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Abbasids, 21–22, 50, 71, 218–19, 325, 327
Abu Bakr Rababi, 213–14
Sheikh Abu Bakr Sallebaf of Tabriz, 127–28
The Acts of the Mystics (Chelebi), 82
Afary, Janet, 178
Aflaki (Rumi biographer)
and Baha Valad, 82
on criticism of Rumi’s sama practices, 254
on fame as an affliction, 240
on Hosam, 245, 252
on Kerra, 108
on Kimiya, 165
on Maleke, 238
on portraits of Rumi, 228
on Rumi after Shams’s departure, 176, 179
on Rumi and Alloddin, 253
on Rumi and Shams, 118, 120, 148, 151, 197
on Rumi bowing to a Christian monk, 237
on Salah and Rumi, 202, 205
on sama sessions with all women present, 228–29
on Sultan Valad and Shams, 153, 165
Ahmad, 54
akhavan organizations, 122, 245, 256, 325
al-Ghazali, Mohammad, 54, 180–81
al-Hallaj, Mansur, 56
al-Maarri, 121
al-Mutanabbi, 96, 120–21, 149
al-Nasir, Caliph, 50
al-Rashid, Harun, 50
Alaoddin Kayqobad I, Sultan
about, 78–79, 136
and Baha Valad, 75–76, 77, 82–83, 85
and Great Mosque in Konya, 79–80, 84–85
and Konya, Anatolia, 77, 78
and Sultan Han caravanserai, 80–81
Alaoddin Kayqobad III, 229–30
Alaoddin Mohammad (Rumi’s son)
about, 162
birth and childhood, 72–74
chastisement from Rumi while studying in Damascus, 109–10
death and funeral of, 253
and Rumi, 171, 179, 193, 253–54
and Shams, 121, 162–63
Aleppo, Syria
about, 94–95
the Citadel, 94–95, 151–52
Gooch in, 1–4
madrases in, 94, 95
Rumi as theological student, 3–4, 93–97
Shams in, 132–33, 151–54
Shia in, 97–98
Ali and the infidel knight tale, 250
Ali ebn Malekdad, 126
Altunpa Madrase and Mosque, Konya, 83–85
Aminodin Mikail “Sheikh of the Ladies,” 228
Anatolia and Neighboring Lands
13th Century map, 332–33
Erzincan, 63–65, 70
journey from Konya to Kayseri, 106–7
journey from Syria to Anatolia, 62
Kayseri, 93–94, 102, 105–7
Larande, 70–75, 76, 86–87
Malatya, 62–63
See also Konya, Anatolia
Anatolian region
Baha Valad family in, 62–76, 82–85
earthquakes in, 292
Greeks in, 88–89, 110, 192–93, 207, 232
Mongol rule, 221–23
Shams in, 132–34
Aqshahr, Anatolia, 64
Arberry, A. J., 4
ascetic in the desert hero, 266–67
astrolabe metaphor, 235
astronomy, 72
Ataturk, Kemal, 303–4
Attar
Book of Secrets, 46–47
The Book of the Camel, 75
Book of the Divine, 48–49
The Conference of the Birds, 46, 48, 242–43
influence in Rumi’s Masnavi, 249
Lives of the Saints, 55–56
and Rumi, 46–48, 59–60
austerity of Rumi, 102–5, 241–42, 279
Ayyubid dynasty, 94–95, 99–100, 325
Babas, 136, 255, 325
Badi al-Zaman Foruzanfar, 214
Baghdad
about, 51–53
Baha Valad family in, 50, 53–56
as entranceway to Mecca, 50
Mongol takeover of, 218–21
refugees from Mongol invasion, 68
roads to, 43–44, 49
Shams in, 128–29
Baha Valad (Rumi’s father)
in Anatolia, 62–65, 70–71, 82–85
Borhan passing on teachings of, 87–89
and Damascus, 61–62
death of, 85–86
enemies of, 18–19, 20
fear of politicians, 40
influence on Rumi, 15
invitation to teach in Konya, 75–76
journal of, 13, 18, 20, 41, 86, 341n20
journey to Mecca, 38–42
leaving Vakhsh, 24–25
midlife crisis, 20–21
personality of, 15–18, 33, 34
and Rumi’s visions of angels, 11–12
sermons of, 74
as “Sultan al-Olama,” 18
