The Life and Spiritual surrounds of Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi

In the last decades of the Twentieth Century the spiritual influence of Mawlana Jalâluddîn Rumi is being strongly felt by people of diverse beliefs throughout the Western world. He is being recognized here in the West, as he has been for seven centuries in the Middle East and Western Asia, as one of the greatest literary and spiritual figures of all time.

Different qualities of Rumi have been brought forth by a variety of new translations that have appeared during the nineteen-eighties. He has been presented as both refined and sensual, sober and ecstatic, deeply serious and extremely funny, rarefied and accessible. It is a sign of his profound universality that he has been so many things to so many people.

Rumi was renowned and loved by all even during his lifetime by the Christians in his immediate environment. And From European Past Rumi’s and work has been honoured by German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Goethe, Rembrandt who made two imaginary drawings of Rumi, and Pope John XXIII.

Who was Goethe? The most educated man in German history, A poet who’s full name was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe today many know him as Goethe, falsely labelled as one of the fathers of Romantic movement, Goethe dislike Romanticism and this is partly clear in This ‘ Faust part 2’

The encounter of Goethe with Hafiz's and Rumi's work became so inspiring to Goethe, that he produced his own "West-Ostlicher Divan" (Oriental Divan) and this is was what ‘led the way to the discovery of Persian poetry by the Romantics’. However Goethe was discovering Islam through Sufi Poetry! And much evidence shows in this own works that he was a Muslim.

poem of the "Divan" Goethe says:

How strange that in every special case
one praises one's own way!
If Islam means "surrender into God's will"
it's in Islam that we all live and die.

And According to the Christian Science Monitor Rumi ranked as America's best-selling poet in 1997. He is widely regarded as a leading representative of the acceptable face of Islam. He is claimed as their fellow-countryman by admirers in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and especially Turkey. And he is also regarded by many as the forerunner, centuries in advance, of a New Age.

If one Searches for “the name “Rumi” on the Worldwide Web and you get, as of early 2005, 822,000 “hits”. There are books light and heavy including several novels, articles, websites, calendars, paintings, exhibitions, recordings, videos, drama and ballet performances, fan clubs, and even restaurants connected in some way with him -- or, at least, with his name.

He has been represented as a quasi-contemporary poetic voice; as a sage tranquilly dispensing messages of love and universal tolerance; as a love poet totally out of control; and so on.

How far do the authentic voice, personality, and teachings of this remarkable man differ from the misrepresentations? What does the real Rumi have to tell us today, given that so many different ideas and viewpoints have been attributed to him? And his poems have been translated into many of the world's languages and have appeared in various formats.


Rumi's Life
It was 67 years after the death of Imam Ghazali that Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi was born in 1207 in Balkh in what is today called Afghanistan. (also known as Mawlana, meaning our guide or our master in Arabic and Persian, or Mawlana meaning our guide in Turkish) He is called ‘Rumi,’ meaning ‘Anatolian’ because of his life in that place.

He lived most of his life and produced his works under the Seljuk Empire and his descendants today are Turkish citizens and live in modern day Turkey. He is the Majesty of the Faith, Muhammad son of Muhammad, of Asia Minor by residence.

Fariduddin Attar is one of the most famous mystic poets of Iran, His most well-known and popular works today are Mantik'ut-Tayr'i- (The Conference of the Birds) and Tadkhirat al-Awliya, (Biographies of the Saints). His works were the inspiration of Rumi and many other mystic poets.

Attar, along with Sanaie were two of the greatest influences on Rumi in his Sufi views. Rumi has mentioned both of them with the highest esteem several times in his poetry. Rumi praises Attar as such: "Attar roamed the seven cities of love -- We are still just in one alley”

Mawlana Rumi met Fariduddin Attar as a young boy as Rumi's family abandoned the city of Balkh. On their way, Rumi's father came to visit Attar. It is reported that Attar gave a copy of one of his mystic poetry books to the young Jalal-Din (who was not called Rumi or Molana until much later when he became the great mystic and poet as he is known today). Their meeting has been reported by various sources, including by Rumi's own son Hassam al-Din.

At an early age his family left Balkh because of the danger of the invading Mongols and settled in Konya, Turkey, which was then the capital of the Seljuk Empire. His father Bahauddin was a great religious teacher who received a position at the university in Konya.

