in full Jal 0101; l al-D 012B; n al-R 016B; m 012B; byname Mawl 0101; n 0101; (Arabic: "Our Master")
born 0441; Sept. 30, 1207, Balkh, Gh 016B; rid empire
died Dec. 17, 1273, Konya, Anatolia
The greatest Sufi mystic and among the most renowned Persian poets.
He was a teacher at a madrasah in Anatolia when he met Shams al-D 012B; n ("Sun of Religion"), a wandering dervish who revealed to him the inner mysteries of divine majesty; their intimate relationship scandalized R 016B; m 012B; 's followers, who likely had Shams al-D 012B; n murdered. The disappearance of his companion turned R 016B; m 012B; to poetry, and his D 012B; v 0101; n-e Shams ("Collected Poetry of the Sun") contains verses on his love and longing for Shams al-D 012B; n. His main work, the didactic epic Mas 0304; nav 012B; -ye Ma 02BD; nav 012B; ("Spiritual Couplets"), widely influenced Muslim mystical thought and literature. He is believed to have composed poetry while in a state of ecstasy and often accompanied his verses by a whirling dance. After his death, his disciples were organized as the Mawlawiyyah (Mevlev 012B; ), a Sufi order called in the West the "whirling dervishes," and his influence on Turkish culture is inestimable. His poems, originally in Persian, have been translated into a number of languages, including English, and have enjoyed a worldwide following into the modern period.