve the lot of ordinary people by influencing the rulers in the direction of compassion and fair taxation and rule. Here both Mawl¥n¥ Jal¥l al-DÏn and his son and successor Sul~¥n Walad played an important role.

Part 1: The Religious Scholar

Jal¥l al-DÏn Mu^ammad ibn Mu^ammad was born in 604/1207, either in the town of Vakhsh (in today’s Tajikistan) or possibly in Balkh, Afghanistan. His background was learned, Persian-speaking, and Sunni. His father, Bah¥’ al-DÏn Walad, was a religious scholar and mystic whose Meditations (Ma¢¥rif), distinctive (and sometimes daring) personal meditations rich in imagery, clearly influenced his son. In about 619/1219, probably because of the threat of invasion by the Mongols, the family travelled west to Baghdad, then performed Hajj. Like many who had emigrated from the East, they then proceeded to Asia Minor, living in various towns for some years before finally settling in Konya. By this time Jal¥l al-DÏn and his wife Gawhar Kh¥t‰n, whom he had married at the age of eighteen, had two sons. In 628/1231, Bah¥’ al-DÏn died and was succeeded in his teaching post by Jal¥l al-DÏn, now an expert in the Islamic sciences.

The following year, Burh¥n al-DÏn Mu^aqqiq TirmidhÏ, a former disciple of Bah¥’ al-DÏn Walad, arrived in Konya to supervise Jal¥l’s further training. Under the guidance of Burh¥n, whose Persian discourses (Ma¢¥rif) are too little known, the young scholar travelled the spiritual path of Sufism, graduated from the hard school of asceticism (zuhd) and spiritual retreat (khalwa), and enhanced his learning and experience through two periods of study in Syria. While there he encountered some of the leading Sufis of the day and became familiar with Arabic poetry. This period ended with Burh¥n al-DÏn’s death in 638/1240. Jal¥l al-DÏn was by now a respected scholar and preacher in Konya, in Sufism as well as in ¤anafÏ jurisprudence and other religious sciences. In time he gained influence among the most important political figures of the day. Some came to visit and learn from him, and with others he corresponded.

The Sun of Truth

The event that revolutionized R‰mÏ’s life has since indirectly influenced the lives of multitudes. In 642/1244 a wandering dervish named Shams al-DÏn TabrÏzÏ arrived in Konya. In their first encounter, Shams showed Jal¥l al-DÏn that there were whole realms of knowledge and experience that had been closed to him. Each found that in the other’s company and guidance a door to new spiritual realization had opened. Intoxicated with this love, Jal¥l al-DÏn no longer cared what others thought. The radiance of Shams’s presence was, it seemed to him, barely separable from the radiance of God Himself. Had not the Prophet Jacob suffered inexpressible sorrow and became almost blind from weeping at the loss of his son Joseph, that peerless reflection of Divine Beauty? For over a year, Jal¥l al-DÏn and Shams were almost constantly together. Because of things that certain people have written, it needs to be spelled out that this was a Divinely willed, platonic friendship: two complementary spiritual types of exceptional stature, each learning from and devoted to the other. It is clear from the sources that Shams was the more jal¥lÏ (rigorous and majestic) of the two and Jal¥l al-DÏn the more jam¥lÏ (mild and serene).

Many of those who venerated Jal¥l al-DÏn were at a loss to understand the transformation of their master into a man intoxicated with love of the Divine, who composed poetry while turning round and round. Then one day Shams suddenly vanished, fleeing the jealousy of his companion’s disciples. Jal¥l al-DÏn was distraught, as we learn from the sources (including poems) in which he pleads with his friend to return. His loyal son Sul~¥n Walad was sent to find him, and eventually brought him back from Damascus to Konya. Not long afterwards, however, Shams disappeared again – this time for good.