Mawlana's Rumi early spiritual education was under the guidance of his father Bahauddin and later under his father's close friend Sayyid Burhaneddin of Balkh. The circumstances surrounding Sayyid's undertaking of the education of his friend's son are interesting: Sayyid had been in Balkh, Afghanistan when he felt the death of his friend Bahauddin and realized that he must go to Konya to take over Jalâluddîn's spiritual education.

He came to Konya when Mevlâna was about twenty-four years old, and for nine years instructed him in "the science of the prophets and states," beginning with a strict forty day retreat and continuing with various disciplines of meditation and fasting. During this time Jalâluddîn also spent more than four years in Aleppo and Damascus studying with some of the greatest religious minds of the time and he met many great philosophers and scholars of the age including the renowned Ibn Arabi knows famously as Shaykh Al Akbar.!

As the years passed, Mevlâna grew both in knowledge and consciousness of God. This training was focused on divine love, worship, austerity and abstinence, piety, consciousness of God, humility, and tolerance, which are the foundations of Sufism. Rumi spent his days mostly praying and serving people who came to visit the Sufi center, preparing food for them, collecting wood for cooking and heating, and cleaning the toilets and bathrooms used by visitors. He thus learned the merit of serving people and knew that serving people is ultimately serving God.

Eventually Sayyid Burhaneddin felt that he had fulfilled his responsibility toward Jalâluddîn, and he wanted to live out the rest of his years in seclusion. He told Mevlâna, "You are now ready, my son. You have no equal in any of the branches of learning. You have become a lion of knowledge. I am such a lion myself and we are not both needed here and that is why I want to go. Furthermore, a great friend will come to you, and you will be each other's mirror. He will lead you to the innermost parts of the spiritual world, just as you will lead him. Each of you will complete the other, and you will be the greatest friends in the entire world." And so Sayyid Burhaneddin intimated the coming of Shams of Tabriz, the central event of Rumi's life.

Meeting shams of Tabriz and Divani-Kabir
At the age of thirty-seven Mawlana Rumi met the spiritual vagabond Shams, A wandering dervish, Shams of Tabriz. Of this meeting Rumi said, "What I had thought of before as God, I met today in a person." To this day the place where the two first met in Konya is known as Marc’al Bahreyn, the meeting point of the two oceans.

Much has already been written about their relationship. Prior to this encounter Rumi had been an eminent professor of religion and a highly attained mystic; after this he became an inspired poet and a great lover of humanity. Shams was burning and Rumi caught fire. Shams' companionship with Rumi was brief.

In the first encounter between the two men, Shams (whose name means “Sun”) showed Mawlana Rumi that there were realms of knowledge and experience that remained closed to him. Both found that in one another’s company and guidance a door to spiritual realization had become unlocked, opening the way to love in the purest form a human being can know. Intoxicated with this love, Mawlana Rumi no longer cared what others thought. The radiance of Shams’ presence was the radiance of God Himself.
Had not the Prophet Jacob suffered inexpressible sorrow at the loss of his son Joseph, a peerless reflection of Divine Beauty? For well over a year, Mawlana Rumi and Shams were almost constantly together before Shams suddenly vanished, fleeing the jealousy of his companion’s disciples.

Maqam -Shams al-Din Tabrizi


Who was Shams al-Din Tabrizi?
Contrary to general belief, a fair amount is known about him. Besides the testimony of Mawlana Rumi’s biographers, his collected miscellaneous sayings (Maqalat) in Persian have survived. Shams was a highly educated man, a Shafi‘i who had studied numerous works on fiqh. It was part of his way as a Sufi to conceal his true self from others and to shun respectability and diplomatic behaviour.

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We learn from the Maqalat that the main purpose of Shams’s travels was to find a true Friend of God (Wali Allah), or saint. In the Maqalat (no.385) he describes his first meeting with Mawlana. According to this version, Shams questioned him about the great Iranian Sufi Bayazid Bastami and why he had not found it necessary to say to God, as the Blessed Prophet had said, “We have not known You as You deserve to be known.”

The Maqalat also reveal how greatly Shams admired Mawlana Rumi as a scholar and spiritual figure who possessed qualities that he did not, and served as a teacher to him. Thus the relationship was not of the normal type between master and disciple.
Despite the fact that each was a perfect mirror for the other Shams disappeared, not once but twice.

The first time, Rumi's loyal son Sultan Veled searched for and discovered him in Damascus and eventually brought him back. Not long afterwards the second disappearance, however, proved to be final, and it is believed that he may have been murdered by people who resented his influence over Mevlâna.

