Rumi is North America's best-selling poet. A selection of his inspirational verse, focused on his mystical teachings of reconnecting with the Divine, are collected here with commentaries, making it the perfect introduction to his poetry and its deeper meanings. Many famous figures, including Madonna, are known fans of his work. Rumi is the most well-known and read Muslim poet in history, and his admirers have established journals that discuss his work, Facebook and Twitter accounts with millions of followers and even events that celebrate his life. This collection is a departure from other collections of Rumi's work as it focuses on revealing his actual beliefs and moral character. In this light I would position this as a title for dedicated readers, who want to understand Rumi, not just read his poetry out of context. The series blends pithy sayings of classical Islamic wisdom with contemporary insight and commentary luxurious gift book with decorative end papers, dust jacket and textured cloth cover well-thought-out and well-designed inside that uses decorative fonts and motifs to present each aphorism, whilst also offering the reader a concise and meaningful commentary provide easy introductions to the thought and wisdom of major Islamic intellectual figures, prepared by learned translators
TAKEN FROM DRAFT MANUSCRIPT KEY THEMES 129 The nafs is something base 169 Journey of the spirit, not the body 171 Fire of anger > Hell 180 The Masnavi must be heeded with discrimination, being not just stories 202 Weeping over sins is better than prayers 203 Allah is the true Friend 204 Travelling helps you to grow 206 Real knowledge and love of Allah 209 Good manners: not to complain 213 Why Allah does not always answer or prayers right away 214 Malice is forbidden in Islam 220 Barrier of jealousy 220 Doing the work is part of trust 224 Look for spiritual friends 227 The Sufi is provided for by Allah 234 This world is tiny but seems great to the spiritually dead 235 You need spiritual vision 236 Your true homeland is the Next World 238 Your sustenance is in the Hands of Allah 239 Allah decides everything, but you must still work 241 Do not blame destiny; blame yourself 242 Don’t look back – look ahead 245 If you are with everyone you are alone; if you are with Allah you are with all 245 Drown in the sea of love 246 Love the Immortal, not the mortal 249 The repentance of Adam 251 Our apparent emotions, ?? joy and sorrow 253 The sun of Ma‘rifa never sets 254 Love the Essence, not the form 255 Love brings life and purity 261 Love is beyond need and greed 264 Love makes and breaks us again and again 266 Ikhla?: Allah Himself is the Reward 268 Allah’s lovers, like Him, take no sleep or food 269 To lovers humiliation and glory are alike 271 Being at prayer 24/7 274 ‘You need annihilation, not grammar’ 275 Ikhlas: ask Him only – seek water from sea, not dry riverbed 277 Seeing one’s own faults 280 Think well of others 281 Ma‘rifa: seeing Allah everywhere 286 Ask, that you may be given 287 Escape attachment to secondary causes 288 Our troubles come to save us from worse 290 Dhikr Allah brings tranquillity 290 The Light of Allah protects and helps 292 Silence of the Sea 294 Bring your heart to Allah 295 Repentance and weeping 296 Muraqaba and veiling the faults of others
Dr Muhammad Isa Waley is an editor, researcher, and translator. He worked for 45 years as curator of Persian and Turkish manuscripts and books, first at the British Museum and then at the British Library. His main fields of research are the verse and prose literature of Muslim spirituality, and Islamic manuscripts. The subject of his Ph.D. thesis was the Dvn or lyric poems of Jall al-Dn Rm. His other published translations include Al-Arba'n (Forty Hadiths) of Jm; Mawlid al-Barzanj, a paean on the Blessed Prophet's Birth; and The Book of Contemplation (Kitab al-Tafakkur), Book 39 of Imam al-Ghazl's Iy' 'ulm al-dn.
