A Treasury of Rumi's Wisdom. Muhammad Isa Waley

t ر r ظ · م m ث th ز z ع ¢ ن n ج j س s غ gh هـ h ح ^ ش sh ف f و w خ kh ص | ق q ي y

      With a shaddah, both medial and final consonants are doubled.

      Vowels, diphthongs, etc.

Short:	ــَـ	a	ــِـ	i	ــُـ	u
Long:	ــَـا	¥	ـِـي	Ï	ـُـو	‰
Diphthongs:	ــَوْ aw
ـَـىْ ay

      Introduction

      A few decades ago, few people would have required evidence that Mawl¥n¥ Jal¥l al-DÏn Mu^ammad ibn Mu^ammad, known to many today simply as ‘R‰mÏ’, was a serious Muslim. But nowadays, many of the published presentations of his work and thought seem concerned in showing this great Islamic scholar, teacher and saint as ‘the acceptable face of Islam’: a mediaeval Muslim civilized and humanistic enough to know how to keep Islam in its proper place, so to speak. (To say this is not to deny that Mawl¥n¥ R‰mÏ is a highly appropriate voice for Islam in this day and age.) Moreover, some of the English interpretations of his work that have sold in large numbers are skilfully written but seriously inaccurate. In extreme cases, they evoke an image of a R‰mÏ who embraced, far ahead of his time, some of the heresies and vices most detested in normative Islam. The version of Jal¥l al-DÏn that became ‘the best-selling poet in North America today’ is not altogether authentic. As he himself writes, in one of the first lines of his masterpiece, the MathnawÏ-i ma¢nawÏ: ‘Everyone has, in their view, become my close friend / but they have not sought out the secrets within me.’ By contrast with this contrived image of a ‘New Age R‰mÏ’, this book aims to prove and illustrate, by presenting relevant texts in translation, the thoroughly traditional basis of the teachings of a man whose personal name (ism) is that of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; and whose honorary title (laqab) means ‘Majesty of the Faith’.

      That is not, however, the sole purpose of this book. For many Muslims and non-Muslims, the current discourse concerning Islam is so dominated by concerns to do with extremism and terrorism that little time or space is left to consider the central aspects of the DÏn, these being the relationships between each individual human being and (i) his or her Lord and Cherisher, the Master and Owner of the entire universe; (ii) the Emissary of God, to whom he or she addresses greetings in every prayer; (iii) the rest of humankind, to whom the DÏn assigns us a hierarchy of obligations; and (iv) our mother and temporary home, the Earth, and all its creatures. The faith of Islam as conveyed by the Seal of the Prophets, may God exalt and preserve him, has an abundance of teachings on all these subjects. Since his time it has been and remains the duty of his inheritors, the people of sacred learning, to safeguard, propagate and explain those teachings. Prominent among these people have been the masters of the science of Ta|awwuf (Sufism), the subject matter of which is the purification of the self and i^s¥n, or excellence, in worshipping and serving God Most High wholeheartedly and with sincere intentions, and in coming to know and have a close relationship with the Lord and Cherisher of all Existence. To strive to achieve such excellence to the very best of one’s ability is to fulfil the purpose for which humankind was created.

      The aim in compiling this Treasury has been to present a small but telling selection of excerpts from the teachings of Mawl¥n¥ R‰mÏ, representing the variety of broad themes and types of discourse to be found in them. The easiest way to achieve this would have been to confine oneself to the prose works, which are in general the most accessible to the modern reader. Moreover, the format of the Treasury series calls for excerpts that are brief, and the more discursive nature of R‰mÏ’s verse narratives and teaching makes it difficult to find passages that are not only concise but also ‘self-contained’. It also precludes the inclusion of the longer narratives characteristic of the MathnawÏ.

      To omit the poetical works entirely, however, would have been a disservice not to only to the author but also to the reader. Many Muslims today are brought up and educated having little contact with poetry, and consequently may find it more challenging to follow, understand and fully appreciate the points being made. Inshall¥h the comments attached to each excerpt will help them to understand, contextualize, and benefit from the content. In addition, while a rhyming and rhythmic text is easier to memorize, part of the wisdom behind imparting teachings in verse form is to demand more of the reader. Making the effort to interpret, engage with, and absorb them may aid retention or memorization. The same can be said of the Holy Qur’an, which demands our attention and effort, as well as evoke wonder in us, by employing parables, symbols and metaphors with miraculous power and eloquence. The words of R‰mÏ cannot be placed on the same level as the Qur’an, but many passages in his MathnawÏ and other works are in effect pieces of Qur’anic commentary, as we shall see.

      The following abbreviations have been used in referring to sources:

D	DÏw¥n-i kabÏr (Kulliyyat-i Shams);
DOR	Discourses of Rumi;
FMF	FÏh m¥ fÏh;
M	MathnawÏ;
MS	Maj¥lis-i sab‘a
SOTU	Signs of the Unseen

      The Life and Times of Jal¥l al-DÏn R‰mÏ

      Historical Background

      The seventh century AH (thirteenth century CE) was a time of immense turmoil in Central and Western Asia. The cataclysm of the Mongol invasion and conquest, a turning point in history, had as great an impact on these particular regions as on any other. The Seljuks of R‰m, the ruling dynasty in much of Asia Minor, often suffered from weak governance and internecine conflict. It was part of the Sufis’ mission to try to improve the lot of ordinary people by influencing the rulers in the direction of compassion and fair taxation and rule. Here both Mawl¥n¥ Jal¥l al-DÏn and his son and successor Sul~¥n Walad played an important role.

      Part 1: The Religious Scholar

      Jal¥l al-DÏn Mu^ammad ibn Mu^ammad was born in 604/1207, either in the town of Vakhsh (in today’s Tajikistan) or possibly in Balkh, Afghanistan. His background was learned, Persian-speaking, and Sunni. His father, Bah¥’ al-DÏn Walad, was a religious scholar and mystic whose Meditations (Ma¢¥rif), distinctive (and sometimes daring) personal meditations rich in imagery, clearly influenced his son. In about 619/1219, probably because of the