Rumi was a man of knowledge and sanctity before meeting Shams, but only after the alchemy of this relationship was he able to fulfil Sayyid Burhaneddin's prediction that he would "drown men's souls in a fresh life and in the immeasurable abundance of God... and bring to life the dead of this false world with... meaning and love."
For more than ten years after meeting Shams, Mawlana had been spontaneously composing odes, or ghazals, and these had been collected in a large volume called the Divan-e-Kabir.

His love of Shams found its expression in a surge of music, dance and lyric poems in his `Divan-e-Kabir- also known as’ Divan-e-Shams-e-Tabrizi' His poetry is about Love, its also a description of the psychological states mankind experiences on the journey back to our Source and also some straightforward advice on life.
Even in the English translations that no longer have their original Persian rhyme, the Love and power or his poetry can be felt shining through, striking directly into our hearts.

Mathnawi and Husameddin
Meanwhile Mevlâna had developed a deep spiritual friendship with Husameddin Chelebi. The two of them were wandering through the Meram vineyards outside of Konya one day when Husameddin described an idea he had to Mevlâna: "If you were to write a book like the Ilahiname of Sanai or the Mantik'ut-Tayr'I - (The Conference of the Birds) of Fariduddin Attar it would become the companion of many troubadours. They would fill their hearts form you work and compose music to accompany it."

Mevlâna smiled and took from inside the folds of his turban a piece of paper on which were written the opening eighteen lines of his Mathnawi, beginning with:
Listen to the reed and the tale it tells, how it sings of separation...
Husameddin wept for joy and implored Mevlâna to write volumes more. Mevlâna replied, "Chelebi, if you consent to write for me, I will recite." And so it happened that Mawlana in his early fifties began the dictation of this monumental work.

As Husameddin described the process:
"He never took a pen in his hand while composing the Mathnawi. Wherever he happened to be, whether in the school, at the Ilgin hot springs, in the Konya baths, or in the Meram vineyards, I would write down what he recited. Often I could barely keep up with his pace, sometimes, night and day for several days. At other times he would not compose for months, and once for two years there was nothing. At the completion of each book I would read it back to him, so that he could correct what had been written."

The Mathnawi Rumi’s masterpiece
The Mathnawi can justifiably be considered the greatest spiritual masterpiece ever written by a human being. comprising six parts and comprising over 25,000 verses It's content includes the full spectrum of life on earth, every kind of human activity: religious, cultural, political, sexual, domestic; every kind of human character form the vulgar to the refined; as well as copious and specific details of the natural world, history and geography.

It is also a book that presents the vertical dimension of life, from this mundane world of desire, work, and things, to the most sublime levels of metaphysics and cosmic awareness. It is its completeness that enchants us.

In fact, the Masnawi is often praised and called the "Qur'an-e Parsi" (The Persian Qur'an). By famous Sufi poet and metaphysician ‘Abd al-Rahman Jami (d. 1492)

The fifth part for example, sets out the relationship between the Sacred Law (Shari‘a), Inner Reality (Haqiqa), and the Way (Tariqa). The Mathnawi offers, amongst other things, profound commentary on many passages of the Holy Qur’an.

The Orientalists’ notion that the Mathnawi is rambling and lacking coherence is a serious error, for while the connecting thread may at times be subtle, time and again two or more themes are skilfully interwoven, left for a page or so, then resumed.

While most of the tales in the poem are not original, the poet’s treatment of them is. Between the stories come passages in which the moral is dwelt upon (perhaps another reason for comparison with Islam’s Holy Book). The Mathnawi is like a kaleidoscope in which the author puts on view the multiple patterns of human existence. Mawlana himself described the poem as the Shop of Unity.

Modern day errors of Mathnawi:
"All have in their own view become my close companion; they have not sought the secrets from within me.” These words from the introduction to the Mathnawi have proved to be more then prophetic.

Today Rumi’s work can been seen in different colours of understanding which many are unaware of these being from mistranslation, false attributions and the truthful translations that still demand commentary to get any sense of this profound words and thus as Rumi says All have in their own view become my close companion; they have not sought the secrets from within me, not really understanding this message for this intense love for Allah enshrouded in his poetic pearls of wisdom which he expresses this yearning to meet this Lord!

