Rumi's Secret

by Brad Gooch

  33 “That anxious mother.” Masnavi, VI, 1433.

  34 “Stay away.” VI, 1436–37.

  34 “At first.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 30, 151.

  35 nurture over nature. The Mutazilites favored such teaching. Mutazila was an Islamic school of theology stressing rational thought over sacred precedent; they argued that the Quran was created, or written, rather than having been eternal or always coexisting with God.

  35 “The opinions.” Masnavi, III, 1542–43.

  36 “The cleverest boy.” III, 1526–28.

  36 “Your love.” III, 551.

  36 “A window.” VI, 3198.

  37 “The flames.” III, 3102–03.

  37 “Some enjoy.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 43, 187.

  38 “Amazing.” Masnavi, III, 1858–59.

  38 “That peerless.” III, 1871.

  39 “always lifting.” Aflaki, II, sec. 1, 58.

  39 “Go!” Masnavi, II, 1319.

  39 “ability to argue.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 25, 129.

  39 “just like a glass.” Borhan, Ma’aref, 14.

  40 “Closeness.” Masnavi, III, 549–50.

  40 “perfect saint.” Aflaki, IV, sec. 84, 680.

  40 “When God is taking.” Baha, 1:354.

  41 “from Rome to Khorasan.” Rubai #1910.

  41 rhythm. According to legend, Persian-Arabic poetic meters echo the different patterns of a camel’s footfalls.

  41 “Drunkenly pulling.” Ghazal #302.

  42 “Our voices.” Ghazal #304.

  CHAPTER 3: ON THE SILK ROAD

  43 “Silk Road.” I am indebted for this characterization of the Silk Road to Valerie Hansen, The Silk Road: A New History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), 5–7.

  45 “Since I came.” Ghazal #1373.

  46 The Conference of the Birds. The original title is Manteq al-tayr.

  46 “Your son.” William C. Chittick, The Sufi Path of Love (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1983), 2.

  46 Book of Secrets. The original title is Asrarname.

  46 “to lose their heads.” J. T. P. De Bruijn. Persian Sufi Poetry: An Introduction to the Mystical Use of Classical Poems (London: Routledge, 1997), 107.

  47 “the unique Attar.” Ghazal #824.

  47 “the scent of Attar.” Ghazal #24.

  47 “Whatever you want.” Ghazal #2634.

  47 Sanai. For a critique of the story of Sanai’s sudden conversion to Sufism and complete abandonment of court poetry as a simplification of the facts see Franklin D. Lewis, “Reading, Writing, and Recitation: Sanai and the Origins of the Persian Ghazal” (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago, 1995).

  47 Garden of Truth. The original title is Hadiqat al-haqiqe.

  47 “The Royal Road.” Quoted in J. T. P. de Bruijn, “Comparative Notes on Sana’i and Attar,” in The Heritage of Sufism. Volume I, ed., Leonard Lewisohn (Oxford: Oneworld, 1999), 371.

  48 parodied. See Masnavi, II, 2617 ff.

  48 “Attar was the soul.” Sultan Valad, Divan, 240.

  48 “Whoever deeply.” Aflaki, III, sec. 430, 458.

  48 “Whether at Nishapur.” Translation by Edward Fitzgerald, in Persian Poets, selected and edited by Peter Washington (New York: Everyman’s Library, 2000), 16.

  49 “bathing in his sweat.” Quoted in de Bruijn, Persian Sufi Poetry, 12.

  49 “Speak Persian.” Masnavi, III, 3842.

  50 “qibla of the friend’s face.” Quoted in Annemarie Schimmel, The Triumphal Sun (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), 292.

  51 “On a rainy day.” Quoted in Benson Bobrick, The Caliph’s Splendor: Islam and the West in the Golden Age of Baghdad (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012), 71–72.

  51 “the young deacons.” Quoted in Guy Le Strange, Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate (New York: Cosimo Classics, 2011; first published in 1901), 212.

  52 “Bukhara is a mine.” Ghazal #2168.

  52 “Give up art and logic.” Masnavi, III, 1146.

  52 “Your Baghdad.” Ghazal #344.

  52 “The Bedouin’s wife.” Masnavi, I, 2716–17, 2719.

  52 “hot sun.” Masnavi, III, 1041.

  52 “The Euphrates, Tigris, and Oxus would be bitter.” Ghazal #214.

  54 turban. See Masnavi, IV, 1578–79.

  54 The Revival of the Religious Sciences. The original title is Ehya olum al-din.

  54 “Had he possessed.” Aflaki, III, sec. 128, 219.

  55 “The term.” Ahmet T. Karamustafa, Sufism: The Formative Period (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2007), 7.

  55 “We indeed created.” The Koran Interpreted, translated by A. J. Arberry (New York: Touchstone, 1955), vol. 2, 234.

