Great mystic poet Mawlana Rumi
Ibrahim Gamard :
Jalal al-Din Rumi b. Bahai al-Din Walad b. Husayn b. Ahmad Kha?ibi was born on 6 Rabi I 604/September 30, 1207 in or near the ancient city of Balkh in a region of Khorasan (now in Afghanistan) and died on 5 Jumada II 672/December 17, 1273 in Konya (now in Turkey). His birth name was the same as his fatheris: Muhammad. From an early age, his father called him Jalal al-Din (‘The glory of the Religion’). He was also called by the Arabic title, Mawlana (‘our Master’), as was his father. In addition, his disciples called him by the Persian title, Khodawandgar (‘great Master’). He was known as Rumi (‘Roman’) because he spent most of his life in the region known by Muslims as ‘Rum,’ the Anatolian peninsula most of which had been conquered by the Saljuq Turks after centuries of rule by the Eastern (Byzantine) Roman Empire.
Mawlana has long been viewed as one of the greatest Persian poets and has been called ‘surely the greatest mystical poet in the history of mankind’ (Arberry, 1949, p. xix). He is the author of the following poetic works: Divan-e Kabir (‘Great Collected Poetic Works’) or Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi (which contains, in the earliest manuscripts, more than 3,000 ghazaliyat or lyric poems, 40 tariat or stanzaic poems, and over 1800 rubaiyat or quatrains) and Mathnawi-ye Macnawi (‘Couplets of Deep Spiritual Meaning’), considered his greatest work that was composed in his later years, which contains over 25,000 authentic verses). Over the centuries, many verses and poems, as well as ‘improvements’ within verses, have been added to the manuscript tradition; and more inauthentic verses and poems are claimed as belonging to Mawlana in contemporary books and articles. His prose works, believed to have been compiled after his death, are Fihi Ma Fihi (‘Whatever Is In It, Is In It,’ also known as the ‘Discourses of Rumi’), Majalis-e Saba (‘Seven Sessions,’ also known as the ‘Sermons’), and Maktubat (‘Letters’).
The basic story of Mawlanais life is well known: how he emigrated from Balkh with his family just prior to its destruction by the Mongol army of Genghis Khan, travelled from place to place (including Mecca) with his family before living in several towns in Anatolia (in present day Turkey) and moving finally to Konya (the ancient city of Iconium), succeeded his father who was a renowned religious scholar, met the wandering dervish Shams al-Din of Tabriz who had a transforming impact on his life, became troubled by the jealousy of his followers that led to the first disappearance of Shams, sent his oldest son (Sultan Walad) to bring Shams back from Damascus, became completely distraught when Shams disappeared permanently, then became more profoundly creative than ever before as a mystical poet, and was succeeded (following the death of his chief disciple, Dusam al-Din Chalabi) by Sultan Walad, who was the first to organise the tradition of the Mawlawi (Mevlevi) Sufis-later known in the West as the ‘Whirling Dervishes.’
Here, certain aspects of his life have been selected for emphasis, some of which challenge assumptions and claims that occur frequently in many of the books and articles about Mawlana.
According to Sepahsalar, who wrote that he was Mawlanais direct disciple, Mawlanais birth was in the year 1207 C.E. (p. 22). And Aflaki also accepted this year in his hagiography (p. 73), written at the request of Mawlanais grandson (between 1318-1353) and mentioned the full date as September 30, 1207 (6 Rabi al-Awwal 604 A.H.).
However, some Mawlana scholars have thought there was evidence of an earlier birth year, but this view has not been accepted by most scholars (Lewis, pp. 317-20).
There is evidence, based on his fatheris journal, Maarif, that Mawlana was born in Wakhsh (now in Takijistan), about 240 kilometers northeast of Balkh in the valley of the Wakhsh River (which flows into the Amu Darya, or Oxus River), where his father lived and worked as a jurist and preacher between 1204 and 1210 (Bausani, 1965, p. 393; Meier; Schimmel, p. 11; Lewis, pp. 47-49). The town of Wakhsh was culturally a part of the city of Balkh. In the year 1212, Mawlanais father moved with his family to Samarqand (now in Uzbekistan). He presumably returned to Balkh at some point, since he and his family emigrated from there to Anatolia about 1216 or 1217. Since there is reason to believe that Mawlana lived in Balkh for some period of time, this gives justification to view him as from Balkh, a ‘Balkhi.’