Who was this Shams al-DÏn TabrÏzÏ? Besides the testimony of R‰mÏ’s biographers, his collected sayings (Maq¥l¥t) have also survived. Shams was an educated man, a Sh¥fi‘Ï who had studied jurisprudence in depth. It was part of his way as a Sufi to conceal his true nature from others, shunning respectability and diplomatic behaviour. We learn from the Maq¥l¥t that the main purpose of Shams’s travels was to find a true Friend of God (WalÏ All¥h), or saint. In Maq¥la 685 he describes his first meeting with Jal¥l al-DÏn R‰mÏ, when Shams questioned him about the Persian Sufi B¥yazÏd Bas~¥mÏ and why he had not found it necessary to say to God, as the Blessed Prophet himself had said, ‘We have not known You as You deserve to be known.’ The Maq¥l¥t also reveal how greatly Shams admired Jal¥l al-DÏn as a scholar and spiritual figure who possessed qualities that he did not – but that Shams was also a teacher to him and so the relationship was not of the normal type between master and disciple.

Although the loss of his teacher grieved him, as a spiritual master Mawl¥n¥ knew well that everything that is worth loving is to be found to perfection in the Divine Beloved. But Shams al-DÏn had demanded of him everything he had, in order that he transcend the bounds of conventional piety in the quest for complete experiential vision and illumination. What he mourned so eloquently was the loss of that overwhelming inner sunlight, and the companion – a scruffy, boorish impostor in the eyes of many, but for him the Perfect Guide – who had completed his spiritual direction and continually inspired him.

Later Life

As time passed the impact of the trauma waned. Whatever Shams had essentially represented to him Jal¥l al-DÏn now found within himself and in close companions like ßal¥^ al-DÏn Zark‰b, a simple, pure-hearted goldsmith from the bazaar of Konya; and ¤us¥m al-DÏn ChalabÏ, a saintly individual who was a faithful and capable helper to his teacher and the chief inspiration of the latter’s masterpiece, the MathnawÏ. His equilibrium thus regained, R‰mÏ lived on for over twenty years, supervising the training of disciples and teaching through discourses, letters, and poetry. His death in 672/1273 was mourned not only by Muslims but also by Konya’s large Christian population. The direction of the brotherhood passed into the hands of ¤us¥m al-DÏn, and then to Jal¥l al-DÏn’s son Sul~¥n Walad. Founder of what would become the MawlawÏ, or Mevlevi, Sufi Order (>arÏqa), Walad was also an able administrator and an author; his works include discourses, a DÏw¥n, and some long poems including a valuable account of his father’s life.

Works

Discourses (FÏhi m¥ fÏh)

The best known prose work associated with R‰mÏ is the collection of discourses known by the Arabic title FÏhi m¥ fÏh (meaning ‘What’s in it is in it’, or possibly ‘Whatever there is, is in it’). The text as we have it today was compiled from records (or recollections) of the Master’s teachings with disciples and admirers who attended his gatherings. Most of the main themes explored in the MathnawÏ are also touched on in the Discourses. Sometimes, as in the MathnawÏ, he moves back and forth between one point and another related one, interweaving narrative and commentary. For readers who are less familiar or comfortable with poetry, perhaps because of the overwhelmingly prosaic education prevalent in these days of techno-domination, the Discourses may offer a more accessible introduction to the teachings of the Master of Konya.

Sermons (Maj¥lis-i Sab¢a)

The other prose work attributable to Mawl¥n¥ is called Maj¥lis-i Sab¢a (literally, ‘Seven Sessions’). It comprises seven homilies of varying length, which may have been addressed to a general audience, not to Sufis only. Judging by their style and content, most or all were delivered before the encounter with Shams. Each Majlis begins with praise of God in Arabic, normally in rhyming prose (saj‘), and continues with du‘¥’ or supplicatory prayers, at least partly in Persian. Some begin with a Hadith or Tradition of the Prophet (|all¥ All¥h ¢alayh wa sallam), which is then paraphrased in Persian and commented upon at length before the speaker moves on to related topics, often with stories to illustrate the points being made. An interesting feature of the Maj¥lis, which shows that their author was already a connoisseur of mystical poetry, is that they contain a much higher proportion of verses – up to twenty couplets at a time – than the FÏhi m¥ fÏh discourses do. Besides those found in Mawl¥n¥’s own DÏw¥n there are also quotations from his predecessors San¥’Ï and ‘A~~¥r, amongst others.

