Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi Allah be pleased with him

  [1207 - 1273CE] 
 

The prominent Persian language poet, thinker and spiritual master, Hazrat Mevlana Jalal al-Din Balkhi-Rumi 'alayhir rahman was born on the 30th of September 1207 [Common Era] (6th  Rabi ul Awwal 604H) in Balkh, presently Afghanistan. He lived almost all of his life in Konya,  presently Turkey, and died there in 1273CE. Hazrat Mevlana 'alayhir rahman remains one of  the greatest poet, philosopher, thinker and scholar of Islamic civilisation.  

 The most significant and turning point in Mevlana's life is his encounter in 1244 with the  wandering mystic dervish Shams a'l-Din of Tabriz May Allah be pleased with him. Thence  forward, Mevlana was a changed man, his devotion to his inspiring master Shams a'l-Din  entirely cut him off from his disciples. Because of abuse and threats from the jealous disciples  Shams a'l-Din took refuge twice in Damascus, and in 1247 Shams a'l-Din vanished, and it is  believed Mevlana's disciples had plotted to kill him.

 Mevlana declared that one of his greatest works, the Divan (di'wan), consisting of  approximately sixty thousand couplets and one million distiches, was inspired by Shams a'l-  Din since Mevlana identified himself with his muse. His other great work, the Mathnawi  (Mesnev-i Me'nevi), divided into six books and containing a total of over twenty five thousand  couplets record several hundred stories, extracts from the Noble Qur'an, stories about  wandering dervishes, biblical stories, all with allegorical and philosophical content.

 Apart from this vast collection of poems, his prose work contains his sermons, his  admonitions, pious anecdotes, his letters dealing with personal and spiritual matters, and his  discourses on a wide variety of religious and mystical themes.

  Drops from an Ocean by Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi 'alayhir rahman

  Paperback - 70 pages

Drops from an Ocean Jalaluddin Rumi. Translated by Abdassamad Clarke 

This book is like little drops of water from the great ocean that is the Mathnawi. In some places it is more literally adapted and in others more faithfully to the essence of the tale. If it has value it is that it will lead the reader to plunge into that astonishing work.  

The Mathnawi is known as ''the Qur'an in Persian'' not because it's author seeks to equate it with the Qur'an but because in it he so remarkably expounds the Qur'an. Although the Mathnawi is not a children's book, the stories have the directness and clarity which are a delight to the young; and which will prove to be a treasure-chest of instruction and a great source of wisdom for all. Recommended for ages 12 and over as well as adults.

 
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  Me & Rumi  : The Autobiography of Shams-i Tabrizi (Transl. by William C.Chittick)

  Paperback - 430 pages   

"Imagine that you could go somewhere each morning, say to a corner of the sugar merchants' caravanserai, and hear Shams Tabriz talk about the veiling of the heart, the nature of exertion, or how to move beyond the agitated state of question and answer.  This book gives entry into that astonishing presence. Go there for an hour a day, however long it takes. Then read Rumi's poetry and feel their opening Friendship in you. Bless William Chittick." - Coleman Barks

 The astounding autobiography of the man who transformed Rumi from a learned religious teacher into the world’s greatest poet of mystical love.

 "William Chittick’s masterful translation of the Maqalat of Shamsi Tabrizi moves Rumi’s beloved mentor from the shadows into the light, and restores Shams to the central position of prominence that he so richly deserves.  This work immediately joins the indispensable short list of scholarly works on Rumi and his community.  Highly recommended for all scholars and students of Sufism, Islamic Philosophy, Persian literature, and of course for all the legions of Rumi fans."   – Annemarie Schimmel

Now that Rumi has become one of the best-selling poets in North America, interest in his life and times has increased dramatically.  Practically every collection of his poetry provides a thumbnail biography, highlighting his encounter with Shams-i Tabrizi, the wandering mystic who became Rumi’s beloved companion.  Rumi had been a sober scholar, teaching law and theology to a small circle of students, but the coming of Shams turned him into a devotee of music, dance, and poetry.  Three years after Shams’s appearance out of nowhere, he abruptly vanished, never to be seen again.  It was Rumi’s longing for the lost Shams that transformed him into one of the world’s greatest poets. Rumi immortalized Shams’s name by constantly celebrating him in his poetry as the embodiment of the divine beloved.

Everyone interested in Rumi’s poetry has been curious about Hazrat Shams Tabriz May Allah be pleased with him, and beginning with Rumi’s own son and other hagiographers, a great deal of legend was built up.  Over the centuries Shams became a trope of Persian, Turkish, and Urdu literatures.  Modern scholarship has made little headway in explaining who Shams was or how he was able to play such a decisive role in Rumi’s life, though a good number of theories have been advanced.

            Me and Rumi represents a true milestone in the study of this enigmatic figure.  It makes available for the first time in any European language first-hand accounts of Shams that have never been studied by Western scholars.  When Rumi and Shams sat and talked, one or more members of the circle took notes.  These were never put into final form, but they were preserved and sometimes copied by later generations, ending up in various libraries scattered around Turkey.  Fifteen years ago an Iranian scholar completed the long process of collating and editing the manuscripts.  The book that he published, called Maqalat-i Shams-i Tabrizi, “The Discourses of Shams-i Tabrizi”, provides us with an extraordinary picture of an awe-inspiring personality. 

