Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Muslim / Sufi

13th Century

Afghanistan & Turkey
(Middle East)

Jelaluddin Rumi

Timeline (1207 - 1273)

Poems by Jelaluddin Rumi
Books - Links

Jelaluddin Rumi, Jelaluddin Rumi poetry, Muslim / Sufi, Muslim / Sufi poetry, poetry, poetry, poetry

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Jelaluddin Rumi was born in Balkh, in what is now Afghanistan, on September 30, 1207. When he was still a young man, though, his family fled under the threat of a Mongol invasion, and after much traveling, finally settled in Konya, Turkey. The name Rumi means “the Roman,” that is, “from Roman Anatolia.”

Rumi followed the line of his father and his ancestors — scholars, theologians, and jurists. Until the age of thirty-seven he seems to have been a conventional teacher under the royal patronage. In 1244 he met the wandering dervish, Shams of Tabriz. This recognition strengthened and galvanized his belief. His poetry filled with a longing to be the Friend, and close presence he first saw in Shams, later in Saladin Zarkub, the goldsmith, still later in his scribe, Husam. Rumi died December 17, 1273. During the last thirty years of his life he became a brilliant unfolding of that recognition, and a cause of its incandescence in others.

-- from Open Secret: Versions of Rumi

Poems by Jelaluddin Rumi

	Ah, what was there in that light-giving candle that it set fire to the heart, and snatched the heart away?
	Body of earth, don't talk of earth
	By the God who was in pre-eternity living and moving and omnipotent, everlasting.
	Fasting
	God is "what is nearer to you than your neck-vein,"
	I lost my world, my fame, my mind --
	I regard not the outside and the words,
	I'm neither beautiful nor ugly
	If a blow comes to you from Heaven,
	Inner Wakefulness
	Keep on knocking
	Love is Here
	No end to the journey
	No One Here but Him
	On Love
	Reason, leave now! You'll not find wisdom here!
	Seeking the Source
	Seizing my life in your hands, you thrashed me clean
	Suddenly, in the sky at dawn, a moon appeared,
	That moon which the sky never saw
	The beauty of the heart
	The glow of the light of daybreak is in your emerald vault, the goblet of the blood of twilight is your blood-measuring bowl.
	The grapes of my body can only become wine
	The Sun Must Come
	What can I do, Muslims? I do not know myself.
	Whoever finds love
	You only need smell the wine
	[82] Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
	A World with No Boundaries (Ghazal 363)
	[1115] The minute I'm disappointed, I feel encouraged.
	[1127] I drink streamwater and the air
	[1146] Today I'm out wandering, turning my skull
	[1242] During the day I was singing with you.
	[1246] The minute I heard my first love story
	[1652] We are the mirror as well as the face in it.
	[1794] At night we fall into each other with such grace.
	You are closer to me than myself (Ghazal 2798)

Recommended Books

	Delicious Laughter: Rambunctious Teaching Stories from the Mathnawi of Jelaluddin Rumi, Translated by Coleman Barks Amazon.com
	East Window: Poems from Asia, Translated by W. S. Merwin Amazon.com
	The Essential Rumi, Translated by Coleman Barks Amazon.com
	The Hand of Poetry: Five Mystic Poets of Persia, with Lectures by Inayat Khan, Translated by Coleman Barks Amazon.com
	Holy Fire: Nine Visionary Poets and the Quest for Enlightenment, Edited by Daniel Halpern Amazon.com
	The Illuminated Rumi, Translated by Coleman Barks Amazon.com
	Love is a Stranger: Selected Lyric Poetry by Jelaluddin Rumi and Kabir, Translated by Kabir Helmiski Amazon.com
	Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West, Translated by Daniel Ladinsky Amazon.com
	Mathnawi of Jalaluddin Rumi: (3 book set), by Reynold A. Nicholson Amazon.com
	The Mathnawi: Rumi, Translated by E. H. Whinfield Amazon.com
	Music of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish & Hebrew Poems, Translated by Bernard Lewis Amazon.com
	Mystical Poems of Rumi: Volume 1, Translated by A. J. Arberry Amazon.com
	Mystical Poems of Rumi: Volume 2, Translated by A. J. Arberry Amazon.com
	Open Secret: Versions of Rumi, Translated by Coleman Barks / Translated by John Moyne Amazon.com
	Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations from the Sufi Wisdom, by Andrew Harvey / Eryk Hanut Amazon.com
	Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty, Edited by Alan Jacobs Amazon.com
	Rumi and Islam: Selections from His Stories, Poems, and Discourses Annotated & Explained, Translated by Ibrahim Gamard Amazon.com
	Rumi, A Spiritual Biogrpahy, by Leslie Wines Amazon.com
	Rumi: Dancing the Flame, Translated by Nader Khalili Amazon.com
	Rumi: Fountain of Fire, Translated by Nader Khalili Amazon.com
	Rumi: Hidden Music, Translated by Azima Melita Kolin / Translated by Maryam Mafi Amazon.com
	Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance , Edited by Camille Helmiski / Edited by Kabir Helminski Amazon.com
	Rumi's World: The Life and Work of the Great Sufi Poet, by Annemarie Schimmel Amazon.com
	Secret Language: Rumi A Celebration in Song (Music CD), by Ramananda Amazon.com
	The Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi, by Andrew Harvey Amazon.com

Related Links:

	Rumi On Fire http://www.rumionfire.com Translated sections of the Divan-e-Shams and the Mathnavi, a timeline of Rumi's life, and links.
	Dar Al Masnavi http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/ Scholarly translations of Rumi's Masnavi (Mathnawi) and Divan collections on-line with commentary.
	Jalaladdin Rumi: Poet of Universal Love http://www.ncethicalsociety.org/pnagy.rumi.d121403.shtml Biography of Rumi by Paul Nagy
	Life of Rumi http://www.armory.com/~thrace/sufi/life.html Brief biography with several poem selections.
	Rumi.org.uk http://www.rumi.org.uk/ Poetry by Rumi, biography, bibliography, discussion forum, daily poem.
	Rumi Network, by Shahram Shiva http://www.rumi.net/ Several verses by Rumi translated by Shahram Shiva, along with information about Rumi, a discussion forum, and more.
	Speaking of Faith: Unheard Cuts, Poetry of Rumi http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/rumi/poetry.shtml The text of several Rumi poems, with audio clips of the poems being read in the original Persian.

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

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Jelaluddin Rumi

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