by Yashfa Haider 

Who was Rumi?

We have all heard some names in our lives which feel like we have known forever. Hitler, Shakespeare, Michael Jackson, Lionel Messi are household names now. We may know their names but not necessarily their background. One of those names is ‘Rumi’. Now, we all know that Rumi was a Persian poet centuries ago and all the deep, heart-touching, Facebook posts are picked up from his work, how much else do we really know about the mystic poet? And why is he the best-selling poet in the US? Yes, he is, surprising, right? (Or may be the fact that Leonardo Dicaprio will most likely be playing Rumi in his next flick, yes!)

The famous poet was born Jalal Ad-din Rumi in the city of Balkh in 1207, which is now located in Afghanistan. He later settled in the city of Konya, what is now a part of Turkey, where his spiritual journey began. He was a wealthy, renowned Islamic scholar like his father and grandfather, until he met a wandering dervish, Shams of Tabriz who completely transformed him from a religious teacher into a sufi mystical poet in search of truth and love.

Rumi was born in a wealthy, powerful, Persian family, and was a member of high society. He was respected and followed by his followers as their religious scholar. He was a charming family man with a respectable status. There was nothing that he could demand more from life, but he had an idea there was something missing in his life that he could not quite articulate. Until he finally met a dervish named Shams in his late thirties and found what he was missing was an intense companionship composed of understanding. This meeting proved to be a huge turning point in his life. The ecstatic bond between the scholar and the dervish proved to be Rumi’s ‘reincarnation’ as a completely different human being.

This is the reason why Shams’ name is always remembered with Rumi. Had there been no Shams, the world would have probably been deprived of the captivating works of Rumi. Regardless of Rumi belonging to the high-class and Shams being homeless, their connection clicked in the first meeting. Their intense bond was so apparent that people started to question it. But without a care, Rumi accepted Shams as his spiritual friend and a teacher. However, Shams could not stay in Konya for more than two years. Rumi created his captivating poetry out of his communion and separation with Shams.

Rumi is regarded as one of the greatest poetic figures in the history of literature. His work consists of two epic poems namely Diwan-e-Shams-e-Tabrizi, which consists of 40,000 verses and The Mathnawi, consisting of 25,000 verses. His poetry pivots around universality and freedom of the soul, and finding God through the love of His mankind.

The whole life story of Rumi has had various fascinating turns that made him into an immortal poet. He is clearly one of the most famous poets even after 800 years of his demise. His poetic and prose works have been translated into various languages which proves he is not confined to one particular area, but is universal.