            In Me and Rumi William C. Chittick has translated about two-thirds of the Discourses into English and arranged them in a manner that clarifies their meaning and context.  He provides notes and a glossary, which will go a long way toward helping readers decipher the more obscure passages.  The net result is an exciting and readable book that brings Shams to life.  For the first time in Western sources we are given access to him without the intermediary of Rumi and the myth-makers.  Shams appears as raucous and sober, outspoken and subtle, harsh and gentle, learned and irreverent, and above all as an embodiment of the living presence of God.  This large book destroys the stereotypes that have been set up by the secondary literature, and it gives access to a far more fascinating and vivid personality than we have any right to expect from what hagiographers and scholars have written. 

 
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'Like This ' -   Rumi     43 Odes    Versions by Coleman Barks     
   Paperback - 64 pages   

The mysterious conversations (sohbet) that Mawlana Rumi had with Mawlana Shams May Allah be pleased with them opened Rumi into a deep friendship with existence, and non-existence, that became the spontaneous river of his poetry. "Like This" contains 43 Odes from the "Divan." 
 
Here is an extract from one of the odes... 
 
-- Forget the world, 
and so command the world.

Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. 
Help someone's soul heal.
Walk out of your house like a shepherd. 

Stay in the spiritual fire. Let it cook you.  

Be a well baked loaf 
and Lord of the table.  

Come and be served 
to your brothers. ---

 
 
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Rumi - The Masnavi   - Book One.     A new translation by Jawid Mojaddedi

Paperback - 271 pages

Rumi's Masnavi is widely recognized as the greatest Sufi poem ever written, and has been described as 'the Qur'an in Persian'. The thirteenth-century Muslim mystic Rumi composed his work for the benefit of his disciples in the Sufi order named after him, better known as the whirling dervishes. In order to convey his message of divine love and unity he threaded together entertaining stories and penetrating homilies. Drawing from folk tales as well as sacred history, Rumi's poem is often funny as well as spiritually profound.

Jawid Mojaddedi's sparkling new verse translation of Book One is consistent with the aims of the original work in presenting Rumi's most mature mystical teachings in simple and attractive rhyming couplets. 

' The pen would smoothly write the things it knew
But when it came to love it split in two,
A donkey stuck in mud is logic's fate -
Love's nature only love can demonstrate.'

 
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 Rumi - The Masnavi   - Book Two.     A new translation by Jawid Mojaddedi

  Paperback -  290 pages

Book Two of Rumi's Masnavi is concerned with the challenges facing the seeker of Sufi enlightenment. In particular it focuses on the struggle against the self, and how to choose the right companions in order to progress along the mystical path. By interweaving amusing stories and profound homilies, Rumi instructs his followers in a style that still speaks directly to us. In this volume, stories such as 'Moses and the Shepherd', 'The Foolhardy Man who Trusted a Bear's Good Intentions' and 'Mo'awiya and Satan' are among the most popular in the entire Masnavi.

The most influential Sufi poem ever written, the six books of the Masnavi are often called 'the Qur'an in Persian'. Self-contained, as well as continuing the journey along the spiritual path, Book Two is here translated into rhyming couplets in the style of Jawid Mojaddedi's prize-winning translation of Book One. 

 'You don't seek guidance from those drunken men,
So why insist they mend their rags again?

 
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Birdsong  - Rumi :  fifty-three short poems  

Paperback - 64 pages

Synopsis: Jelaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) wrote short poems that resonate with the silence and love and great playfulness they spring from, much as birdsong deepens the quiet and, it may be, quickens the growing of a meadow. There is that spontaneous dance, and walnutty compression, in Rumi's short poems. The amazing variety, the playfulness of modes, does remind one of birdsong. 

All the great mystical traditions love birds and their singing. Birds represent our longings for purity and freedom, and they carry messages of ineffable joy. They mediate between above and below. Some of them begin at dawn to celebrate the returning light. And some with their songs in the middle of the night deepen our silence. 

Birdsong brings relief my longing. 

I am just as ecstatic as they are, with nothing to say! universal soul,practice some song, or something, through me! 
 
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The Essence of Rumi      by John Baldock

Paperback -240 pages 

 
Over a period of 25 years, Rumi May Allah be pleased with him composed over 70,000 verses of poetry on the subjects of divine love, mystic passion and ecstatic illumination. Scholars of his work today believe that he is one of the greatest poets of all time. Now widely read, Rumi May Allah be pleased with him was relatively unknown in the West until fairly recently. His principal works have been translated into many languages although they are still best known by their Persian names: the Divan-i Shams-i Tabriz, the Fihi ma fihi and the Mathnawi. These, and some of his other writings, will be comprehensively explored throughout this book.

 
The Essence of Rumi offers the opportunity to overcome the limitations of our human view of the world and transform our sensory eye into the poet's all-seeing Ocean of Reality.  
 
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Tales from Rumi  :   Hadrat Jalal al-Din Rumi  May Allah be pleased with him

 Paperback - 32 pages

Translated by Iftekhar Bano Hussain

This book is like little drops of water from the great ocean that is the Mathnawi.  It contains 14 great stories that are based on Qur’anic wisdom. The stories have a directness and clarity which are a delight to the young and which are a treasure chest of wisdom in later life. 

This is a treasure chest for both children and adults alike. Illustrations with some in colour.

Recommended for ages 11 and over as well as adults.

 
Our Price £1.50