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Jalaluddin
Rumi |
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Molana
Jalal-e-Din Mohammad Molavi Rumi was born near Balkh
(present-day Afghanistan) on September 30, 1207. Threatened
by the Mongol
conquests of Ghengiz
Khan,
Rumi's family fled westwards, through Baghdad and Nishapur
(where Rumi met Farid
al-Din 'Attar) before finally settling in the Seljuk
kingdom of
Konya,
in what is now Turkey.
Rumi followed his father in becoming an outstanding scholar
and theologian, but in 1244 met the travelling derwish, Shams
of Tabriz, who transformed his spiritual life. Sufism
is the the strain of Islam that places direct and ecstatic
communion with Allah over the rules prescribed by the Shari'ah,
and, with his eyes now opened, Rumi began work on his Masnavi
(closed rhyming couplets), which was to grow to 24,000 verses.
Later he wrote the equally well-known Divan-e
Shams-e Tabriz (the collective poems of Shams of Tabriz).
As is usual with mystics, Rumi was an immensely practical
man, founding the Mevlevi
order at Konya, the whirling dervishes, which is still a thriving
community. He died on December 17, 1273, recognised then and
since as one of the greatest of poets and spiritual thinkers.
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Rumi's
poetry |
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The
Masnavi is an extended narrative of some 27,000 lines
containing Sufi
philosophy and ethics, meditations, anecdotes and stories
of all kinds. More than that, the work traces man's spiritual
journey through the world with all its pitfalls, from first
awakening to final union with the One. And in incorporating
sacred history, simple tales, earlier Sufi writings, learned
discourses of predecessors, and the lives of saints, Rumi
discusses nearly every aspect of Islamic metaphysics, cosmology
and traditional psychology. Like many such poems of medieval
Islam, the masnavi blends instruction with delight, and
its pithy comments and apparently simple but astute remarks
are still
quoted today. The Diwan-e
Shams is a 40,000-odd
verse collection of ghazals (lyric poems). Rumi also wrote
a Ruba'iyyat (quatrains),
and extended prose works: the Fihi ma fihi (discussions
on spiritual matters), the Makatib (collection of
letters) and the Majalis-i sab'ah (sermons).
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Sufi poetry |
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Rumi's
ghazals
are ecstatic poems of spiritual love portrayed in reflections
on its earthly expression. His poetry created an elaborate
vocabulary of wine and physical beauty, which took further
the Sufi poetry of Sana'i
and Attar,
and inspired its greatest proponent, Hafez
of Shiraz. The ghazal tradition draws on features of medieval
Islamic life, and can be difficult for westerners to appreciate,
appearing somewhat unworldly, melancholy and artificial.
The lover is male, and is addressed through degrees of emotional
rapport, which are not
necessarily or generally physical. The verse exploits the
rhyming facility of Persian,
but allows great freedom and ambiguity within its set requirements.
Words are often used as symbols, which play with great
richness and ingenuity on the understandings of a world
steeped in Islamic thought and poetry.
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Reading the Persian |
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Since that world cannot be appreciated without
a deep understanding of Islamic
culture, start with
general
introductions to
the history
of
the
area,
which is fascinating
enough. It will also help enormously to read sufficient
Persian to sense
the sound
and structure of the poetry, and there exist many courses,
books and CDs in what is not overly difficult language:
languagequest,
easypersian,
arthur
lynn, farrangsara,
languageresourceonline.
For the critical literature generally, try as always the
bibliography in the The New Princeton Encyclopedia
section on Persian Poetry, E. Browne's A Literary History
of Persia(1902-24: several reprints, none cheap), A.
Schimmel's A Two-Colored Brocade: The Imagery of Persian
Poetry(1992: good bibliography), and listings given
on tehran
at stanford, columbia
and cornell.
Many translations
can
be
found
on the internet,
some excellent: rumi.org,
rumionfire,
tearsofllorona,
wahiduddin,
b.h.
far, persepolis
and iransaga.
Books on
and by
Rumi exist in great profusion, marketed by iranonline,
iransaga,
bestirantravel,
amazon,
alibris,
fetchbooks,
abebooks,
isufis, etc.
There also exist many Rumi societies, promoting an awareness
of the man's work and Sufi teachings: sufi
journal, 7rooz,
rumi.org,
khamush,
spiritdimension,
tanbur,
mevlana
society, rumi
society.
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