Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi
There are some significant
personalities who with the help of their voice and breath, their love and
excitement, and their promise for humanity always remain fresh and alive over
the course of centuries. Time evidently fails to make these characters
obsolete. Their thoughts, analyses, explanations, and spiritual messages, which
will never be lost, represent, ever anew, alternative solutions and
prescriptions for today’s social problems, in great variety and diversity.
Rumi is one
such personality. Despite the vast amount of time that separates his life from
ours, Rumi continues to hear and to listen to us, to share our feelings, to
present solutions to our problems in a voice that is without equal. Despite the
fact that he lived some centuries ago, he remains absolutely alive among and
with us today. He is a man of light—one who receives his light from the spirit
of the Master of Humanity (Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon
him), distributing this light in a variety of manners to just about everywhere.
He was chosen to be one of the world’s saints and to be pure of heart; a
blessed one whose words are outstanding among those of the heroes of love and
passion. He was and continues to function as Israfil; blowing life into dead
spirits. He did and continues to provide the water of life to the barren hearts
of many; a spiritual irrigation. He was and continues to provide light for the
travelers on their paths. He was and continues to be the perfect heir of the
Prophet.
Jalal al-Din Rumi,
a man of God, hastened toward God on his own spiritual journey; but in addition
to this he evoked similar journeys in countless others—journeys marked by an
eager striving toward God. He was a balanced man of ecstasy who sprang alive
with love and excitement; he did this to such an extent that he inspired in
others these significant feelings; he continues to do so. In addition to his
passion for God, along with his knowledge and love of Him, Rumi is further
renowned as a hero in terms of both his respect and fear of God. He was and
continues to be one who beckons; whose powerful voice invites everyone to the
truth and the ultimate blessed reality. Rumi was an inclusive master whose joy
was a direct consequence of His joy, whose love and passion were the result of
His special favors to Rumi. His life provides real evidence of the Truth. At
the same time as he spoke to those of his own times in an effective manner,
Rumi was even more influential in that he made his voice and breath, which
reflected the voice and breath of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon
him, continue to be heard for centuries after. He spoke with such an enchanting
voice that he was able to guide not only his blessed contemporaries, but also
people of our time, centuries removed from his physical existence. God bestowed
upon him this important duty. For this purpose, God blessed him with impeccable
inner and outer qualities so that he would prove successful in this undertaking.
His heart was full of the Divine light. As such, his essence is marked by his
wisdom, which shines like a light reflected through a precious gem. His
inner-most self was enveloped with Divine mysteries. His inner eyes were
enlightened by this special light.
On this
horizon, Jalal al-Din Rumi represents the North Star, the heart of the circle
of guidance for his time. He embodies the characteristics of the lamp of
sainthood, taking its light from that of the truth of the Prophet. Many of
God’s blessed creatures are instinctively attracted to light; Rumi’s light has
attracted hundreds of thousands spiritual butterflies; they are drawn to the
light. He represents a guide for humanity’s quest for the perfection of human
qualities. Rumi was a careful exegete of the truths presented in the Qur’an. A
fluent interpreter of love and zeal for Prophet Muhammad, Rumi was able to use a
mysterious language to guide others to a love of God. Those who enter his
sphere are able to reach an ultimate sense or feeling in the presence of God.
Those who examine the Qur’an by his guideposts underwent changes (and continue
to undergo changes) similar to those witnessed by the people who lived in the
era of the Prophet himself, peace and blessings be upon him. When the verses of
the Qur’an were interpreted by Rumi’s closest associates, all hearts benefited
from the illumination provided by his wisdom; it was as if all of heaven’s
mysteries were opened by his wholehearted recitation of that one word—God.
Rumi’s love
for God was a fiery one, with a constant moaning and longing for the mysteries
of God. He experienced a love and passion both in his solitary asceticism and his activities in the community. It was in
his solitariness that he became most open to the truest union with God, and it
was in such cases of separation from all things except God that he became like
a ball of fire. And while such a sense of burning would prove difficult for
many to bear, Rumi never showed any signs of discontent. Rather, such a burning
was considered a requirement for passion, and refraining from complaint was
seen to be in the tradition of loyalty. For Rumi, those who profess a love of
God must necessarily accompany their statement of “I love” with a sense of
furious burning—this is the price one must willingly pay for being close or in
union with God. Additionally, one must engage in behavior that is to a large
extent ascetic, such as moderated eating, drinking, sleeping, and a constant
awareness and orientation toward God in one’s speech, and one must inevitably
experience bewilderment when endowed with God’s bounties.
