The Pakistani Spectator

Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, whose 801st birth anniversary was celebrated last month, has for many years now remained the most popular poet in America. The translations of this 13th-century mystical Muslim scholar’s - better known as Rumi - verse are hugely popular and have been used by Western pop stars such as Madonna. More here…

A 13th-century Persian poet, Sunni Islamic jurist, and theologian, Rumi was born in 1207 in Balkh in present-day Afghanistan. “Increasing Mongol incursions when he was around the age of eleven forced his family to leave Afghanistan, who travelled to Baghdad, Mecca, Damascus and finally settled in Konya in Turkey. Rumi lived here for most of his life.

“Rumi was the son of a renowned Sufi scholar, and it is more than likely that he was introduced to Sufism from a young age. Sufism is a branch of Islam primarily concerned with developing the spirituality, or more precisely the inner character, of a Muslim.

“Rumi spent his early years, like many Muslims of the time, learning and studying Arabic, law, ahadith (the body of sayings of the Prophet Muhammad), history, the Qur’an, theology, philosophy, mathematics and astronomy… and took over his father’s position as one of the highest scholars in the country at the young age of 24.

“It is believed that Rumi would turn round and round while reciting his poetry, and it is this dance which formed the basis for the Mevlevi Order, or Whirling Dervishes, after his death. Dervish means doorway, and the dance is believed to be a mystical portal between the earthly and cosmic worlds.” More here…