By far the most popular and influential translator is Coleman Barks, an American professor of English literature who collaborates with Iranian-born John Moyne. Barks has sold a phenomenal number of books, and is also an accomplished public reciter.

Another contemporary poet, Robert Bly, takes a similar view as to where to pitch the balance between accuracy and using familiar expressions. And so They have brought Rumi to the masses.

Another kind of writing presents Rumi as a sage whose storehouse of colourful wisdom provides limitless material to present in handy, sound bite-sized pieces in various media: calendars, little “books of wisdom” that hang around the checkout areas of bookstores like candy bars in supermarkets; and even Tarot-style cards.

Mawlana Rumi is often presented to the unwary as an apostle of tolerance who readily accepted all religious faiths as equally valid manifestations of a universal religion of love. Verses that appear to support this view include the following: “What is to be done, o Moslems? For I do not recognise myself I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Gabr, nor Moslem” and “The man of God is beyond infidelity and religion to the man of God right and wrong are alike” (Selected poems from the Diwan-e Shams-e-Tabriz, pp.125 & 31).

But the poem in question is not present in any manuscripts from the first few centuries after Rumi’s death. Found in Indian printed editions, they were misattributed by admirers with ideas and motives of their own, and are altogether out of tune with Rumi’s poetical style and his thinking.

It is quite true that Mawlana Rumi saw positive things in non-Muslims, as he saw the good aspect of all things. Otherwise, he would hardly have for example written letters of counsel to Gurji Khatun, a Georgian princess, wife of Parvana Mu‘in al-Din a governor of Konya who used to visit Mawlana.

Some of the mistranslations perpetrated by writers working with Persian-speaking collaborators seem too dire to be accidental. Possibly some arise from the desire to “reach out to a wider readership” regardless of any need for fidelity.

In any case, although all these writers have contributed to Rumi’s worldwide renown and acclaim, the reader should be warned that what they are getting is sometimes a “filtration” rather than a translation.

The original meaning of the lines which Barks and Moyne (Open secret: versions of Rumi, p.71) render as: “If you don’t have a woman living with you, why aren’t you looking? If you have one, why aren’t you satisfied?” is plain enough. They were accurately translated by Arberry as follows: “If you have no beloved, why do you not seek one? And if you have attained the Beloved, why do you not rejoice?” Elsewhere, Barks attributes this to Mawlana Rumi: “Listen and obey the hushed language. Go naked.” Arberry, reliable if unpoetical, renders this as “Unto his hushed lament / attend thou obedient. Go not without the veil / so runs his whispered tale.” What this line actually means is that one should not divulge to others the secrets of divine love.

In fairness to Coleman Barks, one must add that some of his versions manage to both sparkle with life and come close to the wording of the original.

When the work of translators who do not know Persian is followed and “improved on” by others, the results are sometimes bizarre. In one edition of Arberry’s translations of selected poems from the Diwan, the word “blind” was misprinted as “blond”.

This spectacular instance of “the blind misleading the blind” also exemplifies the kind of anachronisms visited on the memory of Rumi by those anxious to make him speak in terms easily accessible to the person in the street today.

Another popular translator, Shahram Shiva, Besides having translated a good many Rumi poems, some of them (like the famous poem beginning “Come back, come back, whoever you may be”) are both inauthentic and unfaithful to the true Rumi.

Also beware that the manuscripts and editions include many inauthentic poems. Several found their way into Selected poems from the Diwan-e Shams-e-Tabriz. R. A. Nicholson has done an excellent edition and painstaking translation and commentary of the Mathnawi.


Rumi's poetry is often divided into various categories:
The quatrains (rubaiyat) and odes (ghazals) of the Divan The six books of the Mathnawi, The discourses, the letters, and the almost unknown Six Sermons. Most are in praise of love of the Divine and the ecstasy of the lover “crazy” enough to give everything in his quest for the Beloved.

Rumi's major work is:
Masnawi or Masnavi-ye Manavi (Spiritual Couplets), a six-volume poem regarded by many Sufis as second in importance only to the Qur'an. As mentioned already, the Masnawi is often called the "Qur'an-e Parsi" (The Persian Qur'an). Rumi’s lyric poetry has the intensity of a man who has given everything, lost everything, and once again found everything. At times, praise of Shams reaches near-blasphemous heights. It is as though the light of his spiritual being was nothing other than the Divine Light itself. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest works of mystical poetry.