Rumi cannot understand how a lover can sleep in an immoderate way, as it takes
away from the time that can be shared with the Beloved. For him, excessive
sleep is offensive to the Beloved. As God instructed David, saying, “O David, those who
indulge in sleep without contemplating Me and then claim to be in love are
liars” so too did Rumi state; “When the darkness falls, lovers become intense.”
Rumi continually recommended this not only in words, but also in his actions.
The following
quotation from his Divan-i Kabir best
represents several droplets from the ocean of his feelings and excitement, erupting
like a volcano:
I am like Majnun[1] in my poor heart, which is without limbs, because I have no strength to contest the love of God.
Every day and night I continue in my efforts to free myself from the bonds of the chain of love; a chain which keeps me imprisoned.
When the dream of the Beloved begins I find myself in blood. Because I am not fully conscious, I am afraid in that I may paint Him with the blood of my heart.
In fact, You, O Beloved, must ask the fairies; they know how I have burned through the night. Everyone has gone to sleep.
But I, the one who has given his heart to You, do not know sleep like them. Throughout the night, my eyes look at the sky, counting the stars.
His love so profoundly took my sleep that I do not really believe it will ever come back.
If the spirit
of the anthology of Rumi’s poems, which are the essence of love, passion,
divine presence, and excitement, were to be extracted, what would exude are the
cries of love, longing, and hope. Throughout his life Rumi expressed love, and
in turn, he believed he was beloved because of this. Accordingly, he spoke of
his love and relationship with Him. When he did so, he was not alone—he took
along with him many blessed individuals who were his audience. He assumed it to
be a requisite of loyalty to offer, cup by cup, the drinks presented to him on
the heavenly table to others who were in his circle of light.
Thus, the
following quotation represents the ambiguous chanting that is reflected in his
heavenly travels:
The Buraq[2] of love has taken my mind as well as my heart, do not ask me where.
I have reached such a realm that there is no moon, nor day. I have reached a world where the world is no longer the world.
This
spiritual journey of Rumi was an ascension in the shadow of the Ascension of the Prophet, which is described by Süleyman
Çelebi (the author of the Turkish Mevlid—recited in the commemoration
of the birth of the Prophet) in these words: “There was no space, no Earth, and
no heavens.” What his soul heard and watched was a special reflection of His
courtesy, which cannot be seen by the eyes, cannot be heard by the ears, and
cannot be comprehended by one’s mind or thought. Such reflections are not
attainable by all. Rumi spiritually ascended and saw, tasted, and knew all that
was possible for a mortal being. Those who do not see cannot know. Those who do
not taste cannot feel. Those who are capable of feeling in this manner
generally do not divulge the secrets that they have attained. And those who do
reveal these secrets often find them to be above the level of the comprehension
of most people. As the famous Turkish poet Shaykh Ghalib said, “The Beloved’s candle has such a wonderful
light, its light does not fit into the lamp glass of Heaven.”
The love,
relationship, and warmth toward all creation as expressed by Rumi is a
projection of a deeply-rooted divine love. Rumi, whose nature was intoxicated
by the cup of love, embraced all of creation with a projection of that love. He
was involved in a dialogue with every creature, and all of these were a result
of nothing but his deep love of God and his relationship with the Beloved.
I believe
that these disordered and somewhat confused explanations are far from adequate
to describe Rumi. This disorder is an inevitable result of my search for a
relationship with him. A droplet cannot describe the ocean, nor can an atom
describe the Sun. Even so, since his light falls once again on this Earth, I
would like to say, within a few sentences, some words about Jalal al-Din Rumi.
Rumi was born
in the city of
The journey
took this blessed family to the city of
It is not my
intention to stir the waters that comprise the lives of such remarkable and
pure personalities with debates and questions that ultimately will only agitate
and obscure. However, one must wonder whether Rumi opened the horizon of Shams
or whether Shams took Rumi to the world of the unseen. Who took whom to the
realty of realities—the peak of love and joy? Who directed whom to the real
Besought and the real Beloved? Answering these questions is beyond the capacity
of most ordinary people. One can say, at least, the following: During this
period of time, two skillful and acute spirits came together, like two oceans
merging into one another. By sharing the Divine bounties and gifts received
from their Lord, they both reached peaks that most people would not be able to
reach easily on their own accord. Through their spiritual cooperation, they
established camps on the peaks of knowledge, love, compassion, and joy for God.
