
Author Emily Jane O'Dell has studied Sufism both academically, in her work and research at Harvard, Columbia, and the American University of Beirut, and in practice, learning from a Mevlevi master and his whirling dervishes in Istanbul. The Gift of Rumi offers a new reading of Rumi, contextualizing his work against the broader backdrop of Islamic mysticism and adding a richness and authenticity that is lacking in many Westernized conceptions of his work. The book not only gives a very rich analysis of Rumi's language and poetical art, but also a picture of medieval Konya, whose features the mystical poet transforms and transfigures.Īn authentic exploration of the real Rumi As one of the world's most loved poets, Rumi's poems are celebrated for their message of love and their beauty, but too often they are stripped of their mystical and spiritual meanings.
#Shams tabrizi pdf free
The book also discusses the theological premises upon which Rumi's work rests, his attitude to the problems of free will and predestination, and his analysis of the mystical stages and stations. Everywhere he perceived God's Grandeur and his Grace. Transformed by this light, consumed by this fire, Mowlana Rumi saw the world in a new light. The light of the Divine Sun, in its Beauty and Majesty, manifested itself for Rumi through the person of Shams of Tabriz. In this book Rumi emerges not only as a spiritual master, but also as a fully human being grounded firmly in the Koran and in classical Islamic mysticism. Rumi's work forms one of the pillars of the Sufi orders, particularly the Mevlevi order, better known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes. This is a book on Rumi's life, his poetry, his thought, and his influence. I will hide you inside my soul, not in my heart or in my eyes, so that you may become one with my breath. I won't keep you in my eyes For I may belittle you and expose you to the ridicule of common men. I shall not place you in my heart For you may get hurt by its wounds.


Rumi lovers, spiritual seekers, and devotees of the mystical path will meet this little book of wisdom and mystical secrets with enthusiasm. He was the agent of the propulsive mystical energy that transformed Rumi the reticent into Rumi the ecstatic poet. Shams, an Arabic word that means the sun, was the catalyst that converted the rather resolute and ascetic Rumi, the cleric and teacher, into Rumi, the passionate disciple of the religion of love. There are many books on Rumi and many translations of his works and yet most readers are unaware of how Rumi became a mystic. Included in this slim, charming volume is a biographical sketch of the great Sufi teacher and mystic and a new translation of 500 of his core teachings that bring into fresh focus the meaning and mysteries of life and love. At long last, an accessible little book that focuses on the teachings of Rumi's teacher and inspiration, Shams of Tabriz.
