Rūmī

Introduction & Top Questions
Early life and travels
The influence of Shams al-Dīn
Death and legacy

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Ornate tomb of Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi in Konya, Turkey, featuring intricate gold calligraphy, decorative patterns, and ceremonial objects in a richly adorned chamber.

At a Glance

Rūmī summary

Quizzes

Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry

A Study of Poetry

4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul

Famous Poets and Poetic Form

Islam

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:

Poetry: First Lines

Related Questions

Did Rūmī travel to Syria?
How are Rūmī’s ghazals organized differently from a logical argument?
How did Burhān al-Dīn Muḥaqqiq influence Rūmī’s spiritual education?
How did Rūmī find spiritual meaning in flowers, birds, and other parts of nature?
How did Rūmī influence later Turkish mystical poets such as Yunus Emre?
How did Rūmī succeed his father as a religious teacher in Konya?
How did Sanāʾī and Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār influence Rūmī’s Mas̄navī?
How did Sulṭān Walad bring Shams al-Dīn back to Konya?
How did the Mawlawiyyah order get its name?
How did the loss of Shams al-Dīn inspire Rūmī’s poetry?
How did Ḥusām al-Dīn Chelebi help preserve the Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī?
How did Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Zarkūb inspire Rūmī’s poetry?
How many couplets are in Rūmī’s Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī?
How many verses are in Rūmī’s lyrical poetry?
How many volumes make up Rūmī’s Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī?
What are the robāʿīyāt written by Rūmī?
What does Rūmī’s Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī reveal about Sufism in the 13th century?
What kinds of poems are included in the Dīvān-e Shams?
What legend connects the young Rūmī with the poet Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār?
What other writings did Rūmī leave besides poetry?
What themes did Rūmī explore in his mystical love poems?
When and where did Rūmī die?
When and where was Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī born?
When did Rūmī meet Shams al-Dīn of Tabrīz?
Which languages did Rūmī use in his poetry?
Which literary forms did Rūmī use in the Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī?
Which places did Rūmī’s family travel through before settling in Anatolia?
Who was Rūmī’s father, Bahāʾ al-Dīn Walad?
Who was Ḥusām al-Dīn Chelebi?
Who was Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Zarkūb?
Why did Rūmī use Shams al-Dīn’s name at the end of many poems?
Why did Rūmī’s family leave Balkh around 1218?
Why did Rūmī’s family move to Konya?
Why did Ḥusām al-Dīn Chelebi encourage Rūmī to write the Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī?
Why does the Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī include stories, fables, proverbs, and allegories?
Why is Jalāl al-Dīn known as Rūmī?
Why is Rūmī associated with both Persian and Turkish literature?
Why is Rūmī’s tomb in Konya an important place of pilgrimage?
Why is the Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī important to many Persian-reading Sufis?
What is Rūmī’s philosophy?
What did Rūmī write about?
What did Avicenna write?
Why is Avicenna famous?

Literature Poetry Poets L-Z

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External Websites

World History Encyclopedia - Rumi
Al Jazeera - A tale of two Rumis Â– of the East and of the West
Official Site of Rumi
Academy of American Poets - Biography of Jalal al-Din Rumi
IndianetZone - Jalaludin Rumi
BBC - Why is Rumi the best-selling poet in the US?
Poetry Foundation - Biography of Jalal al-Din Rumi
Iran Chamber Society - Biography of Molana Jalal-e-Din Mohammad Molavi Rumi
University of Massachusetts Amherst - A short outline of the life of Rumi
Encyclopaedia Iranica - Jalāl al-Dīn al-Rūmī
DigitalCommons at UNO - Majid Majidi and Baran: Iranian Cinematic Poetics and the Spiritual Poverty of Rumi (PDF)
History of Islam - Maulana Rumi
ABC listen - The Spirit of Things - Spiritual Classics: Rumi

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Jalal al-Din al-Rumi - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Rūmī

Sufi mystic and poet

Also known as: Jalāl al-Dīn al-Rūmī, Mawlānā

Written by

Annemarie Schimmel

Former Professor of Indo-Muslim Culture, Harvard University. Author of Gabriel's Wing; Islamic Calligraphy; and others.

Annemarie Schimmel

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

Rūmī (born c. September 30, 1207, Balkh [now in Afghanistan]—died December 17, 1273, Konya [now in Turkey]) was the greatest Sufi mystic and poet in the Persian language, famous for his lyrics and for his didactic epic Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī (“Spiritual Couplets”), which widely influenced mystical thought and literature throughout the Muslim world. After his death, his disciples were organized as the Mawlawiyyah order. Rūmī’s use of Persian and Arabic in his poetry, in addition to...

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