Rumi's other major work is:
The Diwan-i-Kabir the Great Diwan or Diwan-e Shams-e-Tabrizi (The Works of Shams of Tabriz - named in honour of Rumi's great friend and inspiration, the darvish Shams),comprising some 40,000 verses. composed over more than thirty years.

Fihi Ma Fih (In It What's in It) is composed of Rumi's speeches on different subjects. Rumi himself did not prepare or write these discourses. This was written to introduce his disciples into metaphysics.

They were recorded by his son Sultan Valad or some other disciple of Rumi and put together as a book. The title may mean "what's in the Mathnawi is in this too." Some of the discourses are addressed to Muin al-Din Parvane. Some portions of it are commentary on Masnavi.

Majalis-i Sab'a (seven sessions) contains seven sermons (as the name implies) given in seven different assemblies. As Aflaki relates, after Sham-e Tabrizi, Rumi gave sermons at the request of notables, especially Salah al-Din Zarqubi.


The Mevlevi order
The order – Mawlana Rumi the founder of the Mevlevi order or the order of "The Whirling Dervishes", who believe in performing their dhikr in the form of sema- or the Dance! The dance In ecstasy but with perfect control through a turning movement, body posturing, mental focus, and sound, the dervishes in their white tunics and tall felt hats spin round and round in an ageless ritual dance.The dervish achieves ecstasy through union with God. A sudden flash of brilliant white light is followed by a moment of total annihilation. Darkness.

It is interesting to note that similar to other major religions, Islam frowns upon dancing and using words such as "gamble," "drunk," and "wine" which you find throughout Rumi's and other great Islamic and Sufi poets writings. Obviously they mean "drunk" on God's grace, but that's not to say they wouldn't be outcast by religious fundamentalists today.

His poetry filled with a longing to be with the Friend, Him, or You. Are these mysterious pronouns the names of God, Shams, or who? This is for you, the reader to ponder.

Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi died on December 17, 1273. that night was named Sebul Arus (Night of Union). Ever since, the Rumi order of Mawlawi dervish's have kept that date as a festival (URS shareef is held on December 17every year in Konya). at his funeral, men of five faiths followed his bier. Konya’s large Christian population.

The teachings Mawlana Rumi then moved in the spiritual direction of this son Sultan Valad. From there the Order grow. Sultan Valad was also an able administrator, diplomat and writer whose works include the collected Discourses, a Diwan, and a three long didactic poems that together form an inside account with some poetic exaggerations) of his father’s life.

Mawlana Rumi’s Maqam-Station or burial place is where he had spent most of his adult life and composed all his works, and where his tomb lies today. And Today Rumi’s poems are chanted at the assemblies of Mevlevi dervishes Circles.

click link read and understand - Sema: Human Being in the Universal Movement

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some of the references that were used above text
Jalal-al-Din Rumi and Self-Discovery By Ibrahim Gamard

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Mawlana Jalal Al-Din Rumi and Islamic Spirituality - Muhammad Isa Waley

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The Threshold Society-Kabir Helminski

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Was Goethe a Muslim?

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Sufism is only with Islam part 1
Know every Sufi is a Muslim but very Muslim isn’t a Sufi, learning Sufism without being a Muslim and trying to get so some realisation, is like being a Christian without believing in Christ which is completely absurd notion.

Sufism is the science of learning to training to ego and understanding the four enemies that will fight him these being 1 Dunya-World 2 Shaytan-Satan 3-Huwa-Desires 4 Nafs-The Ego these are the four factors that have man shamed Man and veiled him from this divine connection with this Lord and this is what the Mathnawi and every Sufi text deals with, its only from an Islamic perspective that one is given real victory to battle the four enemies and be victorious.

Otherwise one is left to follow fake educators trying to teach a science they have NO knowledge and due to that have created cults and New age Hippies that today are using Rumi’s work as self-developing exercises and who are expressing their enthusiasm for his teachings.

More positively, the widespread recognition of a Muslim saint and writer as having a message uniquely fitted to the needs of our time marks a new era in post-modern appreciation of Islamic thought and spirituality. Truth be told one needs to find a real Sufi Teacher or Master that can take him by the hand and lead him on the path they may experience or taste realisation of the Divine! which is the key word here Taste not just really read books for this will only lead you to the end of the page only.

