Rumi

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مولانا
Rumi

Biography (scroll for Persian version)

Mohammad Khatibi, more commonly known as Bahā’ od-Din Valad, is one of the great 13th century mystics who was forced to flee his native city of Balkh due to ever increasing Mongol conflicts against the rulers of the time. He decided to travel to Mecca with his family. En route to Mecca, Mohammad Khatibi made a stop in Nishāpur to pay a visit to the great Sufi thinker, Sheikh Attār. Mohammad Khatibi took his young son along with him on this visit to see the Sheikh Attār.

When Attār observed this young boy’s temperament and behaviour, he realised quickly that this was no ordinary child. After a short conversation with the boy, Attār turned to his father Bahā’ od-Din Valad and proclaimed: 

«زود باشد که فرزند تو، آتش به سوختگانِ عالم زند»

Zud bāshad ke farzand-e to, ātash be sukhtegān-e ālam zanad

‘It will not be long before this child of yours, will set on fire  the earthly souls scorched’

[implying that he will change or reform people’s point of view in life]

This child’s name was Jalāl od-Din, who is known around the world as Rumi, or Mowlānā Jalāl od-Din (Jalāloddin) Mohammad Balkhi. It was as if these prophetic words from Attār of Nishāpur ignited Rumi to follow on the path of this formidable mystic and to scale the highest ranks of the world of mysticism. After leaving Balkh, a city in modern-day Afghanistan, Rumi and his family stayed in many different cities across the Middle East, before finally settling in Konya, the capital of the Sultanate of Rum (hence his moniker Rumi).

Click on the links below to explore select excerpts of Rumi’s work, organised by poetic style: