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A Garden Beyond Paradise: The Mystical Poetry of Rumi
Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso
- GenresPoetrySpirituality
164 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 1992
About the author
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
1,168 books15.9k followersSufism inspired writings of Persian poet and mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi; these writings express the longing of the soul for union with the divine.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 30, 2019
Rumi was a 13th Century Persian poet and Sufi who composed mystical poetry. Sufism is a mystical Islamic practice where union with God, the Beloved, is achieved through poetry, music, and dance (whirling dervishes). Rumi writes about divine intoxication, the ecstasy of union with the Beloved.
I had not read Rumi's poetry previously, although I liked his wise quotations that we often see on posters. I enjoyed Runi's shorter works more than the odes, and would be curious how a different translator would present his poems. The introductory material by Jonathan Star and the glossary of terms were very informative. 3.5 stars.
#629 Kulliyat-e Shams, University of Tehran edition
Your dance just took me today
and suddenly I began to whirl.
All the realms spun around me
in endless celebration.
My soul lost its grip,
My body shed its fatigue.
Hearing your hands clap and your drums beat,
I floated
up to the heavens!
I had not read Rumi's poetry previously, although I liked his wise quotations that we often see on posters. I enjoyed Runi's shorter works more than the odes, and would be curious how a different translator would present his poems. The introductory material by Jonathan Star and the glossary of terms were very informative. 3.5 stars.
#629 Kulliyat-e Shams, University of Tehran edition
Your dance just took me today
and suddenly I began to whirl.
All the realms spun around me
in endless celebration.
My soul lost its grip,
My body shed its fatigue.
Hearing your hands clap and your drums beat,
I floated
up to the heavens!
September 9, 2016
Stunningly charming and beautiful. I always feel repelled by the Psalms and biblical worship songs: the praise from end to end, although passionately piled up, is somehow bland and alienating. But Rumi is different: his poems are dedicated to the Creator, yet they are too human, even humorous to be considered religious. Reading into his verses, you'll find the divine and the human, the love and the beloved, are inseparable, and the voice that sings out the love is inviting.
What great poets can convey about God is far more than what religions can preach. Rumi is such a poet.
What great poets can convey about God is far more than what religions can preach. Rumi is such a poet.
December 13, 2009
Absolutely beautiful.
February 21, 2021
I thought it's one of the most solid compilation of Rumi's works. The theme scattered in the book seems to cover enough of your emotional rollercoasters. This is one of the books that I'd carry around whenever I have a long-haul flight - easy and light enough to read but gives you plenty to think about afterwards.
January 1, 2017
A good collection of Rumi's spiritual poems about God. It wasn't bad but not really my favorite collection of his poems.
February 16, 2026
I recall seeing Rumi's verses in various epigraphs of stories I've read and now understand why. Many of the verses are about self-fulfillment, gratitude, love, and the purification of the soul. It is sprinkled with Koran and Islamic Buddhist philosophy and symbolism, but thankfully there is a glossary at the end of the book to clarify some of the esoteric and lesser known terms. The collection of poems are not so heavily religious that, if one were atheist, one could appreciate the themes of spirituality i.e. the beauty in suffering and heartbreak.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews