Rumi and Islam: Selections from His Stories, Poems, and Discourses--Annotated & Explained [Paperback]

Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi (Author)

Book Description

Series: SkyLight Illuminations | Publication Date: February 2004

The lyric and wisdom poetry of Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi has been an inspiration throughout the Middle East and Asia for over seven hundred years. Recently it has also become popular in Western countries through translations and interpretive poetic versions in English. But while popular renderings have created the appreciation of Rumi the mystic, there is little understanding today of the religious and spiritual traditions from which the great mystic came.

Rumi and Islam--Selections from His Stories, Poems, and Discourses examines not the popularized Rumi of universal love but the Sufi disciple whose works express deep reverence for the Prophet Muhammad. Ibrahim Gamard focuses on Rumi's place within the Sufi tradition of Islam, as one of the greatest Muslim followers of the Prophet Muhammed, and on the Islamic foundations of his lover-Beloved mystical poetry. By probing verse by verse Rumi's spiritual teachings, Gamard provides insight into the mystical side of the Qur'an and Islam, a religion that holds a deep love of God at its core.

Now you can experience the profound and uplifting wisdom of Rumi even if you have no previous knowledge of Sufism or Islam. This SkyLight Illuminations edition presents the most important of Rumi's writings, mainly from the Mathnawi, with insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that conveys how his teachings about the nature of love for God and God's love for us can increase our understanding of Islamic wisdom in the West.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ibrahim Gamard first translated Rumi's poetry from Persian in 1985, and started posting selected Rumi translations, commentary, and Persian transliterations on the Internet in 1997. information about the great Sufi mystic. Gamard is a member of the Mevlevi Order, a 730-year-old Sufi order that originated with Rumi himself. A licensed psychologist, Dr. Gamard converted to Islam twenty years ago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 206 pages
• Publisher: Skylight Paths Publishing (February 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594730024
• ISBN-13: 978-1594730023
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #597,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In the photo of the authors, Dr. Farhadi is to the right and Dr. Gamard is to the left; both are standing in front of the entrance to the mausoleum of Mawlana Rumi in Konya, Turkey (May 2005). Above and behind them is a calligraphy in Persian: "O exalted presence of Mawlana!" [ya hazrat-e Mawlana]. Behind them on the upper right is the famous turquoise dome that is directly above Mawlana's tomb.

Rawan Farhadi, born and raised in Afghanistan, received sufi knowledge from his father, `Abdul Baqi (died 1950), who was a teacher of Persian literature and a disciple [murid] in the Naqshbandi sufi tradition in Kabul, Afghanistan. Rawan studied in Paris (1950-55) with Louis Massignon, where he received his Ph.D. He spent years studying and editing classical Persian sufi poetry. He also studied the history of Persian language with Emile Benveniste. And he personally knew and exchanged views about Mawlana's poetry with such well-known Mawlana scholars as Salahuddin Saljuqi, Khalilullah Khalili (both of Afghanistan) and Badi`uzzaman Foruzanfar (of Iran, who travelled from Tehran to Kabul on many occasions). In addition, he knew (and helped) Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch (the translator of Mawlana's works into French) starting in 1952, when he was a graduate student in Paris. He taught Persian Literature at the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris, then at the University of California in Berkeley for five years, and then at the International Islamic Institute of the Islamic University of Malaysia for one year. In addition, he was the Afghan Ambassador to France many years ago, and more recently was the Afghan Ambassador to the United Nations (from 1993 through the end of 2006). He is the author of "Abdullah Ansari of Herat: An Early Sufi Master" (1996). At present, he is retired and living in Northern California.



Ibrahim Gamard, born and raised in the United States, is a licensed psychologist by profession and received his Ph.D. in 1986. A student of sufism for over thirty-five years, he converted to Islam in 1984 and went on the Pilgrimage to Mecca in 1999. He has been affiliated with the Mevlevi [Mawlawi] tradition of Islamic sufism (the 700 year-old tradition which originated with Mawlana himself) since 1976. In 2007, he was made a Mevlevi Shaykh, or authorized teacher, by Faruk Hemdem Celebi, the 22nd generation direct descendent of Mawlana and the international leader of the Mevlevi tradition. Ibrahim's Mevlevi spiritual teacher, Shefik Can (Shafiq Jan, 1909-2005) was very learned in the Persian of Mawlana and also translated the quatrains (into Turkish, 1991). Ibrahim began teaching himself to read classical/medieval Persian starting in 1981, for the sole purpose of studying Mawlana's poetry. He began posting his literal translations (mostly selections from the Mathnawi, with commentary and transliterations) on the Internet starting in 1997. In 2001, he placed all of his translations (but only a few of quatrains), as well as many related articles, on his website: www.dar-al-masnavi.org. He is the author of "Rumi and Islam: Selections from His Stories, Poems, and Discourses" (2004). He lives in Northern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Muslims Should Read This Book, September 24, 2004

By 

Mark Carpenter - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rumi and Islam: Selections from His Stories, Poems, and Discourses--Annotated & Explained (Paperback)

Rumi has become popular in many circles but this great scholar, mystic & poet is largely unknown to most muslims themselves. His poems are an overwhelming treasure of insight and inspiration revealing depths of Islam that you would not otherwise guess were there. This book does a service in that it collects excepts from Rumi directing relating to the Prophet and other aspects of the faith, translating it in a way that is intellecually honest and true to the original.

5.0 out of 5 stars accurate translation, February 13, 2011

By 

Arsalaan "Arsalaan" (Florida) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rumi and Islam: Selections from His Stories, Poems, and Discourses--Annotated & Explained (Paperback)

I certainly agree with Mark Carpenter, but will add that most "translators" don't translate at all, but re-write scholarly English translations. Ibrahim Gamard has dedicated thirty years to learn the Persian of Rumi's time in order to, as accurately as possible, render Rumi's work into English. Also, many "translators, do not understand Islam or classical sufism, which runs through Rumi's poetical output. And therefore cannot portray the original message. Indeed some "translators" take out the Islam on purpose. This book beautifully portrays Rumi's love of the Prophet of Islam