  55 Rabia. Rumi is quoted, telling this story of Rabia, in Aflaki, III, sec. 331, 397.

  56 “I am the Truth.” The original, in Arabic, is anâ al-Haqq.

  56 “In the world.” Ghazal #731.

  56 “A man traveling.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 10, 63.

  57 “piling a few.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 61, 244.

  57 “Say there is someone.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 43, 190.

  58 “The glory.” Masnavi, V, 3224.

  58 “When you’re inside.” Masnavi, II, 1768.

  59 Stoning of the Devil. This ritual involves throwing pebbles at three pillars thought to represent Satan, who was believed to have thrice tried to persuade Abraham to disobey God’s command to sacrifice his son Ishmael.

  59 “market full of fruits.” The Travels of Ibn Jubayr, translated by Roland Broadhurst (New Delhi: Goodword, reprinted 2011, first printed 1952), 103.

  59 “became a great market.” Ibid., 188.

  59 “women’s veils.” Ibid., 132.

  59 “cohesion.” Quoted in W. M. Thackston Jr. Signs of the Unseen (Boston and London: Shambhala, 1999), 67, fn. 111.

  59 Visting the Kaaba. Fihe ma fih, Discourse 14, 80.

  59 “Oh you.” Ghazal #648.

  59 “I need.” “Rabia,” in Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qur’an, Mi’raj, Poetic and Theological Writings, translated, edited, and with an introduction by Michael A. Sells (New York and Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1996), 157.

  60 “The pilgrim kisses.” Ghazal #617.

  CHAPTER 4: “FIRE FELL INTO THE WORLD”

  61 “Fire.” Ghazal #2670.

  62 “sideshow.” Amira K. Bennison, The Great Caliphs: The Golden Age of the Abbasid Empire (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009), 203.

  63 “Glory be to God!” Foruzanfar, Zendegi-ye Mowlânâ Jalâl al-Din mashur be Mowlavi, 43, fn. 2. While the Foruzanfar version places the story in Syria, Ibn Arabi’s biographer argues that such a meeting would more likely have been in Malatya. See Stephen Hirtenstein, The Unlimited Mercifier: The Spiritual Life and Thought of Ibn Arabi (Ashland, OR: Anqa Publishing, 1999), 188.

  63 Meccan Revelations. The original title is Fotuhat-e makkiye.

  63 “Well.” Aflaki, III, sec. 444, 470.

  64 “Crazy.” Majnun is a nickname, literally meaning “possessed by jinn.” His actual name is Qays.

  64 “Majnun.” Ghazal #947.

  65 “Day and night.” Ghazal #2670.

  65 “Some of them.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 14, 80.

  66 Genghis Khan. I am indebted for the full history of Genghis Khan’s invasions to Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (New York: Crown Publishers, 2004).

  66 “ready for war.” Ala Ad Din Ata Malik Jovayni. The History of the World Conqueror, Vol. I, translated by John Andrew Boyle (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1958), 81.

  66 “laid waste a whole world.” Ibid., 80.

  66 “beheld.” Ibid., 98.

  66 “stands for.” Masnavi, III, 3791.

  66 “They came.” Jovayni, 107.

  67 “all the people.” Ibid., 129.

  67 “Wild beasts.” Ibid., 131.

  68 “the voice of pain.” Quoted and translated from The Conference of
the Birds by Annemarie Schimmel, As Through a Veil, 53. Schimmel was working from: Attar, Mantiq ut-tair, ed. M. Javad Mashkur (Tehran: Kitabfurush-i Tehran, 1962), 287.

  68 “But for.” Quoted in Le Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 401–2.

  68 “effaced.” Quoted in Edward G. Browne, A Literary History of Persia, Vol. 2 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1969; first published in 1906), 432.

  69 “the announcement.” Ibid., 427.

  69 “This period.” Annemarie Schimmel, The Triumphal Sun: A Study of the Works of Jalaloddin Rumi (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993; first published in 1978), 9.

  70 “While everyone.” Ghazal #1764.

  70 “If you’re afraid.” Ghazal #1609.

  71 “Today.” Tarji-band #24, in Divan.

  72 “The sky.” Ghazal #1092.

  72 “In childbirth.” Masnavi. III, 3560–61.

  73 “God is able.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 24, 125.

  73 “Unless the baby.” Ghazal #1156.

  74 “Wars are like the fights.” Masnavi I, 3435–36.

  74 “They repented.” Afklaki, I, sec. 47, 46.

  74 “instructor.” Majâles-e sabe’e, 62.

  75 “The magician.” Ibid., 108.

  76 Najmoddin Razi. For a full comparison of the careers of Najmoddin Razi and Baha Valad, see Meier, Bahâ’-i Walad, 41–42.

  76 “Like a baby.” Ghazal #1372.

