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Maulana Rumi. When the tables...(330)

Maulana Jajaj uddin Rumi was born in 1207 in Balkh Afghanistan and died in 1273 Konia in Turkey where there is a Mausoleum.  The following selection is from Masnavi.and translation is by Professor R A Nicholson of Cambridge University. Professor Nicholson commenced the monumental task of translation  in 1922 and completed in1940. It has 6 volumes and is called "Masnavi of Rumi". Khaliq M Khan, September 27, 2019. When the lamps are lit and the tables are laid, after the evening prayer, I am engrossed with the thought of my Beloved, with grief, sorrow and lamentation. My prayer is fiery for I perform the ablution with my tears. When the call for prayer comes, the gate of my mosque is set on fire. Strange is the prayer of mad; tell me, is it correct to say prayers like this in complete disregard of time and space? Strange are the two rak’ats and stranger still the fourth one. How strange, I recited a Sura without a tongue! How can I knock at the door of God, since I h...

Rumi-background & two selections.(326)

Maulana Jalal Uddin Rumi (1207-1273) is burred in Konia, Turkey.  Rumi implies, from Rome because Constantinople (Istanbul) was the seat of the Eastern Roman Empire  and later became the seat of Eastern Orthodox Church ( Byzantium) . Rome of the western R.Empire and became the seat of Catholic Church (Vatican). All this happened after the conversion of Roman Emperor Constantine to Christianity in 330. It was Constantine who had convened the conference of all Bishops in Nicaea (Turkey) in 325 where the Christian creed also known as Nicaean creed was agreed upon.   Jalaluddin himself did not use "Rumi" much but after the 17th century its use became more frequent by Oriental studies authors.. Some of  his contemporaries of Rumi were Ibn Arabi (1165-1240), Shaikh Saadi (1194-1283) and Farid Uddin Attar who was killed in 1222 when Mongols sacked Naishapur(Samarkand and Bukhara were sacked in 1220). They witnessed the destruction of Islamic institutions and death of m...

Rumi a overview&. Unless there... (325)..

Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi was born in Balkh, Afghanistan in 1207 and died in 1273 and is buried in Konya, Turkey.  Al Ghazali (1065-1111) had a great influence on Rumi. His father Burhan Uddin was also a known scholar. At the age of 34 Rumi had become a well  known scholar and a professor. After  meeting Shams, a Sufi ,he embarked on a spiritual search that lasted 13 years. From 1245 to1261, he wrote fifty thousand versess known as Diwan-Shams e Tabrazi. After 1261 in twelve years he wrote 25,700 verses known as Masnave. The best English translation of Masnavi is by Professor R A Nicholson of Cambridge University done during 1925 and 1940. It is in 6 volumes, called "Masnavi of Rum". Here are two short selections from Masnavi. Khaliq ------------ 1. "The Prophet said "Trust in God, yet tie the camel's leg.' 'The worker is the friend of God'; Through trust in Providence neglect not to use means. Go, O fatalists, practice...

Muslim women scholars&rulers(324)

Islam elevated the role of women in the 7th century and gave property and other rights that were not available to women until the onset of the 20th century. The golden age of Islam started in the 7th century and lasted to the end of the 17th century when colonial occupation of Muslim ruled areas by European powers began. With the decline in scholarship and deficit in the knowledge of Islam among Muslims came the erosion of rights of women. It is interesting to note that   the number of women scholars and rulers was at its height  when scholarship in Islam, sciences and all other fields was at its peak. Muslims quite early in their history started to excel in science, philosophy, medicine and other fields. The golden age of Islam was a period of learning and enlightenment. Big advances were made in science, medicine, governance, architecture and other fields. One reason for advancement was heavy investment on education and *Madrasas(means an instit...