Bahaoddin Mohammad (Rumi’s son), 72–74. See also Sultan Valad
Bahramshah, prince of Erzincan, 63–64
Balkh, Tajikistan, 14–15, 39, 67
Barks, Coleman, 4
Basra, 55
Bayazid Bestami, 116–17
bear as friend metaphor, 265
Bedouins on road from Baghdad to Mecca, 58
Biographical Dictionary (Ibn al-Adim), 95
Black Stone of the Kaaba, 58, 60
Bly, Robert, 307
The Book of Kings, or Shahname (Ferdowsi), 23–24, 78–79
Book of Secrets (Attar), 46–47
The Book of the Camel (Attar), 75
Book of the Divine (Attar), 48–49
Borhan (Rumi’s tutor/teacher), 39, 87–92, 93–94, 105–7, 202
braggadocio tradition, 96
Bukhara, Uzbekistan, 30, 51–52, 66
Cahen, Claude, 303
caliph, 44, 325
Caliph al-Mustasim, 218–19
caravanserai (roadside inn)
in Aleppo, 152
in Damascus, 151
Kayseri to Konya, 80–81
in Konya, 155–56
from Rome to Khorasan, 41–42
Rumi comparing the mind to, 6
Rumi’s friend the dancing girl, 238
Sultan Han, Konya, 80–81
Cathedral Mosque, Samarkand, 67
Central Asia and the Middle East
map, 13th Century, 330–31
journey from Samarkand to Mecca, 38–39, 40–42
journey from Vakhsh to Samarkand, 24–25
See also Silk Road
chelle, 104, 325
children and Rumi, 239
Christianity
Anatolia surrounded by, 62
Crusades in Syria, 62
in Damascus, 100
Franciscan friars in Aleppo, 95
of Gorji Khatun “Queen of Queens,” 227
in Konya, 84–85
in Larande, 71
Rumi and, 237–38
Citadel, Aleppo, 94–95, 151–52
Citadel, Konya, 78, 79–80, 84–85, 89, 227
clitoridectomy in Muslim Turkic tribes, 17
The Conference of the Birds (Attar), 46, 48, 242–43
Crusades in Syria, 62
Damascus, Syria
about, 98, 100–101
Rumi after accepting Shams’s death, 188–91
Rumi as theological student, 98–101
Rumi’s search for Shams in, 179–90
Shams in, 130–32, 151
uncertainty for Baha Valad family, 61–62
dervish and dervishes, 88, 90, 133, 289, 325. See also whirling and whirling dervishes
Dictionary of Countries (Yaqut), 51–52
Dowlatshah, 126
ducklings raised by a hen story, 266
Ebn Chavosh, 208
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 307
Eraqi (Sufi poet), 8
Erzincan, Anatolia, 63–65, 70
Esmati, princess of Erzincan, 63–64
Euphrates River, 52
Ezzoddin Kaykaus II, 230
Fakhroddin Saheb Ata, 229
Faridun (Jalaloddin Amir Aref—Rumi’s grandson), 286–87
fasting, importance of, 102–4, 221
Fateme (Rumi’s half-sister), 13, 40
Fateme (Salah’s daughter), 202, 211–12
Fateme (Sultan Valad’s wife), 212–13, 261, 285–86
fatwas, 18, 238, 326
Ferdowsi, 23–24, 79
flute in opening of Masnavi, 243–44, 249, 265, 272
fotovvat (Islamic brotherhood), 122, 127, 326
Franciscan friars in Aleppo, 95
funeral procession, Rumi’s, 8, 299–300
Garden of Truth (Sanai), 47, 242–43
Genghis Khan, 61, 66–70
ghazal (lyrical, rhymed poems), 148–51, 153–54, 185–86, 242–43, 326. See also Masnavi (Rumi)
God
and inspiration, 251
Quran verses emphasizing closeness of, 55
Rumi’s poetry on, 40, 69–70
Shams teachings about, 141
true lover, the lover of God, 250–51
Godtalk (Gooch), research for, 4–5
Gooch, Brad, 1–7, 302, 304–5, 307–8
Gorji Khatun “Queen of Queens,” 227
Gowhar (Rumi’s first wife), 40, 72–74, 107–8
Gowhartash, Amir Badroddin, 84, 85