  CHAPTER 5: KONYA

  77 “Come.” Ghazal #2905.

  78 “Bahaoddin.” Aflaki, III, sec. 148, 236.

  79 “a dangerous dragon.” Quoted in Tamara Talbot Rice, The Seljuks (London: Thames and Hudson, 1961), 172.

  79 “embellishing.” Ibid., 71.

  80 “I prayed so much.” Ghazal #903.

  80 “If you turn into a lion.” Ghazal #920.

  81 “On all the roads.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 9, 54.

  81 “At night.” Masnavi, VI, 2381–83.

  82 “The rose garden.” Ghazal #1339. Of course spring was arguably the favorite season for all Persian poets and the depiction of the season a standard topos throughout all the lyrical poetry.

  82 The Acts of the Mystics. The original title is Manâqeb al-’ârefin.

  82 “Religious.” Aflaki, I, sec. 21, 28–29.

  83 “pleasant and polite.” Ibid., 29.

  83 “most learned.” Borhân al-Din al-Zarnūjī, Ta’līm al-Muta’allim: Tarīq at-Ta’allum; Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning, trans. G. E. Von Grunebaum and Theodora Abel (New York: King’s Crown Press, 1947), 28.

  83 “simple-hearted.” Aflaki, I, sec. 36, 39.

  85 “tongue,” “walking stick.” A. H. Zarrinkub, Step by Step Up to Union with God: Life, Thought and Spiritual Journey of Jalal-al-Din Rumi, trans. by M. Kayvani (New York: Persian Heritage Foundation, 2009), 61.

  85 “Wait until.” Aflaki, I, sec. 54, 52.

  86 “After the mourning.” Sultan Valad, Valadname, 195–96.

  86 “He clearly heard.” Aflaki, I, sec. 34, 38.

  86 “The most effective.” Baha, I: 152.

  87 “Borhanoddin.” Aflaki, II, sec. 22, 71.

  87 “Your father.” Ibid., sec. 1, 56.

  88 “You are . . . If you don’t know.” Borhan, Ma’aref, 10, 18.

  89 “God’s seal.” Masnavi, IV, 1923. By this time, Plato had become a standard symbol of wisdom generally in Persian poetry.

  89 “Whatever.” Ibid., VI, 4144.

  90 “They said.” Fihe ma fih Discourse 55, 229.

  90 “Sayyed Borhanoddin.” Ibid., Discourse 60, 242.

  90 “The path.” Borhan, Ma’aref, 14.

  90 “root of spiritual joy.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 21, 113.

  90 “Pharaoh.” Borhan, Ma’aref, 26.

  91 “I am the Truth.” Masnavi, II, 305.

  92 “God the Almighty.” Borhan, Ma’aref, 26.

  92 “And like.” Sultan Valad, Valadname, 198.

  CHAPTER 6: “I KEPT HEARING MY OWN NAME”

  93 “I kept hearing.” Robai #15.

  93 “turbaned class.” David Morray, An Ayyubid Notable and His World: Ibn al-Adim and Aleppo as Portrayed in His Biographical Dictionary of People Associated with the City (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994), 123.

  94 “I’m the slave.” Ghazal #3049.

  95 “boundless compilation.” Morray, An Ayyubid Notable, 10.

  96 “innate poetic ability.” Ibid., 181.

  96 “the play.” Music of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Hebrew Poems, translated and introduced by Bernard Lewis (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2001), 68.

  96 “A heart.” Ibid., 69.

  96 “We can look.” Ghazal #2266.

  97 “sentinel.” Morray, An Ayyubid Notable, 150.

  97 “On the day.” Masnavi, VI, 777, 782, 784.

  97 “Have you been?” Ibid., 795.

  98 “Mourn.” Ibid., 802.

  98 “In my youth.” Aflaki, III, sec. 218, 301.

  99 “Do not look.” Cited in Michael Chamberlain, Knowledge and Social Practice in Medieval Damascus, 1190–1390 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 129–30.

  99 “I’m madly in love.” Ghazal #1493.

  101 “flashed.” Cited in Michael Chamberlain, Knowledge and Social Practice, 155.

  101 “his name.” Ibid., fn. 25.

  102 “When our Caesar.” Ghazal #1921.

  103 “The thinner.” Borhan, Maaref, 14.

  103 “fasting of the elite.” Ibid., 20.

  103 “Don’t eat straw.” Masnavi, V, 2473–74; 2477.

  103 “Congratulations!” Ghazal #2344.

  104 “tightening.” Ghazal #2307.

  104 “hidden sweetness.” Ghazal #1739.

  104 “During the chelle.” Masnavi, V, 1445–46; 1448

  105 “When he woke.” Ibid., 1449–50.

  105 “At that moment,” Ibid., 1453–54.

