Photos of Rumi's tomb in Konya, Turkey by Babak
Borzouyeh, Mehr News Agency
O you who've gone on pilgrimage -
where are you, where, oh where?
Here, here is the Beloved!
Oh come now, come, oh come!
Your friend, he is your neighbor,
he is next to your wall -
You, erring in the desert -
what air of love is this?
If you'd see the Beloved's
form without any form -
You are the house, the master,
You are the Kaba, you!...
Where is a bunch of roses,
if you would be this garden?
Where, one soul's pearly essence
when you're the Sea of God?
That's true - and yet your troubles
may turn to treasures rich -
How sad that you yourself veil
the treasure that is yours!
Translated by Annemarie Schimmel
Jalal ad-Din Muḥammad Rumi, popularly known as Mowlana but
known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi (30 September 1207 - 17
December 1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi
mystic. Rumi is a descriptive name meaning "the Roman" since he lived most of
his life in an area called Rum because it was once ruled by the Eastern Roman
Empire.
Rumi was born on 30 September 1207 in greater Balkh in the village of Wakhsh. He
died on 17 December 1273 in Konya in present day Turkey (then Seljuqids of Rum).
He was laid to rest beside his father, and over his remains a splendid shrine
was erected.
