THE STORY OF HAZRAT JALALUDDIN RUM

Hazrat Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi (RA.) was a great man of his era and Allah gave him a considerable amount of Divine Knowledge. He was born at a place called Balkh in the year 604 A.H. He belonged to the offspring of Sayyedena Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddeeq  and was a grandson of Sultan Muhammad Khwarizm Shah (RA.). At the age of six years his father took him to the famous saint, Hazrat Baba Fariduddeen Attaar(R.A.) The saint presented him with a copy of his Mathnavi Asraar ­Nama as a gift and informed his father: "This son of yours will one day cause a tremendous upheaval."

A few years later Maulana proceeded to Syria for the purpose of completing his education. He stayed in Damascus for seven years. There he became acquainted with all the schools of thought, Ilmul-Kalaam, jurisprudence and had specialised knowledge regarding the differences of opinion among the various schools of thought. When his days of acquiring knowledge had been completed, he occupied himself with teaching and lecturing. However, Maulana had been created for the object of teaching Divine Love and Divine Knowledge and thus the fire of Divine Love had been placed within his heart.

"The teaching of the Divine Lover is to remember Him
With crying and lamentation and dancing in ecstasy
And not in increased reading of chapter and sections.
Just as Abu Hanifa and 5hafi had been created for fiqh (jurisprudence),
So Rumi (R.A.) has been created for teaching the path of Love. For the Divine Lovers the beauty of the Beloved is the best teacher. When a true connection with Allah is formed in the heart,
Then without study or teacher the knowledge of prophethood will rage inside."

For preparing him for the role of teaching of Divine Love for which Allah had created Maulana Rumi (RA.), Allah made His own arrangements from the unseen world. In the heart of Shamsuddin Tabrezi (RA.) there was an ocean of Divine Love and he was searching for a way of spreading these jewels from his heart and earnestly prayed: "0 Allah! You have placed a treasure of Divine Love in my heart. Grant me such a special one from among your bondsmen into whose heart I may transfer this treasure, so that the person may with his tongue of Love expound my secrets in the light of the Quran and Hadith". This prayer was immediately answered. Shamsuddin Tabrezi (RA.) received a reply: "Go to Rum where you will meet Jalaluddin Rumi (R.A.). We have chosen him for this task."

From the unseen, arrangements were made for Rumi.
When Shamsh Tabrezi besought Allah's help:
"O Allah, the fire that burns in my chest,
The agitation that rises in this being.
O Allah, let me find such a person
Who will be fit to bear this burden.
For indeed is near the hour of parting,
To whom shall I entrust this trust, 0 Beloved?"
Then from the unseen came the reply:
"O Shamsh Tabrezi, proceed speedily to Rum
And make Moulvy Rum the Master of Rum
And free him from the duties that bind him."

As Soon as he heard this "voice", Hazrat Shamsh Tabrezi (RA.) proceeded to Rum. He went to Qunya where he settled among the sellers of brass goods. There, near the door of an inn, was a platform on which the elders of the sellers used to sit. It was at this spot that Hazrat Shamsh Tabrezi (RA.) and Maulana Rumi (R.A.) first 'met each other and from there onwards their friendship grew. While in the company of Hazrat Shamsh Tabrezi (RA.), the condition of Maulana Rumi (RA.) underwent a complete change. As Divine Love began to take its full effect upon him, Maulana Rumi (RA.) became drunk with the love of God. He stopped his teaching, lecturing, preaching and refused to be removed from the company of Hazrat Shamsh Tabrezi (RA.) for even a short while. This change caused a tremendous commotion in the town.

Maulana Rumi (RA.) writes:

"0 Beloved One! In the path of Your love my cries of drunkenness seem beautiful.
Till the day of Qiyamat, this madness will I continue to love dearly. "

At that time Maulana Rumi's (RA.) condition had become as is explained by these poetic lines:
"It is the message from a troubled heart
Without You there can be quiet but no comfort.
We are filled with agitation
And this is the prize of love."

When the effects of Divine Love became visible on Maulana
Rumi (RA.), a rumour was spread about in the town that Shamsh Tabrezi (RA.) has used sorcery on Maulana Rumi (RA.). For fear of further spreading of this rumour, Hazrat Shamsh Tabrezi (R.A.) secretly left the town and went to Damascus. This separation caused Maulana Rumi (RA.) a tremendous amount of sorrow. Seeing the condition in which he was, some people went to call back Shamsh Tabrezi (RA.). Shamsh Tabrezi (RA.) returned but after staying for a short period, be again disappeared somewhere. Some historians have mentioned that someone killed him and thus made him into a martyr. This separation from his spiritual guide, made Maulana Rumi (RA.) very restless. His life became very bitter.