Letters (Makt‰b¥t)

Of Jal¥l al-DÏn R‰mÏ’s 145 surviving letters, most were written or dictated to influential people, mainly to request favours on behalf of friends or relatives. Several are addressed to the Parw¥na Mu‘Ïn al-DÏn, a powerful local official, or to his Georgian wife GurjÏ Khat‰n. A good number are addressed to the writer’s son Sul~an Walad, and these are extremely affectionate. Some of the letters contain short passages of spiritual guidance. An interesting feature of the Makt‰b¥t is the presence of invocations and interjections in Arabic or in Persian. While some of these are of the kind one might find in any pious Islamic literature, others are more unconventional: for example, the name Allah simply repeated several times (probably a form of admonition meaning, roughly, ‘Be sure to give God His due’). Besides these prose letters, a few in verse form have also survived; one example is included in this book.

Poetical works: DÏw¥n-i kabÏr

R‰mÏ’s lyric poetry has the intensity of a man who has given everything, lost everything – and found everything. The poems collected in the DÏw¥n, which as the earliest manuscripts indicate were originally entitled DÏw¥n-i Shams al-¤aq¥’iq or DÏwan-i KabÏr (the Great DÏwan), comprise about 40,000 verses. Composed probably over a period of more than thirty years, they were sometimes chanted at the gatherings of Mevlevi dervishes. Besides ghazals, there are also quatrains and longer stanzaic poems. Most are in praise of love of the Divine and the ecstasy of lovers ‘crazy’ enough to give everything in their quest for the Beloved. They evoke, often with tremendous poetic force, a variety of spiritual states; closeness to God, longing, separation, hope, fear, self-reproach, exultation. Some also contain narratives with morals, though in briefer form than in the MathnawÏ. This Treasury contains less of Mawl¥n¥’s ecstatic poetry than other selections do; purely in order to strike a balance, not because of any partiality on the compiler’s part.

Mawl¥n¥ claimed that he did not care for poetry and that he only composed it to please his local audience, who did not have the same liking for sermons as people in his native region, Central Asia. Arberry, following the rhetoric of Sul~¥n Walad’s account of his father, has been followed by others in asserting that Jal¥l al-DÏn was ‘wholly incapable of controlling the torrent of poetry that poured forth from him.’ But many poems in the DÏw¥n display control and technical mastery as well as eloquence and ingenuity. For example, one of the long stanzaic poems or TarjÏ¢¥t comprises seven stanzas of twelve couplets, and their coherence and technical precision are exemplary. Prosodically, R‰mÏ used a wider variety of meters than any other Persian poet. Linguistically, he also wrote some poems wholly in Arabic, some partly in Arabic and partly in Persian, some lines in Turkish, and a few in Demotic Greek. All this shows that he had studied assiduously the works of other masters of Persian and Arabic verse. In poetry, as in all crafts, mastery is rarely achieved (even by geniuses), without prolonged study and sheer hard work. Finally, the range of his imagery and symbolism testifies to an extraordinary power of unitive vision.

Poetical works: The MathnawÏ

The MathnawÏ is the author’s undisputed masterpiece. This extraordinary poem, which is a kind of literary treatise in rhyming couplets on Islamic spirituality, is immensely long, comprising over 25,000 verses in six Daftars, or volumes. It appears that its composition was inspired by a suggestion from his ‘star disciple’ ¤us¥m al-DÏn ChalabÏ that the master produce a work like the Il¥hÏ-n¥ma or ‘Book of God’, a didactic poem by the great Persian Sufi ‘A~~¥r that was popular among some of Mawl¥n¥’s disciples. And that is what he did, expressing the hope that after his passing the MathnawÏ itself would be like a Shaykh to take his place (though he taught that guidance from a living spiritual master was also indispensable). Seven centuries and a half later, that hope has been amply fulfilled. What a providential aspiration, and what manifest success! Precisely when the composition of the MathnawÏ began is not known, but it must have been in or near to 660/1260. The process continued until the author’s death thirteen years later, with a break after completion of the first Daftar.