Mawlanais father, Bahai al-Din Walad, may have been born and raised in Balkh. However, there is no supporting evidence that he was a well-known religious scholar in Balkh (Lewis, pp. 46-47, 54-55); rather, a miracle story developed that was based on a dream that he recorded in his journal, that the Prophet Muhammad declared him to be the ‘Sultan of Religious Scholars.’ Presumably, he lived in Balkh for periods of time as a preacher, scholar, and spiritual teacher. He may therefore also be viewed as a ‘Balkhi,’ a man from Balkh. Books about Mawlana commonly say little about his father except to describe him as a Muslim scholar and judge. However, Bahai al-Din was an unusual mystic, whose focus was not on discourse but on direct experience of the Presence of God through prayer, dreams, visions, and intimations. There is evidence that Mawlanais own mystical teachings were strongly influenced by his studies of his fatheris journal of mystical experiences and insights (Lewis, pp. 82-86, p. 107).
A number of stories about Mawlanais life were added or altered in order to fit hagiographical needs. For example, claims were made that he was a descendant of Abu Bakr (the first successor of the Prophet Muhammad) and that his grandmother was a royal princess (the daughter of the Khwarazmshah, the King of Khorasan or eastern Persia). These assertions have been refuted by scholars (Foruzanfar, 1988, p. 8; Lewis, p. 91).
The legend that Mawlanais grandmother was a princess has been used to support a claim made by some Turkish scholars that Mawlana was Turkish and that his native language was Turkish (based on an assumption that the ruling family in that part of Central Asia was a Turkish dynasty). A related claim is that Mawlana later learned an ‘Anatolian Persian dialect’ (Onder, pp. 198-99). These claims are contradicted by the fact that there are no more than two dozen verses containing Turkish words out of all the thousands of verses composed by Mawlana in his Diwan (Lewis, pp. 548-49) and very few words in his Mathnawi. In addition, the poetic works of his son (Sultsn Walad) and his grandson (Ulu carif Chalabi) are entirely in Persian, except for a small number of poems in Turkish.
A claim (made in the 15th century) that Mawlana met the great Sufi poet ar as a child enables him to be viewed as ‘blessed’ with a similar poetic gift (Lewis, pp. 64-65).
The assertion (also made in the 15th century) that Mawlanais father was a disciple of the famous Sufi master Najm al-Din Kubra can be considered legendary, since it remains unsubstantiated (Lewis, pp. 30-33, 92).
To be continued…
Jalal al-Din Rumi b. Bahai al-Din Walad b. Husayn b. Ahmad Kha?ibi was born on 6 Rabi I 604/September 30, 1207 in or near the ancient city of Balkh in a region of Khorasan (now in Afghanistan) and died on 5 Jumada II 672/December 17, 1273 in Konya (now in Turkey). His birth name was the same as his fatheris: Muhammad. From an early age, his father called him Jalal al-Din (‘The glory of the Religion’). He was also called by the Arabic title, Mawlana (‘our Master’), as was his father. In addition, his disciples called him by the Persian title, Khodawandgar (‘great Master’). He was known as Rumi (‘Roman’) because he spent most of his life in the region known by Muslims as ‘Rum,’ the Anatolian peninsula most of which had been conquered by the Saljuq Turks after centuries of rule by the Eastern (Byzantine) Roman Empire.
Mawlana has long been viewed as one of the greatest Persian poets and has been called ‘surely the greatest mystical poet in the history of mankind’ (Arberry, 1949, p. xix). He is the author of the following poetic works: Divan-e Kabir (‘Great Collected Poetic Works’) or Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi (which contains, in the earliest manuscripts, more than 3,000 ghazaliyat or lyric poems, 40 tariat or stanzaic poems, and over 1800 rubaiyat or quatrains) and Mathnawi-ye Macnawi (‘Couplets of Deep Spiritual Meaning’), considered his greatest work that was composed in his later years, which contains over 25,000 authentic verses). Over the centuries, many verses and poems, as well as ‘improvements’ within verses, have been added to the manuscript tradition; and more inauthentic verses and poems are claimed as belonging to Mawlana in contemporary books and articles. His prose works, believed to have been compiled after his death, are Fihi Ma Fihi (‘Whatever Is In It, Is In It,’ also known as the ‘Discourses of Rumi’), Majalis-e Saba (‘Seven Sessions,’ also known as the ‘Sermons’), and Maktubat (‘Letters’).
