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Warriors of Love: Rumi's Odes to Shams of Tabriz

Rumi,

James Cowan (Introduction)

3.83 · Rating details · 47 ratings · 18 reviews

In 1244 a man wrapped in a coarse black coat entered Konya and so into the life of Islam's most celebrated poet and mystic: Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi. A wanderer and spiritual vagabond, Shams of Tabriz proceeded to wrestle with Rumi's soul. What he wanted from his protege was for him to embody a wilder, more robust spirituality that would enable him to embrace life's rawness ...more

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Paperback, 128 pages

Published September 19th 2017 by Watkins Publishing

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Aug 19, 2017 Natassia_trav rated it liked it

It is rather hard to find the right words to describe this interesting friendship between the two men of knowledge, Mevlana Rumi and the traveling dervish, Shams of Tabriz. It is a story that dates back to the 13th century, and causes a great public interest even today. Last year I got familiar with this story reading the book by Elif Shafak “The Forty Rules of Love". Shafak gives us a contemporary story of a middle-aged woman who finds herself unlucky with the life she’s living, so she falls in It is rather hard to find the right words to describe this interesting friendship between the two men of knowledge, Mevlana Rumi and the traveling dervish, Shams of Tabriz. It is a story that dates back to the 13th century, and causes a great public interest even today. Last year I got familiar with this story reading the book by Elif Shafak “The Forty Rules of Love". Shafak gives us a contemporary story of a middle-aged woman who finds herself unlucky with the life she’s living, so she falls in love with a person who she has never seen, Aziz Z. Zahara, the author of the novel Shafak uses to bring us a very interesting comparative story about Rumi and Shams. For me, that was one of those books that you don’t want to put down, but it was also an excellent reason to be interested in Rumi’s verses. So, when I saw “Warriors of Love” in front of me, I knew I had to read it.

James Cowan gives us an introduction into the lives of Rumi and Shams. The way Cowan describes this intriguing story will surely be interesting to all of you who read it for the first time, although for me there were not so many informations I didn't know before. Nevertheless, the author of the introductory study was able to answer the question I had in my mind for a long time; is this kind of male friendship, based on the exchange of knowledge and efforts to reach the highest truths about life and God, characteristic only for the Islamic culture and centuries that has been long behind us, or similar examples can also be found elsewhere? Though I had some examples on my mind, Cowan brings his answer to my question.

He compared the friendship of Rumi and Shams with relationships between the brothers Vincent and Theo van Gogh, friendship of epic heroes Achilles and Patroclus, Dante and Vergilius, the Italian Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino and his friend Giovanni Cavalcante, Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday, French poets Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and composer Richard Wagner, Nikos Hazantzakis and Greek Zorba. Athough these are excellent examples of friendship, they had no mythical dimensions like the one of Rumi and Shams. Cowan says that their friendship is an archetype of unity like no other we knew in history or literature.

Shams and Rumi are examples of friends who have found teachers among themselves, as opposed to many who had teacher-student relationship. For one another they were a friend and a guide, not a servant. Their friendship was totally equal because they were both at a very high spiritual level so they could progress far more together. Shams was the cause of Rumi's transformation into a poet, and Rumi was inspired by their friendship, mythical friendship, like no other mentioned in Islam since the time of the Prophet Muhammad.

The death of Shams of Tabriz thus brings only the end of their physical friendship, while spiritually it continues through Rumi's verses. Shams's death was an ultimate sign of friendship to Rumi, the moment in which a friend renounced his own life to allow the other to completely free himself from his influence and to allow him to grow and reach the heights that were intended for him.

Though Rumi in his verses never renounces the principles of his Islamic faith, he is convinced that the religion of love crosses the boundaries of all doctrines, including religious ones. Cowan says that Rumi's pantheism (or panentheism, as he states) was directed at one of the supreme goals: the unification of mankind with God. Perhaps with this idea, his verses today are shared throughout the world, especially from the 18th and 19th century, when translations into European languages became available to the general public. Shams's thoughts needed a little longer, only in 1990, after the various records of his thoughts were found in Turkish archives, they saw the light of day and gave the other dimension and the integrity to the well-known thoughts of his friend Rumi.

Although it would be wonderful to read the Rumi's verses in the original language, because I believe that is the only way one can reach the depths that he discovered, the verses that Cowan brings to us are quite a worthy substitute. So if you're in the mood for some poetry and very interesting introductory study about lives of Shams and Rumi by James Cowan, I certainly recommend this book to you. Those of you who would like something a bit easier to read, I suggest to go with "The Forty Rules of Love" by Elif Shafak. Or, maybe you could just read both of them...
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Oct 26, 2017 anna (½ of readsrainbow) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2-authors-of-color, classic-ish, poetry, 2-lgbt, 2-mlm, arcs, pub-2017

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, this book has two equally important parts: Rumi's biography, focused on his relationship with Shams, and Rumi's poetry. The biography gives us the very needed context to his poems, though they are great even without that.

Now, what I'm most amazed by. The author describes the bond between Rumi & Shams in great detail, using beautiful language, elaborate metaphors and generally doing everything in ...more

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Oct 21, 2018 Nazmi Yaakub rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018

Adaptasi Dewan Shams At-Tabriz daripada terjemahan sedia ada terutama Nicholson. Bagaimanapun pendahuluan buku ini menyerlahkan pandangan alam penyusunnya yang cenderung kepada spiritual tanpa kerangka agama dan lebih kepada penyatuan dengan Tuhan seperti yang difahami dalam terma hulul dan ittihad yang tentunya jauh daripada tasawuf sebenar termasuk yang menjadi nafas kepada hubungan Maulana Rumi dan Shams.

