The Philosophy Book

86

DON’T GRIEVE.

ANYTHING YOU LOSE

COMES ROUND IN

ANOTHER FORM

JALAL AD-DIN MUHAMMAD RUMI (1207–1273)

IN CONTEXT

BRANCH

Islamic philosophy

APPROACH

Sufism

BEFORE

610 Islam is founded by the

Prophet Mohammed.

644 Ali ibn Abi Talib,

Mohammed’s cousin and

successor, becomes Caliph.

10th century Ali’s mystical

interpretation of the Qur’an

becomes the basis for Sufism.

AFTER

1273 Rumi’s followers found

the Mawlawi Order of Sufism.

1925 After the founding of a

secular Republic of Turkey,

the Mawlawi Order is banned

in Turkey. It remains illegal

until 1954, when it receives

the right to perform on

certain occasions.

Today Rumi’s works continue

to be translated into many

languages around the world.

S

ufism, the mystical and

aesthetic interpretation of

the Qur’an, had been part

of Islam since its foundation in the

7th century, but had not always

been accepted by mainstream

Islamic scholars. Jalal ad-Din

Muhammad Rumi, better known

simply as Rumi, was brought up in

orthodox Islam, and first came into

contact with Sufism when his

family moved from the eastern

edges of Persia to Anatolia in the

mid-13th century. The Sufi concept

of uniting with God through love

caught his imagination, and from

this he developed a version of

Sufism that sought to explain the

relationship of man with the divine.

Rumi became a teacher in a Sufi

order, and as such he believed he

was a medium between God and

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