The Mathnawi: by Rumi

Intro

Rumi lived some 300 years after the first writings of Muslim mystics were produced. A distinct mystical path called 'Sufism' became clearly identifiable in the late tenth and early eleventh cen- turies with the compilation of the manuals and collections of biog- raphies of past Sufi saints. The authors of these works, who were mostly from north-eastern Persia, traced the origins of the Sufi trad- ition back to the Prophet Mohammad, while at the same time acknowledging the existence of comparable forms of mysticism before his mission. They mapped out a mystical path by which the Sufi ascends towards the ultimate goal of union with God and know- ledge of reality. More than two centuries before the time of the eminent Sufi theosopher Ebn Arabi (d. 1240), Sufis began to describe their experience of annihilation in God and the realization that only God truly exists. The illusion of one's own independent existence began to be regarded as the main obstacle to achieving this realization, so that early Sufis like Abu Yazid Bestami (d. 874) are frequently quoted as belittling the value of the asceticism of some of his contemporaries when it merely increased attention to themselves. An increasing number of Sufis began to regard love of God as the means of overcoming the root problem of one's own sense of being, rather than piety and asceticism.

Rumi and his Times
The century in which Rumi lived was one of the most tumultuous in the history of the Middle East and Central Asia. When he was about ten years old the region was invaded by the Mongols, who, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, left death and destruction in their wake. Arriving through Central Asia and north-eastern Persia, the Mongols soon took over almost the entire region, conquering Baghdad in 1258. The collapse at the hands of an infidel army of the once glorious Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad, the symbolic capital of the entire Muslim world, was felt throughout the region as a tre- mendous shock. Soon afterwards, there was a sign that the map of the region would continue to change, when the Mongols suffered a major defeat in Syria, at Ayn Jalut in 1260. Rumi's life was directly affected by the military and political developments of the time,
beginning with his family's emigration from north-eastern Persia just two years before the Mongols arrived to conquer that region. Although the family eventually relocated to Konya (ancient Ico- nium) in central Anatolia, Rumi witnessed the spread of Mongol authority across that region too when he was still a young man.

His father had been grooming Rumi to be his successor, but died only a couple of years after settling in Konya, in 1231. Although the original reasons for his arrival remain unclear, it seems that one of Baha Valad's students, called Borhanoddin Mohaqqeq, arrived in Konya from north-eastern Persia soon afterwards to take over the management of his school. He also took responsibility for overseeing the continu- ation of Rumi's education and training. Within a few years, Borhanoddin sent Rumi to Aleppo and Damascus to continue his education in the religious sciences. It is possible that during his stay in Damascus he may have heard the lectures of Ebn  Arabi, who was living there at the time. Rumi returned to Konya in about 1237 as a highly accomplished young scholar, and took over leadership of Baha Valad's school from Borhanoddin.

After his return to Konya Rumi's reputation as an authority on religious matters became firmly established there, and he reached the peak of his career as a scholar, achieving what his father seems to have hoped for him. In November 1244, after seven years of excel- ling as a highly respected religious teacher, Rumi experienced a chal- lenging encounter that would prove to be the most significant event of his life. As one would expect, an event as important as this has generated many competing accounts.9 However, most versions at least share the same basic element. According to one popular and relatively simple account, Rumi is asked about his books by an uneducated-looking stranger, and responds by snapping back dis- missively, 'They are something that you do not understand!' The books then suddenly catch fire, so Rumi asks the stranger to explain what has happened. His reply is: 'Something you do not understand.'