Those who know Arabic may be interested to read the prefaces (in that language) to five of the six Books. Each deals with one or two key themes. The fifth, for example, comments on the relationship between the Sacred Law (SharÏ¢¥), Inner Reality (¤aqÏqa),cay (>arÏqa). The great Sufi poet and metaphysician ¢Abd al-Ra^man JamÏ (d. 895/1492) nicknamed the MathnawÏ ‘the Qur’an in Persian’. This is of course poetic hyperbole; but the poem certainly offers, amongst other things, profound commentaries on many passages of the Holy Qur’an. In that connection the author himself makes a crucial point: when reading or hearing about Moses and Pharaoh, one should beware of thinking that this is no more than ‘a tale of the ancients’. At a deeper level it is an account of the conflict between Truth and falsehood that takes place within human souls; other Qur’anic narratives, too, have universal significations.

The notion advanced by orientalists that the MathnawÏ is rambling and lacks coherence is a serious error, for while the connecting thread may at times be subtle, time and again two or more themes are skilfully interwoven, left suspended for a page or two, and then resumed. The same criticism has been levelled at the ghazals of the great Persian lyric poet ¤¥fi·. Such views illustrate the difficulty many westerners have in fully appreciating literary works from other cultures.

The MathnawÏ’s stories come from many sources. There was a rich seam of folk tales to be mined in the written and oral traditions of Central Asia and the Middle East. Certain stories, for example, are derived from KalÏla wa Dimna, animal fables that are largely of Indian origin. Others, such as the now famous story of the elephant in a dark room, can be found in the poems of R‰mÏ’s predecessor San¥’Ï. Many of the narratives, however, are derived from the Holy Qur’an and stories of the Prophets, the Awliy¥’ All¥h (‘Friends of God’ or saints), their struggles and triumphs, and their relationships with their Lord and their fellow creatures. Although most of the tales in the MathnawÏ are not original, the poet’s treatment of them often is. Between them come passages in which the moral is dwelt upon – another possible reason for the analogies made with Islam’s Holy Book.

This Treasury of R‰mÏ cannot claim any degree of comprehensiveness. To enable readers to pick and choose between general themes, however, the content has been divided into ten sections, each comprising seven texts: (1) Who are We? The Nature and Origin of Mankind; (2) Facing Facts: Death, Suffering, Change; (3) Foes and the Battle: Enemies of God and Man; (4) Guides and Helpers: Prophets, Shaykhs, and Saints; (5) Wings to Fly With: Fear, Hope, and Love; (6) Bitter and Sweet: Self-Discipline and Spiritual Progress; (7) Faith and Wisdom: The DÏn of Islam from Within; (8) Beyond Duality: Dilemmas Resolved; (9) Lord and Cherisher: The Relationship with God; (10) Aspects of Unity: Wisdom, Knowledge, Serenity. All translations in this Treasury, with two (acknowledged) exceptions, are by the compiler. Persian and Arabic words have been transliterated in Arabic style because it seems likely that more readers will have some familiarity with that language than with Dari Persian (also, the consonantal w¥w was probably pronounced as w by the author and his contemporaries). The style of the Treasury series calls for the inclusion of the texts in the original language. In this case, however, it was decided to opt for a selection of them. The orthography of the Persian texts has been simplified for the benefit of modern readers.

This Treasury of R‰mÏ represents, to borrow a Persian expression, ‘a handful from the donkey-load’ – a tiny sample of the immense spiritual riches to be found in the author’s works. Innumerable passages of great beauty and profundity, and even many subject areas, have had to be left out. As for the commentaries, these are neither comprehensive nor faultless. For whatever is worthwhile in them the credit belongs to the compiler’s teachers, to all of whom this little book is humbly dedicated. For whatever is defective, the fault is his alone. Despite its shortcomings, it is hoped that readers will find in this book a source of wisdom, consolation, and inspiration – and food for contemplation.

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