The Sufi path of lightenment and realisation is to conquer the Self and reach Allah meaning The-God. This process is through Islam and Sufi mediation. Sufi mediation is repetition of the divine ancient Name Allah, Allah, Allah with the tongue and then the heart and this is the spiritual medicine which is administered through a qualified Sufi Master. Rumi’s poetry is an express of his arriving at realisation of Allah which came to him from reflection and Sufi mediation. And thus the fruits of this love was this Mathnawi which nothing more that a manual of this journey to Allah!

For those who are interested in Rumi's message and life in earnest, and not in the suspicious "New-Age" fad which the bogus translations of his works seem to have started which he, being a pious Muslim, would no doubt be horrified by to as the least! Mawlana Rumi’s life and works show us that it is not faith, belief and religion which cause hatred, conflict and violence, but the sins of hatred and greed and other symptoms of the unrestrained ego, and he showed us how the true practice of religion, the purification of the heart, is the remedy for these.

Sufism is only with Islam part 2
Many people in the West are attracted to rumi’s mystical teachings and practices and are not Muslim they believed that Sufism is a universal and esoteric form of mysticism that transcended Islam however, people that have study Islam seriously will change their attitude towards Islam and be convinced that Sufism is Islamic mysticism, that 100 percent of all Sufis who had ever lived were devout Muslims, and that if I wanted to go deeper on the path of the Sufis (dervishes, faqirs), I needed to practice Islam, as have so many generations of dervishes in the past.

That is why popular elements of non-Islamic Sufism in the West and popular versions of Rumi’s poetry have been created which avoid or minimize his religious teachings. Rumi has been wrongly portrayed in a way which is appealing to Americans: as a maverick, an individualist, unafraid to be a “free spirit,” a wild mystic who is crazed with passion, an inspired poet who is spontaneous and sensual, and a universal mystic who ignores the Muslim authorities and their “uptight” religious laws.

The idea that Jalal al-Din Rumi cared little for religion has been strengthened by translations and versions of poems attributed to Rumi which were actually not composed by him and which express radical Sufi ideas which are not characteristic of him. The following verses are not in the earliest manuscripts of his poetry and therefore are not from genuine poems of Rumi: “What is to be done, O Moslems? for I do not recognize myself. I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Gabr, nor Moslem. I am not of the East, nor of the West, nor of the land, nor of the sea …”

However, Rumi did not abandon Islam after becoming absorbed in ecstatic dance and music as many Western and Westernized people would like to believe. There are many accounts in the Persian sources of his performing the five daily prayers with his disciples and attending the weekly Friday congregational prayer in the mosques in Konya. It has been recognized for centuries that much of Rumi’s Persian poetry is an inspired translation of thousands of verses of the Qur’an as well as translations of many traditional sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

In an authentic quatrain composed by Jalal al-Din Rumi, he tells us:
I am the servant of the Qur’an as long as I have life.
I am the dust on the path of Muhammad, the Chosen one.
If anyone quotes anything except this from my sayings,
I am quit of him and outraged by these words.

-- Rumi’s Quatrain no. 1173, translated by Ibrahim Gamard and Ravan Farhadi Here, the Persian word “bezar” translated as “quit of” and “outraged” also means disgusted, fed-up, repelled, estranged. The meaning is that no one should interpret Rumi’s speech and poetry as having meanings that do not conform to the revelation and practice of Islam.

After generations of biased books written by Western orientalists about Sufism, during the last couple of decades, Western scholars of Sufism are finally acknowledging that Sufism is none other than Islamic mysticism, inspired by the Holy Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Those travelling the Path must fully submit to the guidance of a living Sheikh:
Once you’ve chosen a sheikh, don’t be feeble- hearted;
don’t be weak and crumbly like water and earth.
And if every blow gets you full of anger—–
unless burnished, how can you become a mirror? (Mathnawi I, 2979–80)
As for performing the five daily prayers which is based on Prostrating one’s head to the ground in humble submission to Almighty God this is also mentioned in many places in the Bible, but this form of worship has been abandoned by Jews and Christians, with rare exceptions. And the idea of prostrating tends to seem strangely “oriental” to Westerners and perhaps embarassing. “The Book of Chronicles” (II, 7:1–3) says: “When Solomon had finished his prayer … the glory of Yahweh filled the Temple. The priests could not enter the house of Yahweh because the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh. All the sons of Israel … bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the earth; they worshiped and gave praise to Yahweh, ‘for He is good, for His love is everlasting.’”