As much as they enlightened those of their own age, they also influenced all
centuries to follow; an effect that is still present today. The spring of sweet
water which they represent continues to nourish the thirsty. They have been
continuously remembered over the centuries for their beautiful contributions to
countless lives. Here it is important to note that Rumi was informed by
numerous sources in the flow of ideas, including his father, the great master
of scholars. During his journey, he seemed to leave many of his contemporaries
behind—his love and compassion flowed like the waters of the world’s oceans; so
much so that while continuing to live physically among humans, he managed to
become ever closer to God. It seems he never elevated himself above others
except through his writings, both during his life and after his entering the
life of eternity; he provides a star of guidance that echoes the spiritual life
of the Prophet of Islam. Accordingly, he is among the few people who have
exerted a great influence through both space and time.
Rumi, the
Master, was not a pupil, a dervish, a representative, or master as is known
amongst traditional Sufis. He developed a new method that was colored with
revivalism and personal independent reasoning by taking the Qur’an, the Sunna, and Islamic piety as his
points of reference. With a new voice and breath, he successfully brought both
those of his generation and those of times to follow to a new divine table. As
far as his relationship with God is concerned, he was a man of love and
passion. As for those who turn to him for the sake of God, he represents a
compassionate bearer of God’s divine cup of love. Yes, as the rains of mercy
fall forth from the clouds of the sky, if the collections of his poems were to
be wrung out, God’s love and the love of His Messenger would gush forth in
showers. His Mesnevi, exuberant with
his spirit, a book which is in part didactic and was put in the form of a book
by his disciple Husam al-Din Chelebi, represents
his largest, most monumental treatise. While it stems from his involvement with
the floods of a high level love and passion, it was presented in smaller waves
so that their essence might be understood by a larger part of humanity who did
not share the same capacity. His other work, Divan-i Kabir, is both informed by and presented in this higher
level of love and passion and better represents his own abilities.
In the Mesnevi,
feelings and thoughts are put in such a way that they do not confuse our
intelligence and in such a style that it does not surpass our understanding. As
for the Divan-i Kabir, everything is
like an erupting volcano. Its meaning is not easily understood by most. A
careful investigation will show that this great book of Rumi’s thought will
explain such concepts as baqa billah maallah (to live by God with God) and fana fillah (annihilation in God) in the context of a
larger understanding of the world of the unseen. Those who are capable of
realizing this excitement in Rumi’s Divan will find themselves in extreme
bewilderment before a flood of love and ecstasy that is comparable to an
erupting volcano. In these poems of the master, which are not easily accessible
for most people, the limits of reason are surpassed, the meanings of the poems
are elevated above the norms for humanity, and the eternal nature of the unseen
world shadows the ephemeral colors and forms of what one encounters in their
physical being.
Jalal al-Din Rumi
was nourished by the fruit of numerous sources of ideas, including religious
seminaries, Sufi lodges, and Sufi
hermitages associated with strict Sufi asceticism. Rumi attained an understanding
of the Ultimate Reality. He cultivated the heavenly through his own methods.
Eventually, he became a central star, the North Star, in the sky which houses
sainthood. He was like a bright moon that rotates on its own axis. He was a
hero who reached the places where he should have reached and stopped where he
should have stopped. He read carefully what he saw and evaluated well what he
felt. He never displayed or participated in any improper behavior during his
journey to God. Even though the numbers were vast, Rumi never lost any of the bountiful
gifts he received from the world of the unseen, not even to the weight of an
atom. Like many of his predecessors, he voiced these divine bounties through
his poetry in an impressive manner. He often voiced his love and excitement in
seemingly magic words which resembled the finest of precious gems. Within the
vagueness of the poetry, he mastered the art of explaining his ambiguous
statements in ways that opened their meaning to friends, but remained obscured
to outsiders.
These statements
which were at times both clear and ambiguous are the voice and breath of his
own horizon—he was not acquainted with other pens or the wells of ink which
supplied them. Although one can find a few foreign words or works falsely
attributed to him, Rumi’s anthology represents a warmth, the music of his own
heart, a music which brings all who hear it under its influence with a captivating
control.
Rumi
possessed a very delicate disposition, often appearing more compassionate than
a mother to her child. In short, he was an exceptional personality,
particularly in his projection of the spirit of God’s Messenger in his own
time. This is illustrated in his collected works, including Mesnevi, Divan-i Kabir, some collected letters associated with familial relations,
and his special behavior with friends. Those who witnessed this were greatly
excited to see the perfect heir of the Prophet and would say with great
humility and respect, “This is a grace from God. He gives it to whom He wants.”[3]
Rumi was a
man of genuine sincerity and loyalty. He lived by what he felt in his heart as
long as it did not contradict the teachings and laws of religion. While making
his faith the focus of his life, while showing the others the way of life,
while blowing into the ney, while dancing like a butterfly, his heart was
burning with love and longing; it had always ached and moaned like the monotone
ney. Those who were not aching could not understand him. Those who were rude
and tactless could not feel what he felt. He said, “I want a heart which is
split, part by part, because of the pain of separation from God, so that I
might explain my longing and complaint to it.” Saying this, he searched for
friends who had similar longings and complaints.
Throughout
his life Rumi witnessed and experienced many difficulties. Yet, he never acted in
a harsh manner or tried to hurt others in response. While proclaiming the
bounties of God, Rumi roared and was fearless. In his personal engagements, he
was always meek and humble, willing and ready to embrace everyone with great
compassion. Bad characteristics, such as selfishness, pretentiousness,
arrogance, or aggressiveness, found no quarter with him; they could not even
come close to him. He was extremely respectful to all, especially those with whom
he had the closest associations: he referred to his friend, Shams-i Tabriz, the man from whom he lit his own candle, as his “Master”;
he called his pupil and spiritual representative, Salah al-Din Zarqub, “Spiritual Leader,” “Master,” and “Sultan”; he always
mentioned Husam al-Din Chelebi with great respect.
His behavior toward his family members mirrored the behavior of the Prophet toward
his own family. His community of followers was open to everyone, like that of
the Prophet—and he was close to even those who were farthest from him, so much
so that his greatest enemies were compelled, unwillingly, to throw themselves upon
his compassionate embrace. Once having entered this circle, no one ever abandoned
him.
Rumi,
the Master, on the one hand, had a specific intimate relationship with the world
of the unseen, but on the other hand, especially as far as his relationship
with people was concerned, he never promoted any sense that he was greatly
different; this was because of his utmost sincerity and humility. He lived
amongst the people as one of them. He would listen to them, eat, and drink with
them; he would never disclose the secrets cultivated between him and God to
those who could not truly appreciate their value. Being a guide, he lived by
what he believed and always tried to find a way to penetrate the hearts of
those around him. He would call his gatherings “Talks on the Beloved,” thus
making an effort to constantly draw attention to Him. He would say, “Love,”
“Longing,” “Ecstasy,” and “Attraction” to try to share with others the gushing
excitement and feelings that were inherent in his spirit. He would show
everyone who passed by his climate the horizon of real humanity. He never allowed
his eyes to rest on worldly possessions, but would rather distribute any accumulated
possession or any money that was beyond his own needs amongst those who were in
need. When he the food was scarce in his house, he would say, “Thank God as
today our house resembles the Prophet’s house.” Accordingly, it was through thankfulness
and patience that he made his spiritual flights into the world beyond. Rumi did
not accept charity or alms; in this way he was able to avoid a feeling of indebtedness—he
suffered from hunger, lived modestly, and yet would never let others be aware
of such situations. He did not want to stain his service of guidance for God by
accepting gifts or presents.
In
addition to his ascetic life, his fear of God, his chastity, his divine protection
from sinfulness, his self-sufficiency, and his pure life that was directed
toward the world of the unseen, Rumi’s knowledge of God, his love of God, and
his utmost longing for God kept him, throughout his life, rising as one of the
moons that illuminates the sky of sainthood. His love for God was one that
surpassed the normal bounds of love—it was a transcendental love. He thoroughly
believed that he was also loved by Him. This security did not result, for him,
in losses—neither in a lack of fear nor in a loss of respect for God. This was
the horizon of faith and accountability, and Rumi would hint at this balance
between fear and hope as an expression of the bounties offered by God. We can
rightly call this sense of balance “The Declarer of the Gifts of the Eternal
Sultan.”