Great Mosque, Konya, Anatolia, 79–80, 84–85
Great Seljuks, 71
Greeks of Anatolia, 88–89, 110, 192–93, 207, 232
hajj (pilgrimage), 56, 58–59, 60, 326. See also Silk Road
Hallaj, Mansur al-, 270–72
hammam (bathhouses), 138–39
Hanafi School of law, 16–17, 71, 83, 98–99
Abu Hanifa, 57
harems, 12–13, 34, 164–65, 326
hazl (bawdy poems), 288, 326
Hediye (Salah’s daughter), 216–17
heroes from Rumi’s boyhood, 23–24
Hosam (Hosamoddin Chelebi)
about, 121–22, 245
and Masnavi (Rumi), 242–51
with Rumi in Meram, 262–63
as Rumi’s beloved and sheikh of the order, 260–63, 277
as Rumi’s scribe, 245–48, 259–60, 263–64, 293–94
and seclusion of Rumi and Shams, 122
wife’s death, 252, 259
Hulagu Khan (Mongol), 218–20
Ibn al-Adim, 95–96
Ibn Arabi, 62–63, 82–83, 101, 130–31, 139, 346n63
In It Is What Is in It, or Fihe ma fih, 4–5
Ince Minareli, Konya, 229
Iran, Rumi as adolescent, 5
Islam
fatwas, 18, 238, 326
fotovvat, 122, 127, 326
Genghis Khan as threat to, 68–70
Hanafi School of law, 16–17, 71, 83, 98–99
Mohammad the Prophet, 50, 131
and Mongol rule in Anatolia, 223
rules against representations, 29
Rumi growing up in, 14
Shafii School of Islamic jurisprudence, 128–30, 277
See also specific sects of Islam
Jalaloddin Mohammad, 12, 85, 182. See also Rumi
jinn (spirits or genies), 21, 108, 326
Jonayd, 55–56
Ibn Jubayr, 58, 59
Judaism, 100, 120, 236, 299–300
Kaaba (sacred shrine in Mecca), 58, 326
Kalile and Demne (collection of animal fables), 21–23, 249, 288
Karakhanids (Turkic dynasty), 26
Karamustafa, Ahmet T., 303
Karatay (freed Greek slave, Seljuk), 192–93
Kaykhosrow II, Sultan, 136–37
death of, 192
Kaykhosrow III, Sultan, 275
Kayseri, Anatolia, 93–94, 102, 105–7
Kermani (Turkish Sufi), 129–30
Kerra Khatun (Rumi’s second wife)
about, 108
and howling dervishes, 275–76
and Rumi, 193, 276
and Rumi’s illness/death, 291–92, 296–97
and Shams, 121, 135
Khayyam, Omar, 48–49
Khodavandgar, 12, 39, 87, 163, 255, 286–87. See also Madrase Khodavandgar, Konya; Rumi
Khorasan region
about, 326
Baha Valad’s exit from, 25
chaos and skirmishes in, 64–66
Genghis Khan’s plundering of, 66–70
Nishapur, 44–49, 67–68
Rumi’s boyhood influences, 21–24
Termez, 39, 67, 87
Khwarazmshah, 18, 19, 30–31, 61, 65–66
Kimiya (Shams wife), 159–61, 163–66
Konya, Anatolia
about, 78
Baha Valad invitation to teach in, 75–76
Baha Valad teaching in, 83–85
bathhouses in, 138–39
Borhan in, 87–92
the Citadel, 78, 79–80, 84–85, 89, 227
gossip about Rumi and Shams, 124
Great Mosque7, 79–80, 84–85
internal politics, 275
memorial sama ceremony, 304–5
Mevlevi lodge museum, 304
and Mongols, 137, 221–26
Rumi after accepting Shams’s death, 191, 193–98
Rumi in, 6, 78, 85–86, 87–92
Rumi’s preaching in, 110–11
Shams in, 133–34
Kufa, 57
lale (tutor for children), 39, 326
Larande, Anatolia, 70–75, 76, 86–87
Layli and Majnun (Nezami), 64, 145
Lewis, Franklin D., 186
Lives of the Poets (Dowlatshah), 126
Lives of the Saints (Attar), 55–56, 59–60
love
martyr of love, Majnun, 64
Persian love poetry, 307–8
as rain in a desert, 267
of Rumi and Shams, 139–41, 142–43, 145
Rumi as, in his Masnavi, 249, 281
Rumi associating music with, 175