That is pure Islam. And in a famous story about the Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, the “Gospel of Matthew” [26:39] states that he “fell on his face in prayer saying, ‘Father, if possible let this cup [of suffering] pass from me, but not as I will, but as You Will.’” That is the essence of Islam and the essence of Sufism. This ancient form of prayer expressing surrender to the Almighty Will of the One God, as done by the prophets such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus (peace be upon them all) was revived by the renewal of pure monotheism known as the Islamic revelation. And the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that in the last days prior to the Day of Judgment, “a single prostration to God (in prayer) will be better than the whole world and whatever is in it” (Sahih al-Bukhari, as narrated by Abu Hurayra).

He also said (may the peace and blessings of God be upon him): “The nearest a servant comes to his Lord is when he is prostrating himself. So make supplication (in this state)” (Sahih al-Muslim, as narrated by Abu Hurayra). A related Sufi saying, which has also been attributed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) is: “Whoever humbles himself before God is elevated by Him” (man tawaZa‘ li-llahi rafa‘a-hu -- Tabaqat as-Sufiyya, p.76, as quoted in “Traditions of the Prophet,” vol. 2, by Javad Nurbakhsh).

Rumi’s message Today

What do we need to know to receive the knowledge that Rumi offers us?
First of all, it needs to be understood that Rumi's tradition is not an "Eastern" tradition. It is neither of the East nor of the West, but something in between. Rumi's mother-tongue was Persian, an Indo-European language strongly influenced by Semitic (Arabic) vocabulary, something like French with a smattering of Hebrew.

Furthermore, the Islamic tradition, which shaped him, acknowledges that only one religion has been given to mankind through countless prophets, or messengers, who have come to every people on earth bearing this knowledge of Spirit. God is the subtle source of all life, Whose essence cannot be described or compared to anything, but Who can be known through the spiritual qualities that are manifest in the world and in the human heart. It is a deeply mystical tradition, on the one hand, with a strong and clear emphasis on human dignity and social justice, on the other.

Islam is understood as a continuation of the Judeo-Christian or Abrahamic tradition, honouring the Hebrew prophets, as well as Jesus and Mary. Muslims, however, are very sensitive to the issue of attributing divinity to a human being, which they see as the primary error of Christianity. although Jesus is called the in the Qur'an "the Spirit of God," it would be thought a blasphemy to identify any human being exclusively as God. Muhammad is viewed as the last of those human prophets who brought the message of God's love.

In Rumi's world, the Islamic way of life had established a high level of spiritual awareness among the general population. The average person would be someone who performed regular ablutions and prayed five times a day, fasted from food and drink during the daylight hours for at least one month a year, and closely followed a code which emphasized the continual remembrance of God, intention, integrity, generosity, and respect for all life. Although the Mathnawi can appeal to us on many levels, it assumes a rather high level of spiritual awareness as a starting point and extends to the very highest levels of spiritual understanding.

The unenlightened human state is one of "faithlessness" in which an individual lives in slavery to the false self and the desires of the materials world. The spiritual practices which Rumi would have known were aimed at transforming the compulsiveness of the false self and attaining Islam or "Submission" to a higher order of reality. Without this submission the real self is enslaved to the ego and lives in a state of internal conflict due to the contradictory impulses of the ego. The enslaved ego is cut off from the heart, the chief organ for perceiving reality, and cannot receive the spiritual guidance and nourishment which the heart provides.

Overcoming this enslavement and false separation leads to the realization and development of our true humanity. spiritual maturity is the realization that the self is a reflection of the Divine. God is the Beloved or Friend, the transpersonal identity. Love of God leads to the lover forgetting himself in the love of the Beloved.

RUMI
THE LIFE AND WORK OF JALALUDDIN RUMI

Afzal Iqbal, Ph.D.
with a foreword by A.J. Arberry
Octagon Press, London, 1956, 1983

In the current wave of renewed interest in Rumi, this book offers the first comprehensive biography of this great historical figure written for the general public.

Beginning with an analysis of conditions in the thirteenth century of Christianity and seventh of Islam, the author pieces together a sensitive and scholarly chronicle of Rumi's life, taking great care to 'sift the grain from the chaff.' The book covers Rumi's formative years; the appearance and disappearance of the mysterious Shams-i-Tabriz who transformed Rumi's life; the sudden 'bursting forth' from a middle-age prose writer of the most exquisite and powerful poetry the world has ever known.