  106 “Some madness.” Aflaki, II, sec. 4, 61.

  106 “Undergo.” Ibid., II, sec. 5, 61.

  106 “Oh child.” Ibid., II, sec. 12, 65.

  106 “So I came.” Ibid., II, sec. 23, 71.

  106 “The stages.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 10, 62.

  107 “If you prick.” Cited in Zarrinkub, Step by Step, 91–92.

  107 lists. See Chittick, The Sufi Path of Love, 2, as well as “Mawlana Jalaladdin Muhammad Rumi,” by Adnan Karaismailoğlu, in Rumi and His Sufi Path of Love, eds., M. Fatih Çitlak and Huseyin Bingül (Somerset, NJ: The Light Publishing, 2007), 50.

  108 “a second.” Aflaki, III, sec. 14, 90. Partly due to Aflaki’s description, she has sometimes been surmised to have been Christian, though no evidence exists.

  108 “After today.” Ibid., III, sec. 15, 93.

  109 “God showed.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 19, 103.

  109 “A woman.” Masnavi, I, 2437.

  110 “Dear son Bahaoddin.” Rumi, Maktubât, Letter 64, 142.

  110 “I was speaking.” Fihe ma fih, Discourse 22, 115.

  111 “Now that he stood.” Sultan Valad, Valadname, 199.

  111 “ten thousand.” Ibid.

  112 traps of fame. As Andrew Harvey wrote in The Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi (Berkeley, CA: Frog, Ltd. 1994), 20–21: “The ferocity and precision of Rumi’s later attacks on mental pride and the hunger of fame show how intimately he knew and understood the dangers of both.”

  112 “For some time.” Robai #15.

  CHAPTER 7: “THE FACE OF THE SUN IS SHAMS OF TABRIZ”

  115 “The face of the sun.” Ghazal #310.

  115 Shamsoddin. As shams is Arabic for “sun,” his name could be translated “the Sun of Faith” or “the Sun of Tabriz.”

  115 “Parande.” Aflaki, IV, sec. 3, 615.

  115 “Aren’t you coming?” Shams, Maqâlât, 141.

  116 “My turban.” Robai #1284.

  116 “The first words.” Shams, Maqâlât, 685; [Chittick, 210; Lewis, Rumi, 155]. Se
pahsalar recounts their meeting as taking place in a little shop of the bazaar, where they stared at each other for hours before speaking. See Sepahsalar, Resâle Sepahsalar, 127.

  117 “Was Bayazid.” Aflaki, IV, sec. 8, 618–19.

  117 “fell in a swoon.” Ibid., 620.

  117 “saw the veil.” Sultan Valad, Valadname, 43.

  118 “For lovers.” Masnavi, III, 3847.

  118 “After that.” Aflaki, IV, sec. 9, 620.

  119 “I already held.” Ghazal #2669.

  119 “I remember Mowlana.” Shams, Maqâlât, 690.

  119 “Salam.” Ibid., 290.

  119 “From the first day.” Ibid., 752.

  119 “I need it to be clear.” Ibid., 686.

  120 “Before me.” Ibid., 730.

  120 “Let’s go.” Ibid., 302.

  120 “The tavern keeper.” Ghazal #310.

  120 “Where’s your own?” Shams, Maqâlât, 744–45.

  120 “Don’t read!” Aflaki, IV, sec. 13, 623.

  120 “He firmly commanded.” Aflaki, IV, sec. 12, 623.

  120 “That is not.” Ibid., sec. 14, 623.

  121 “This is the man.” Ibid., sec. 15, 624.

  121 “How sad.” Lewis, Music of a Distant Drum, 71. Shams quotes a half-line of al-Maarri, “The high places will be earned in the measure of diligence,” Maqâlât, 466.

  121 “mixed-up.” Maqâlât, 301.

  122 “both father and son.” Maktubât, Letter 130, 224.

  122 “I rarely speak.” Maqâlât, 290.

  123 “He has a beautiful manner.” Aflaki, IV, sec. 38, 636.

  123 “He has two ways of speaking.” Maqâlât, 104.

  123 “Practice is practice.” Ibid., 612–13.

  123 “laid claim to love.” Ibid., 231.

  123 “When your love.” Robai #616.

  124 “When all the particles.” Ghazal #1295.

  124 “We will seek.” Sultan Valad, Valadname, 195.

  124 life story. Later Shams would refer in public with Rumi to past incidents, but presumably these comments were only quick references to background exchanged more fully between the two in private.

  125 “the rose-garden district.” Masnavi, VI, 3107–8.

  125 “towering.” Maqâlât, 369.

  125 “greatest.” Ibid., 822.

  126 “The fault.” Ibid., 625–26.

  126 “You’re not crazy.” Ibid., 77.

  126 “angels.” Aflaki, IV, sec. 82, 680.