"O Beloved, through parting from you my life has become bitter,
And from my life all comfort has been removed.
O Beloved, through the sorrow of parting from you,
Cries of parting are coming from my lips to the outside.
O Morning breeze, take the message of this far away
From a miserable lover to his Beloved Sheikh.
O Beloved, Your grace which has been with me all along,
When I remember, my soul, like a mad man
Searches for the scent of your being."

The effect that the blessed company of Shamsh Tabrezi (RA.) had on Maulana Rumi (RA.) can be gauged from the words of the Mathnavi. The 28 000 couplets contained in the Mathnavi are from the tongue of Maulana Rumi (RA.) but actually those poetic lines are in fact the fire that emanated from the chest of Shamsh Tabrezi (R.A.), which needed a tongue to be expressed. Thus Allah has made Maulana Rumi (R.A.) the tongue of Shamsh Tabrezi (R.A.).

Maulana Rumi (R.A.) was a grandchild of a King and an eminent scholar of Hadith and Tafseer. When he proceeded anywhere, numerous students out of love for him used to follow him on foot. Now that same Maulana Rumi (R.A.) was carrying the belongings of his spiritual guide, his bedding, his cups and his grain on his head and following his peer wherever he went.

"Such a big Sheikh has become like a donkey walking about,
Such is love when it comes. So you false lovers, beware."

Look at what the company of a True Sheikh did to Maulana ! The Love for his Sheikh had made Maulana Rumi (R.A.) like a mad one. No more did he have the sedan, the special robes, turban, and the love of students gathering around him. Instead of the signs of knowledge being visible, he was now overcome
by the signs of poverty. In fact now he had been made aware of the true reality of Knowledge.

"In truth, true knowledge is the name of Allah's Love.
Otherwise, if one disregards the true object of acquiring knowledge,
Then such knowledge becomes a means for Iblees to mislead.
That knowledge which does not lead towards Allah,
Is in fact not knowledge, but ignorance.
Arrogance of knowledge keeps one deprived of truth, dear friends.
The aim and object of knowledge is but to acquire Divine Love,
Apart from that all else is deception and deceit."
(Akhtar)

But the true idea of knowledge only comes out after having been in the company of a true spiritual guide. That happens when the turban of Fazeelat becomes lost in the turban of love. Then the true object is attained.

Maulana Rumi (R.A.) says:
"Leave aside all lectures and leave 'Qeela' (it was said) and 'Qaala' (he said).
Become a Sahib-e-haal (person of action). Create love for Allah Inside
That can come along once you've chosen the company of a Divine Lover. "

The spiritual glances which Shamsh Tabrezi (R.A.) gave to Maulana Rumi (R.A.), made such an impact on him and bestowed him with such a favour, that normally this is only attained after a lifetime of strenuous spiritual exercises. For this reason Maulana Rumi (R.A.) had such great a love for each and everyone of his utterances and anything connected with his Sheikh, so much so that he even had a great love for the town of Tabrez. In the Mathnavi, whenever the town of Tabrez is mentioned, there are several couplets in praise of the town itself.

Hajee Imdadullah Muhaajir Makki (R.A.) used to say: "The description of the attributes that Maulana Rumi (R.A.) has given in the Mathnavi regarding the 'Awliyaa-Allah' is taken from his own personal experiences. This is due to the fact that he had attained 'nisbat' (contact with AUah) without any strenuous spiritual efforts and exercises. For this reason, he used to praise the 'Awliyaa - Allah' very highly.

He said:

"The existence of a spiritual guide is like a ladder leading towards   Allah.
And how can an arrow fly in speed to its destination without a        bow? "

Maulana Rumi (R.A.) spent many hours in solitude in the service of his 'peer' (spiritual guide) and thus pulled the fire of Divine Love into his chest, for which Shamsh Tabrezi (R.A.) used to pray to Allah in such earnestness. "0 Allah, grant me such a person who will be able to bear the fire of love from me". Through the blessings of the company of the true Sheikh, true Imaan began to be felt and through the blessings of Divine Love, waves from the ocean of knowledge entered into his heart. So wide was this ocean of knowledge that even up till today, the Awliyaa are benefiting by it. Even today, the Mathnavi is busy lighting the flame of Divine Love. We can ascertain both Maulana 's knowledge and his 'inner knowledge' by studying the Mathnavi.

At this point I wish to quote an example from which it can be deduced how high was his rank of love.     .
Maulana Rumi (RA.) says:

"When upon Mt. Toor's outer peak the light of Allah was exposed,
It fell down into pieces so that the light not merely touched the outside but also protruded inside.
When in the hands of a starving one a piece of bread is placed,
Then it causes saliva to flow in the mouth and the eyes to tear.
Such became Toor, that the light also reached its insides."

The description of how Mt. Toor was broken into small pieces which Maulana described in the light of Divine Love also gives an indication of Maulana 's own love-like relationship. How much did Maulana Rumi's (RA.) contact with Allah undergo a complete transformation through Hazrat Shamsh Tabrezi's (RA.) fire of love? This can only be gauged from the following couplet:

"The pace of holy man in his spiritual progress is such
That each month's journey is the equal of one day,
But the True Lovers of Allah are such
That at every breath their souls fly to the King of Kings.
o Father, discard sleep for one night
And enter into the gully of sleeplessness and see.
Then come and see how true love has made these sleepless ones mad
And see how like butterflies they are slain in the splendour of nearness to God.
O Man who dirtied yourself through passionate desires,
Come hither as my character has become such that it is Divine         Akhlak.
In the hearts of saints there are numerous secret melodies of True Love

From which true seekers are granted precious life.
O You who for the sake of worldly gain go before worldly ones in humility
And in the presence of the Saintly act in arrogant manner,
Whereas in fact these ones are worthy of royal treatment.
I am a royal falcon and through the blessings of Divine Love
Have been endowed with virtuous ways.
Through the blessings of True Love
My attributes have been changed from that of a vulture towards the praiseworthy.
When my bad manners through the blessings of my Murshid disappeared
And my self became endowed with good manners,
Now I hear through the Noor of Allah and see through His Noor.
And I see His Noor on my right, on my left, above me and below    me.
And [find the Noor of Truth around my neck and head like a collar on me."

Through the blessings of Hazrat Shamsh Tabrezi (RA.), Maulana Rumi (RA.) had reached such a high position of Divine Love and in his soul he had experienced such a feeling of love, that this could to a certain extent be ascertained from this verse:

"Wine became intoxicating due to us,
Not that we became intoxicated through wine.
This body is existing because of the soul,
The soul is not in need of the body for its existence."

When the soul has a special contact with Allah, then the attributes of the soul overwhelm the attributes of the 'nafs'. As the Rooh is connected with the real world it is in contrast to the Hereafter like a prison. Thus when the true devotee of Allah experiences true love within his soul, he then feels the need for the everlasting intoxication of the Hereafter to that of the temporary and passing intoxication of this world.

When the enjoyment of spiritual ecstasy (Haal) overwhelmed Maulana Rumi (R.A.), he started feeling the insignificance of theological arguments. Faith through spiritual experience replaced faith through logical arguments and taqleed. These seemed to have no significance whatsoever.

Maulana Rumi (R.A.) says:

"Proofs and arguments of proof have legs of wood, which are weak, But Divine Knowledge through taqwa, righteous deeds and true love are beneficial indeed."

The Imaan which comes about through the insight of the heart is even greater than the experiences experienced through the senses. The yaqeen produced in the company of the saints and the profuse performance of the Zikr is a mountain of steadfastness in its strength. The whole world may become contaminated with 'Kufr and Shirk', but the person will at all times hold onto the tenets of towheed.

As Hazrat Saadi Shirazi (R.A.) says:

"Even though a bundle of gold is placed at the feet of a true believer, And even though a naked sword be placed on his neck,

Neither will greed for anything sway him from towheed
Nor will fear for the sword induce him to stray."

It must be noted that the true believer in towheed is not living in the hope of reaping any worldly benefits therefrom. Nor is there any fear in him and this is the essence of towheed.

However, these days there is a new policy in this world, which has made a change according to the times, the criterion for success in life. This is another one of those items imported from the West and advocates that we should change according to the demands of our time, irrespective of whether during the course of that our Imaan is being destroyed or not. This policy and the search after truth are two contradictory items. The Seeker after truth has one aim in front of him and that is to acquire the pleasure and satisfaction of Allah alone, while the upholders of this new policy will have to bend down in order to satisfy all the people of the times. This means the people following this new policy will always be thinking and considering ways to please others whereas a believer is completely unconcerned of the time, seeking only the pleasure of the Great Creator.

Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi (R.A.) gave an open invitation to all the people to create within themselves the great wealth of everlasting contact with Allah. He invited them to the great bounty which he himself had tasted and enjoyed and which he now wanted everyone else to enjoy and reap the benefit.