Bagaimanapun, membaca adaptasi ini dalam keadaan kerangka Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah dipegang ...more

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Oct 08, 2020 Joseph Spuckler rated it really liked it

Shelves: biography, poetry

Warriors of Love: Rumi's Odes to Shams of Tabriz by Mevlana Rumi is a partial biography and a small selection of poetry. Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. 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.

James Cowan provides the introduction and translation in this work. This inclusion is important since the introduct Warriors of Love: Rumi's Odes to Shams of Tabriz by Mevlana Rumi is a partial biography and a small selection of poetry. Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. 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.

James Cowan provides the introduction and translation in this work. This inclusion is important since the introduction makes up the bulk of the book. Cowan describes the relationship of Rumi and Shams of Tabriz. The friendship between the two grew into something that Cowan describes as seeing a reflection of God in each other. Thier friendship expanded into a spiritual love and a great understanding of God. They were both practitioners of Sufism, a mystical form of Islam that centers on internal purification and self-discovery. Strict dogma is missing from this practice and includes things that may not be acceptable in stricter interpretations like dancing and being a fool for God.

Much of the introduction concerns itself specifically with Rumi's deep friendship with Shams and his discovery of poetry in the process of and in remembrance of that friendship after Shamsdisappearence and murder, something Rumi never fully accepted. Comparisons of other very strong friendships are covered before the poetry section.

The poetry is translated by Cowan and represents a more poetic translation of these verses using modern style instead of the traditional Victorian style. He attempts to keep the rhythm and intent of the original poetry intact rather than strict meaning. Shams is presented as the perfect man and the wild one (his dancing in part). The short selection of poetry is interesting in a modern sense and always written in couplets although not rhyming. A translation that, however, does seem to keep the original intent of the writing intact. It is difficult to classify the book itself as poetry since so much is written as an introduction. However, calling it a biography supported with poetry may be closer to reality. Either way, very well done and informative. ...more

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Oct 12, 2017 Graham rated it it was amazing

Let it first be said that I'm a massive Rumi fan, and so I was delighted and thankful to be a winner of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway contest. My expectations were high, since any literary work associated with Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi should in my opinion do justice to the great man and his wonderful poetry. Having now read it, I can honestly say I was not disappointed.

This little gem of a book is composed of a short biographical introduction about Rumi, followed by a selection of his beautif ...more

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Oct 19, 2017 R.K. Cowles rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-won-on-goodreads-giveaways, poetry

4 1/4 stars A goodreads giveaway. Although I only read the poetry and not the first part of the book by the compiler, Which is the part of the book I have rated. I have two other poetry book by Rumi. I expected the same: great poetry, I wasn't disappointed at all. It did have far less poems than the other books read from Rumi. The good thing about it that their were only 10-11 of the poems in this book that was in the other three. ...more

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Oct 30, 2017 Nancy rated it liked it

Shelves: goodreads, non-fiction

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway.
This was my introduction to Rumi. The first section was fascinating and informative. The poetry was beautiful in the last section but not being a huge fan of any poetry I skimmed past most of it. If you like Rumi you are seeking a better understanding of him and his times this is a good source.

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Dec 31, 2017 Colin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: theology, history

This is a beautiful book in every sense. The fascinating story of how Rumi met Shams really captured my imagination. I didn't really understand most of the poetry, the allusions and metaphors went over my head so a study guide to explain what they mean would be useful. ...more

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Jun 29, 2019 Lady Poe rated it it was amazing

Evocative, Spiritual and Poetic.

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Oct 10, 2017 Shikha rated it really liked it

“There goes a river dragging a mighty ocean behind it."

This is a mighty amazing book, part biography and part odes on Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi’s thoughts, beliefs, his relationship with God and his friendship with the spiritual vagabond, Shams of Tabriz. The bond between them is fully exhausted, beautifully analysed from all the possible angles by the author. His attempt at solving the mystery of the relationship with the wanderer who had the most effect on Rumi’s life is commendable. The viewpoi ...more

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Aug 11, 2018 Jane Pontiñela rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Why do the books depicting Rumi and Shamz a bit overly dramatic and romanticized?
If not, a bit rose-colored and fantastic?
Aside from that here are lots of details that had been told all over again.

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Sep 13, 2018 Najlla Habibyar rated it liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed reading it. It was repetitive as mostly when you read about Shams and Rumi the stories will be much similar. There would be small twists by writers but I must confess that if it would have been the first read about Shams and Rumi; I would have had scored it better.

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Jul 16, 2018 Safwa rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I bought this book from shakespeare and co. because I fell in love with the cover which turned out to be the only good thing about it. I couldn't digest the poems, too cringy and repetitive. ...more

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Jun 25, 2018 Kristina Johnston rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Received an advanced readers copy. Beautiful binding and wonderful reading. Would recommend.

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Oct 18, 2017 Roxanne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a Goodreads win review. This is in ancient times and the topic is about a spiritual vagabond and it has 49 poems about God.

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Sep 28, 2018 Marjorie Jensen added it

My review of this book was just published in Spiral Nature Magazine: https://www.spiralnature.com/reviews/... ...more

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About Rumi

Rumi

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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 lan 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. ...more