In
his inner world, the various waterfalls of love flowed out at a variety of volumes
and distances. His sincere approach toward the Divine and his fidelity were
rewarded with divine ecstasy and attractions. He was privileged with the
greatest closeness to God and he frequently sipped from the cup of divine love,
cup by cup, becoming intoxicated. He wanted to see, to know, to feel, and to
speak only of Him and to relate all of his work and words only to Him. He was
so earnest in this regard that if his eyes turned to outsiders for even a brief
moment, he would sit and cry a great many tears. He strongly desired to live in
the spacious environment of togetherness with Him. He convulsively struggled to
be both a lover and a beloved and spent the minutes of his life in an intoxication
that emanated from both.
There
were many lovers who felt these spiritual joys in a similar way who preceded
Rumi in life and death. Yet Rumi’s superiority is revealed by the way in which
he spoke out so courageously about his feelings and thoughts in his Divan-i Kabir. In fact, since the time
of the Prophet and through the periods that followed, there have been many great
heroes who have been afforded superiority over Rumi by common consensus. However,
Rumi’s superiority lies in a special merit, whereas theirs are more general
merits. Therefore, in this regard we can perceive of Rumi as the leader of this
field, the finest among the fine. Rumi is an outstanding guide in leading
people to the Most Beautiful of the beautiful on the path of love.
It is
a lofty rank for a human to be able to love God from the depth of their heart
and to always remember Him with deep love and passion. If there is a higher
rank than this, it is the awareness of the fact that all love, longing,
ecstasy, and attraction in human beings are the result of His kind treatment
and favor. Rumi breathed God’s Beautiful Names and Attributes every time he
inhaled and exhaled. He was aware that his disposition was a direct result of
the grace and favor bestowed upon him by God. Those whose horizon fails to
achieve this unique level may not be able to understand this. According to the
following anonymous poem, there is no doubt that just as words represent the
shells of meanings encompassed within, the abilities and capacities of humans
are simply factors and conditions that are invitations for the receiving of
divine gifts and:
The works of His grace are based on the ability of creatures.
From the rain of April a snake makes poison while an oyster makes
a pearl.
Some
people do not consider it proper to use the phrase “love of God” in the Islamic
tradition. Like many of God’s lovers, Rumi, in a way that is appropriate to the
holiness and exaltedness of God, courageously defended that the concept of love
for God should be above all human concepts of love and relationships. He left a
legacy of ambiguous divine love which was open for interpretation to the
generations that followed him. Some Sufis and scholars of Islamic law questioned the use of
musical instruments, such as the nay, and the music performed in the lodges,
because of this ambiguity? These groups of people frequently criticized the
performances of the whirling dervishes. However, Rumi, the master, had no doubts
about the truthfulness of his interpretations. If he had, he would have broken
the instruments and surely given up all such activities. In fact, I think
Rumi’s heart-felt relations with the spirit of religion and his being a
faultless representative and living interpretation of the way and etiquette of
Muhammad, peace and blessings be
upon him, cannot allow others to say anything against him. Furthermore, these
two concepts have been more than enough for a majority of people to accept his
ways.
He was a man of complete sincerity and
loyalty. He lived by what he felt in his heart, as long as it did not
contradict the teachings and laws of religion. While making religion the focus
of his life, while guiding others to this way of life, while blowing into the
nay, while dancing like a butterfly, his heart was burning with love and
longing and always ached and moaned like the monotone nay. Those who did not
ache could not understand him. Those who were rude and tactless could not feel what
he felt. He was saying, “I want a heart which is split, chamber by chamber, by
the pain of separation from God, so that I might explain my longings and desires
to it.” Saying this, he searched for friends who had experienced similar
longings and complaints.
In
fact, it was not initially my task to write on this invaluable subject; there
are many others who are more adequately prepared to address it. However, this
request came from someone whom I have respected for a very long time and, therefore,
I could not refuse. I took on this topic, which is, in reality, beyond my
capacity. Hundreds, even thousands, have written about Rumi. It is their job to
write—and if something important is to be said, it is their job to say it.
Despite this, there is nothing that prevents simple people like me from muttering
a few lines—I think that this is what I have done. It would probably have been
better if I had stopped earlier and directed the reader to Şefik Can’s Rumi: His Life, Personality, and Thoughts,
so that a meaningful engagement with the actual text might have begun. Even if
it is too late now, I do not want to limit or shadow the treatment any longer with
my own limited understanding. And so now I stop and bring my comments to an end.
M. Fethullah Gülen