Rumi’s poetry on, 64, 80, 123
Sham’s religion of the heart, 123–24
true lover, the lover of God, 250–51
union and separation aspects, 169–70, 172
universal nature of, 203
as way to peace in the heart, 278
Madrase Khodavandgar, Konya
Gowhartash as builder of, 84
Rumi and Shams in seclusion at, 134–35
Rumi and Shams teaching together, 139–41
Rumi as leader of, 107, 277–78
Rumi’s disciples’ dislike for Salah, 207–8
Rumi’s disciples’ dislike for Shams, 139–41, 147, 158, 163, 166–68, 170–72, 177–78
Rumi’s recommitment after Salah’s death, 235–36
Salah as Rumi’s successor, 206–7
and sama practices, 181
and Shams, 117–18, 134, 158–59, 197–98
Shams teaching at, 117, 157–58, 168–70
madrases (upper-level schools)
about, 93, 326
in Aleppo, 94, 95
Altunpa Madrase and Mosque, Konya, 83–85
Baha Valad and family residing in Baghdad madrase, 53
Karatay’s madrase in Konya, 192–93
Shadbakht Madrase, Aleppo, 95
See also Madrase Khodavandgar, Konya
maktab (elementary school), 32–36, 326
malamatiyya (followers of the “path of blame”), 45, 326
Malatya, Anatolia, 62–63
Maleke (Rumi’s daughter), 108, 238, 276
Mamluks (military or warrior caste), 275, 278, 326
maps, 330–33
masnavi (long poem in rhyming couplets)
about, 327
Book of Secrets (Attar), 46–47
Garden of Truth (Sanai), 47
Layli and Majnun (Nezami), 64, 145
Shahname, 23
Masnavi (Nicholson, trans.), 2–3
Masnavi (Rumi)
about, 265, 268, 280–81
Ali and the infidel knight tale, 250
ascetic in the desert hero, 266–67
Bedouin nomad brings a jug of rainwater to Baghdad, 52
on Blind Man and the Quran story, 38
Book I, 242–51, 265
Book II, 259–60, 263–67, 273
Book III, 268–73, 281–83
Book V, 104–5, 284
Book VI, 287–91
on conversion of his wife into a mother, 72–73
on death, 281–84
ducklings raised by a hen story, 266
on fasting, 103
flute in, 243–44, 249, 265, 272
goldsmith of Samarkand tale, 28–29
on Hosam, 245, 246
Hosam asks Rumi about Shams, 247–48
on “I am Truth” meaning, 270–72
Kalile and Demne tales, 22–23, 249, 288
parents quarreling about sending their son to school, 33–34
on power of the Abbasid caliph, 221
Quran in, 20, 250–51
Rumi’s defense of and feelings about, 268–70
on Shia at Antioch Gate, 97
on spiritual guides, 195–96
three princes story, 290
translations of, 2–3, 306
vulgar material in, 288
on women, 109
on young prodigy, 35
on youth and old age, 274
Zolaykha’s coded language, 289–90
Mecca, 38–42, 59–60, 61
Meccan Revelations (Ibn Arabi), 63
Meram, 262–63
Merv, Mongol invasion of, 68
Mevlevis (Sufi order), 7, 303–4
Mohammad the Prophet, 50, 131
Moinoddin Solayman Parvane. See Parvane, Moinoddin Solayman
Mongol-controlled territories, 66–70
Mongols and Seljuks Empire of Rum, 136–37
Mortaz, Maryam, 5
Mount Qasiyun, Damascus, Syria, 5
Mowlana, 128, 327. See also Rumi Mozaffar (Mozaffaroddin Amir Alem Chelebi—Rumi’s son), 108, 193, 276
Muslim Americans, 4–5
Mystical Poems of Rumi (Arberry, trans.), 4
nay (reed flute), 41, 175, 243–44, 249, 265, 272
Nezam (Nezamoddin), 216–17
Nezami (poet), 64
Nezamiyye College, Baghdad, 53–54
Nicholson, R. A., 2–3
Nishapur, Khorasan, 44–49, 67–68
Nosob (nanny), 40
