Rumi
Sufism inspired writings of Persian poet and mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi; these writings express the longing of the soul for union with the divine.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
“Travelers, it is late. Life's sun is going to set. During these brief days that you have strength, be quick and spare no effort of your wings”
“Oh my friend, all that you see of me is a shell, the rest belongs to love.”
“Gamble everything for love, if you're a true human being.”
“The way you make love is the way God will be with you.”
“In your light I learn how to love.”
“Love rests on no foundation. It is an endless ocean, with no beginning or end.”
“What? Are you still pretending you are separate from the Beloved?”
“There is another language beyond language,another place beyond heaven and hell.Precious gems come from another mine,the heart draws light from another source.”
“Angels dance only with You, Belovedand only before You do I bow in adoration.You may accept me or not but I will be at your feet forever.”
“Is your face a beautiful blossomor a sweet torture?I have no complaintsbut my heart is temptedto let youhear of its sorrows.”
“Put your thoughts to sleep,do not let them cast a shadowover the moon of your heart.Let go of thinking.”
“To live without youis to be robbed of loveand what is life without it?To live without youis death to me, my lovebut some call it life.”
“If I gaze at my belovedshe may feel embarrassedand if I do not,she will feel neglected.I can see the stars reflectingin the calm water of her facebut if I look awayI lose my clarity.”
“Do not leave me,hide in my heart like a secret,wind around my head like a turban."I come and go as I please,"you say, "swift as a heartbeat."You can tease me as much as you likebut never leave me.”
“The heart has its own language. The heart knows a hundred thousand ways to speak.”
“Come, come, whoever you are,wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving, it doesn't matter.Ours is not a caravan of despair.Come, even if you have broken your vow a hundred times.Come, come again, come.”
“My heart rushes into the garden, joyfully tasting all the delights. But reason frowns, disapproving of the heart's bad manners.”
“Your body is wovenfrom the light of heaven.Are you awarethat its purity and swiftnessis the envy of angelsand its couragekeeps even devils away.”
“Although the road is never endingtake a step and keep walking,do not look fearfully into the distance...On this path let the heart be your guidefor the body is hesitant and full of fear.”
“My dear soul, flee from the worthless,stay close only to those with a pure heart.Like attracts like.A crow will lead you to the graveyard,a parrot to a lump of sugar.”
“True beauty is a rayThat springs from the sacred depths of the soul,and illuminates the body, just as lifesprings from the kernel of a stone andgives colour and scent to a flower.”
“Darkness may hide the treesand the flowers from the eyesbut it cannot hidelove from the soul.”
“I am your moon and your moonlight tooI am your flower garden and your water tooI have come all this way, eager for youWithout shoes or shawlI want you to laughTo kill all your worriesTo love youTo nourish you.”
“I said, O Love, tell me this:Does the Lord know you are treating me this way?Love said to me,yes He does, just be totally…totally… silent”
“Bring the pure wine oflove and freedom.But sir, a tornado is coming.More wine, we'll teach this stormA thing or two about whirling.”
“You think you are alivebecause you breathe air?Shame on you, that you are alive in such a limited way.Don't be without Love, so you won't feel dead.Die in Love and stay alive forever.”
“To Love is to be God.Never will a Lover's chest feel any sorrow.Never will a Lover's robe be touched by mortals.Never will a Lover's body be found buried in the earth.To Love is to be God.”
“The wave of Atlast came along and caulked the body's ship; when the ship is wrecked once more, the turn of union and encounter will come.”
“Hall of Love has ten thousand swords. Don't be afraid to use one.”
“God calls himself "Baseer" [Observant], so that the knowledge that He is watching you may keep you from sinning.”
“Suffering is a gift. In it is hidden mercy.”
“The soul is here for its own joy.”
“بحثت عن الروح في البحر ووجدت المرجان هناك وتحت الرغوة كان كل المحيط يرقد عاريا لأجلي في ليل قلبي وعلى طول الطريق الضيق شعرت بالضوء ارض أبدية من النهار”
“I want to be where your bare foot walks, because maybe before you step, you'll look at the ground. I want that blessing”
“You are a lover of your own experience ... not of me ... you turn to me to feel ur own emotion”
“If in the darkness of ignorance, you don’t recognize a person’s true nature, look to see whom he has chosen for his leader.”
“Because I cannot sleep i make music in the night”
“Forget safety.Live where you fear to live.Destroy your reputation.Be notorious.”
“My lips got lost on the way to the kiss - that's how drunk Iwas.”
“Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don’t claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent.”
“Be melting snow.Wash yourself of yourself.”
“The result of my life is no more than three words: I was raw, I became cooked, I was burnt.”
“When the light returns to its source, it takes nothing of what it has illuminated.”
“Words are a pretext. It is the inner bond that draws one person to another, not words.”
“Love is the cure,for your pain will keep giving birth to more painuntil your eyes constantly exhale love as effortlessly as your body yields its scent.”
“When you feel a peaceful joy, that's when you are near truth.”
“The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep.”
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”
“Drum sound rises on the air, its throb, my heart. A voice inside the beat says, "I know you're tired, but come. This is the way.”
“The moon stays bright when it doesn't avoid the night.”