Maulana Rumi (R.A.) says that the saintly ones keep many secrets hidden from others because the average ordinary man is unable to properly comprehend them. But sometimes it does happen that, in an involuntary manner, something does get mentioned as in the case of the mouth uttering some things at the time of sneezing or yawning when it involuntarily opens up. At such times, some such secrets are uttered which Allah wants to spread about. He creates such a condition to come over them that they are unable to control it and thus makes them to utter such words. This is done so that interested people may get an inkling of that world which may cause their hearts to be turned away from this transitory world and incline them towards the unseen world.

"O People, if for one moment you experience the splendour of His nearness,
You will in great earnestness submit yourself to earnest Mujahadah.
And if you should within your self see the splendour of His nearness,
You will find this world and all its pleasures tasteless and bitter."

Now listen to the advise which Maulana gives, which, if acted upon, the human soul becomes filled with love for the Divine Being and causes the heart to become disenchanted with this world.

"Within yourself create the path towards Allah.

How is that achieved?

Cast from you the perception of the pictures of others
And when others leave the heart, Allah's splendour will enter into it.
O Man, treat your illness with the alchemy medicine that was placed within your body.
So that good morals be created from bad
And so that your enemies, yourself and your desires, turn to friends.
And when through the spiritual guide your bad morals turn to good,
You will become beautiful,
And He will bring you near to Him
And save you from the loneliness in contrast to worldly lovers. From whom He will turn away. "

Through the blessed company of Hazrat Shamsh Tabrezi (RA.), Maulana Rumi (RA.) experienced such a frenzy of love and madness and in such a speedy manner had passed through the various stages of acquiring spiritual progress through the process of ]azb, that he became convinced that the only path towards Allah was the path of Love and madness for Him.

Maulana Rumi (RA.) says:
"Any other path apart from the path of frenzied love and madness
Are all, paths leading to being far removed from Him.
The cry of the insane one in love appears good to me.
O Beloved, so I desire to remain till Qiyam It - a mad one.
If apart from the chains of Shariat two hundred chains should be    tied around my feet,
I would break them all as no chains can hold him who is a mad        Divine Lover of God."

Maulana Rumi (RA.) was an ocean of Divine Love and for a lover nothing except the remembrance of his Beloved is pleasing and then there are times when he used to long for another Divine Lover with whom he could converse about the True Beloved One and through this bring comfort and peace to his troubled heart.

After the demise of Hazrat Shamsh Tabrezi (RA.), Maulana Rumi (RA.) was now in search of such a companion. One day, in this troubled state of the mind, he was passing by the shop of Salahuddin Zarkoob who was very busy beating metal leaves into thin foil. While the hammer was beating the metal it made such a noise that devotees felt a feeling of love in their hearts. . Maulana at that time was a man filled with Divine Love and on hearing the sounds of the hammer, fell down unconscious. Salahuddin did not stop beating the metal leaves and in this manner wasted many of them. Finally in the heart of Salahuddin, as a result of the grace of Maulana Rumi (RA.), the fire of Divine Love .was lit. He left his shop as it was and followed Maulana Rumi (RA.).

"O heart consumed with love, what did you breathe into my heart That there is in my heart a burning fire?
I was not aware of the ways of love
But let a similar heart be pressed against my chest.
Perhaps its name is love and madness,
This flame that has been lit inside. "

For a period of 9 years, Salahuddin remained in the company and service of Maulana Rumi (RA.) and his company brought great comfort to Maulana . Salahuddin passed away in 664 A.H. After his demise, Maulana Rumi (RA.) chose from amongst his Mureeds Husamuddin Chalpi to be his special companion for as long as he remained alive. Thus he consoled himself in his great longing for the True Beloved. It was through the encouragement provided by Maulana Husamuddin (RA.) that. Maulana Rumi (RA.) wrote his famous work, The Mathnavi. Maulana Rumi (RA.) referred to this in the Mathnavi:

"Just as a thirsty one throws walnuts into deep water repeatedly (which he cannot reach)
In order to hear its sound and to see its bubbles.
So, O Hasamuddin, my object is you in this Mathnavi.
And this Mathnavi from its beginning is for you
And upon you is its ending, 0 Husamuddin.

My object in this Mathnavi is to explain your words as words denote the glory of the writer. For in truth, the writer is you. I am merely the means for your voice and meanings. "

Once Maulana Rumi (RA.), while reciting the Mathnavi, suddenly remained silent and said: "At this time from the unseen no words are coming. For this reason there is no form. That is why I prefer to remain silent". Then he said: "It is a fact that the themes of the Mathnavi are inspired from on High".

Maulana refers to that in the following lines:

"When I ponder about rhyme and stanzas, my Beloved says to me:
Think not about rhyming, just ponder over my countenance.
I will inspire you with the lines. Do not burden your heart with it."