Oxus River, 13, 23, 52
the Parvane, Moinoddin Solayman
Persian language
Arabic lessons and, 33
Arabic vs., 49
Gooch learning, 5
Rumi preaching in, 74–75
Rumi’s Masnavi in, 249
switching to Arabic and back, 149–50
Plato, 89, 123
poets and poetry
Arabic poets in Aleppo, 96
and fall of Baghdad, 220
Nezami, 64
in Nishapuri, 46
odes to cities in Arabic poetry, 99
poetry as a mirror of the poet, 251
Rudaki, 29–30
in Samarkand, 27
and spring, 81–82, 348n82
See also Rumi’s poetry
qadi (judge of religious law), 257–59, 327
qasidas (longer odes), 96, 327
qibla (direction of Mecca), 49–50, 327
Qonavi (Sadroddin Qonavi), 139, 256–57, 293, 300, 303
Quran
Blind Man and the Quran story, 38
elementary school teachings, 33
and funerals, 233–34
importance to Rumi, 36–38
and the Parvane, 225
Rumi comparing Masnavi to, 268–70
Rumi’s favorite stories, 37
in Rumi’s Masnavi, 20, 250–51
verses emphasizing closeness of God, 55
rabab (stringed instrument), 175, 213, 327
Rabia on her way to Mecca, 60
Ramadan poems, 26
Razi of Herat, Fakhroddin, 18–20
religion of the heart, 123–24, 278
religious diversity, 84–85, 100, 236–40, 273, 299–301
The Revival of the Religious Sciences (al-Ghazali), 54, 180–81
robai quatrain, 30, 48, 327, 342n30
Roknoddin Qelij Arslan IV, 230
Rostam, 23–24
Rudaki, poetry of, 29–30
Rumi
about, 34–35, 194–95, 226–27, 237–40
aging of, 273, 274–75, 285
and Ahmad, 54
astrolabe metaphor, 235
and Attar, 46–48, 59–60
attitude toward women, 108–9
austerity of, 102–5, 241–42, 279
in Baghdad, 53–56
and Baha Valad’s death, 85–86
and bathhouses in Konya, 138–39
and Borhan, 87–89, 90–92, 102–7
chelle of, 104–5
death of, 6, 7–8, 292, 294–98
description of, 236
funeral of, 298–301
giving up delivering sermons, 206, 358n206
harem of, 161–62
as husband and father, 72–74
on “I am Truth” meaning, 270–72
and Ibn Arabi, 62, 63, 101
illness of, 291–94
kindness of, 34, 164, 194–95, 279–80
in Konya, 6, 78, 85–86, 87–92
on Konya hierarchy, 78
in Larande, 71–75
and Majnun and Layli tale, 64, 145
on marriage of Sultan Valad and Fateme, 215–16
and Mongols controlling Konya, 221–26
and music, 213–14
name(s) of, 12
as preacher, 74–75
and Qonavi, 139, 300
and Quran, 36–38
and Sanai, 47–48
and Serajoddin, 257–59
shrine and tomb, 6–7
siblings, 13, 40
on wealthy or wordly people, 239–40
See also Hosam; Salah; Shams of Tabriz
Rumi’s childhood
and Borhan, 39
elementary school, 32–36
in harem, 12–13, 34
journey to Mecca, 39–40, 41–42
in Nishapur, 44–49
in Samarkand, 26–27, 30–36
and siege of Samarkand, 30–31
in Vakhsh, 13–14, 21–24
visions and personality, 11–12
Rumi’s followers
Aminodin Mikail “Sheikh of the Ladies,” 228–29
Fakhroddin Saheb Ata, 229
Gorji Khatun “Queen of Queens,” 227–28
the Parvane, 223–27, 228
working-class background of some, 255–56
Rumi’s poetry
about, 264, 307–11
on Aleppo, 94
on astronomy, 72
on Borhan’s teachings, 91
on chaos in Khorasan region, 65
on children and child rearing, 73, 74
on death, 97–98
on fame, 111–12, 350n112
for Faridun, his grandson, 286–87
on God, 40, 69–70
on hajj, 59–60
Kalile and Demne’s influence, 21–23, 249, 288
