RUMI ON LOVE
Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi was a Persian poet. He was born on 30
September 1207 in Balkh, Afghanistan, and passed away on 17 December 1273 in
Konya, Turkiye. He was the most famous poet in the Persian language and
literature. He was deeply influenced by Shams Tabrizi, Attar of Nishapur.
Rumi
was famous for his mysticism in Persian poetry. His lyrics which are thoroughly
didactic in nature are available in his epic Masnavi-yi Manavi. All the lyrics that Rumi composed can be called
as spiritual couplets.
Rumi’s poetry is very popular. It
has been translated into many languages.
These days the English version of his poetry is quite famous in the
United States of America.
Given below is an
extract from “The Life and Work of Jalaluddin Rumi” written by Afzal Iqbal and published by Pakistan National Council Of The
Arts, Islamabad .
According to the above-mentioned author:
Love for Rumi is both a beginning and an end; ‘It is the cure of all ills.’ A kind
of mania which music helps to create and sublimate. The rapture and ecstasy
caused by music enable man to have a glimpse of life and reality.”
This author finds Rumi’s
ghazals (lyrics) immensely ecstatic. Look at the
following lines from a love lyric:
Come, O lover! Come O lover! Let me
assuage your suffering
Let me be your friend and then make
your condition better.
Come, O lover! Come, O lover!
Surrender to me your heart,
That I may teach you how to win love
and make you a beloved like myself.
Come, O lover! Come, O lover! Sacrifice
yourself for me
That I may give you my life and make
your life happier.
I came again, yet again. Such is
lover’s mania.
Like a falcon I came. Such is lover’s
mania
My divine world became a mortal
world, my mortal world divine.
My God’s cup became my food. Such is
lover’s mania.
******
G. R. Kanwal
23 November 2025
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