The basic story of Mawlanais life is well known: how he emigrated from Balkh with his family just prior to its destruction by the Mongol army of Genghis Khan, travelled from place to place (including Mecca) with his family before living in several towns in Anatolia (in present day Turkey) and moving finally to Konya (the ancient city of Iconium), succeeded his father who was a renowned religious scholar, met the wandering dervish Shams al-Din of Tabriz who had a transforming impact on his life, became troubled by the jealousy of his followers that led to the first disappearance of Shams, sent his oldest son (Sultan Walad) to bring Shams back from Damascus, became completely distraught when Shams disappeared permanently, then became more profoundly creative than ever before as a mystical poet, and was succeeded (following the death of his chief disciple, Dusam al-Din Chalabi) by Sultan Walad, who was the first to organise the tradition of the Mawlawi (Mevlevi) Sufis-later known in the West as the ‘Whirling Dervishes.’
Here, certain aspects of his life have been selected for emphasis, some of which challenge assumptions and claims that occur frequently in many of the books and articles about Mawlana.
According to Sepahsalar, who wrote that he was Mawlanais direct disciple, Mawlanais birth was in the year 1207 C.E. (p. 22). And Aflaki also accepted this year in his hagiography (p. 73), written at the request of Mawlanais grandson (between 1318-1353) and mentioned the full date as September 30, 1207 (6 Rabi al-Awwal 604 A.H.).
However, some Mawlana scholars have thought there was evidence of an earlier birth year, but this view has not been accepted by most scholars (Lewis, pp. 317-20).
There is evidence, based on his fatheris journal, Maarif, that Mawlana was born in Wakhsh (now in Takijistan), about 240 kilometers northeast of Balkh in the valley of the Wakhsh River (which flows into the Amu Darya, or Oxus River), where his father lived and worked as a jurist and preacher between 1204 and 1210 (Bausani, 1965, p. 393; Meier; Schimmel, p. 11; Lewis, pp. 47-49). The town of Wakhsh was culturally a part of the city of Balkh. In the year 1212, Mawlanais father moved with his family to Samarqand (now in Uzbekistan). He presumably returned to Balkh at some point, since he and his family emigrated from there to Anatolia about 1216 or 1217. Since there is reason to believe that Mawlana lived in Balkh for some period of time, this gives justification to view him as from Balkh, a ‘Balkhi.’
Mawlanais father, Bahai al-Din Walad, may have been born and raised in Balkh. However, there is no supporting evidence that he was a well-known religious scholar in Balkh (Lewis, pp. 46-47, 54-55); rather, a miracle story developed that was based on a dream that he recorded in his journal, that the Prophet Muhammad declared him to be the ‘Sultan of Religious Scholars.’ Presumably, he lived in Balkh for periods of time as a preacher, scholar, and spiritual teacher. He may therefore also be viewed as a ‘Balkhi,’ a man from Balkh. Books about Mawlana commonly say little about his father except to describe him as a Muslim scholar and judge. However, Bahai al-Din was an unusual mystic, whose focus was not on discourse but on direct experience of the Presence of God through prayer, dreams, visions, and intimations. There is evidence that Mawlanais own mystical teachings were strongly influenced by his studies of his fatheris journal of mystical experiences and insights (Lewis, pp. 82-86, p. 107).
A number of stories about Mawlanais life were added or altered in order to fit hagiographical needs. For example, claims were made that he was a descendant of Abu Bakr (the first successor of the Prophet Muhammad) and that his grandmother was a royal princess (the daughter of the Khwarazmshah, the King of Khorasan or eastern Persia). These assertions have been refuted by scholars (Foruzanfar, 1988, p. 8; Lewis, p. 91).
The legend that Mawlanais grandmother was a princess has been used to support a claim made by some Turkish scholars that Mawlana was Turkish and that his native language was Turkish (based on an assumption that the ruling family in that part of Central Asia was a Turkish dynasty). A related claim is that Mawlana later learned an ‘Anatolian Persian dialect’ (Onder, pp. 198-99). These claims are contradicted by the fact that there are no more than two dozen verses containing Turkish words out of all the thousands of verses composed by Mawlana in his Diwan (Lewis, pp. 548-49) and very few words in his Mathnawi. In addition, the poetic works of his son (Sultsn Walad) and his grandson (Ulu carif Chalabi) are entirely in Persian, except for a small number of poems in Turkish.
A claim (made in the 15th century) that Mawlana met the great Sufi poet ar as a child enables him to be viewed as ‘blessed’ with a similar poetic gift (Lewis, pp. 64-65).
The assertion (also made in the 15th century) that Mawlanais father was a disciple of the famous Sufi master Najm al-Din Kubra can be considered legendary, since it remains unsubstantiated (Lewis, pp. 30-33, 92).
To be continued…