The sublime humanism of Rumi fired the imagination of mankind long before the West discovered the dignity of man...Hegel considered Rumi as one of the greatest poets and thinkers in world history. The twentieth century German poet Hans Meinke saw in Rumi 'the only hope for the dark times we are living in.'
—From The Life and Work of Jalaluddin Rumi © 1956, 1964, 1974, 1978, 1983 by Octagon Press.

'A unique scholarly effort ... a milestone in the revival of the study of the great Masnavi and Maulana Rumi's thought.'
—Dawn

'The world of today needs a Rumi to create an attitude of hope, and to kindle the fire of enthusiasm for life.'
—Sir Muhammad Iqbal

'...a pleasure to read ... holds the key to further delight for those many who will be encouraged by it to study further the immortal poetry of Rumi.'
—A.J. Arberry

Hardback, 330 pages, ISBN 0 86304 033 0, Order code LIWM1, $35.00

It can only be absurd if one subscribes to a narrow belief system.

As Sufic instruction does not encompass doctrine and dogma it follows that defining who is or who is not a Sufi is a contradiction. The fact that most Sufis are Muslim probably says more about the historical aspects of Eastern learning than it does about Islam.[/quote]


Sorry this completely wrong Sufism is an Islamic Science, as the only thing which is absurd is trying to divorce Sufism from Islam.

some refs about Islam and Sufism

Imam Malik one of the 4 imams in his famous saying said, "man tasawaffa wa lam yatafaqa faqad tazandaqa, wa man tafaqaha wa lam yatasawaf faqad tafasaq, wa man tasawaffa wa tafaqaha faqad tahaqaq." which means: " Whoever studied Tasawwuf without Fiqh is a heretic, and whoever studied Fiqh without Tasawwuf is corrupted, and whoever studied Tasawwuf and Fiqh will find the Truth and Reality of Islam."

please read;

Is Sufism against the teachings of islam ?

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But that does not mean we have to forget the rest of Islam. Ibn Arabi dsecribes the Sufi path as being in four stages, all of which are a part of Islam. The first is Shariah, the second is Tariqah (mystical path), the third is Haqiqah(Truth) and the fourth is Marifah (Gnosis). It starts with Shariah, and it is kept throughout the path. It is NOT discarded, as some critics believe. I read something somewhere that perfectly describes the relationship between 'Sufism' and Islam:

"Sufism without Islam is like a candle buring in the open without a lantern. There are winds which may blow that candle out. But if you have a lantern with a glass protecting the flame, the candle will continue to burn safely."

please read;
The Place of Tasawwuf in Traditional Islam

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please read;
Sufism and its Influence on Europe a lecture by Dr. Anne-Marie Schimmel

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Shaykh Ali Jumu’a is the Mufti of Egypt;“Sufism is Islam and Islam is Sufism. All the rites of Islam, all of its goals, everything that it is calling to has no meaning without Sufism and the principles it embodies of love, and beauty, and mercy, and humility, and compassion for creation. There is no meaning without Sufism.”

please read;
Reality of ‘Tasawwuf’ (sufism)

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According to Imam Ahmad Zarruq’s book, Iqaz al-himam fi sharh al-Hikam: Aspects of Sufism, defined, delineated, and explained, amount to nearly two thousand, all of them reducible to sincerity in turning to Allah Most High, something of which they are only facets, and Allah knows best. The necessary condition of sincerity of approach is that it be what the Truth Most High accepts. Now, something lacking its necessary condition cannot exist, "And he does not accept unbelief for His servants"(Koran 39:7), so one must realize true faith (iman), "and if you show gratitude, He will accept it of you" (Koran 39:7), which entails applying Islam. So there is no Sufism except through comprehension of Sacred Law, for the outward rules of Allah Most High are not known save through it, and there is no comprehension of Sacred Law without Sufism, for works are nothing without sincerity of approach, as expressed by the words of Imam Malik (Allah have mercy on him):

"He who practices Sufism without learning Sacred Law corrupts his faith, while he who learns Sacred Law without practicing Sufism corrupts himself. Only he who combines the two proves true."

taken from Reality of ‘Tasawwuf’ (sufism)

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can you explain;

Quote:

....if one subscribes to a narrow belief system.

because i dont know what that is.! As Islam is NO narrow belief system, it is an ancient abrahamic way that is being rewaken by Islam.