Khorasan region influence, 21–24
on Konya, 77
on Larande, 71
on life cycles, 76
on loss of self, 242
on love, 80, 123
on lovers and waterwheels, 262
on meeting your teacher, 117–18
on Mutanabbi, 96
ode to Damascus, 99–100
on prayer, 80
on Prophet Mohammad, 131
Rumi’s use of when Shams disappeared, 176–77, 181–86
for Salah, 203–5, 209, 233
Samarkand influence, 31–32
on Sanjar the Seljuk, 45
Shahname’s influence, 23–24
for Shams, 158, 187–88, 189, 190–91, 196–98
on Shams and their experiences, 137–38, 139, 146, 156–57
on spring, 82, 348n82
on Sufism, 127
on thoughts, 277–78
translations of, 306–7
on traveling, 42
verse letters for Sham, 148–51
on wealthy and wordly people, 241
for wedding of Hediye and Nezam, 217
for wedding of Sultan Valad and Fateme, 212–13
on winter, 81
on women’s role in marriage, 109
Yaqut’s influence on, 51–52
See also Masnavi (Rumi)
Rumi’s spiritual studies
in Aleppo, 3–4, 93–97
Borhan’s plan for, 91–92
in Damascus, 98–101
exercises in ascetism with Borhan, 102–5
and Ibn al-Adim, 95–96
Rumi’s unanswered questions, 111–12
Shams as teacher, 119–24
Sadiq, Asma, 310
Salah (Salahoddin Zarkub)
about, 90, 202–3
death and funeral of, 232–34
deteriorating health, 231, 232
moment of recognition with
Rumi, 201–2
and Rumi, 206–7, 208–9, 232
Rumi compared to, 202
Rumi’s poems for, 203–5, 209
and Shams, 118
Shams compared to, 204, 205
and Sultan Valad, 210–11
sama (meditative sessions)
about, 33, 327
al-Ghazali on, 180–81
memorial ceremony in Konya, 304–5
qadi Serajoddin’s rulings on, 258–59
Rumi after Shams death, 195
Rumi’s at women’s sessions, 228–29
Rumi’s reliance on after Shams’s disappearance, 175–76, 180
Rumi’s support for, 213–14
Salah’s funeral as, 232–33
Shams teaching Rumi about, 123–24, 174–75
See also whirling and whirling dervishes
Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 5, 25, 26–30, 67
Sanai, 47–48, 89–90, 242–43
Sanjar the Seljuk, 45
“Satan’s Lament” (Sanai), 48
Savaneh, or Flashes (Ahmad), 54
Schimmel, Annemarie, 69, 178, 304
School of Khorasan, 45
Sebastian (Aleppo Rumi expert), 1–3, 302, 307–8
secrets, Whitman’s and Rumi’s, 2–3, 308–11
self-knowledge in Sufism, 88–89
Seljuks Empire of Rum, 135–37, 192–93, 223–27, 228. See also Konya, Anatolia
Seljuks (nomadic Turkish clan)
about, 327
caravanserai, 6
Central Asian sultinate, 70–71
Great Seljuks, 71
Sanjar the Seljuk, 45
Sepahsalar (biographer)
on Alaoddin and Shams, 162–63
on Rumi after Shams left the second time, 172, 175, 179
on Rumi and Salahoddin, 201
on Rumi and Shams, 158, 351n116
on Shams marriage to Kimiya, 160
Serajoddin Ormovi, 257–59, 293
sexual appetite, Baha Valad’s, 17–18
Shadbakht Madrase, Aleppo, 95
Shafii School of Islamic jurisprudence, 128–30, 277
shahed-bazi practice, 54, 178
Shahname, or The Book of Kings (Ferdowsi), 23–24, 78–79
about, 115, 124–29, 132–34
in Aleppo, 151–54
challenges of living near Rumi’s harem, 164–65
in Damascus, 151
death of Sham and Rumi’s acceptance, 188–91, 193–98, 195, 196–98
disappearance of, Rumi’s despair, 147–48, 153–54, 172, 173–77, 178–88
gossip about Rumi and, 124
harassment at Madrase, 139–41, 147, 158, 163, 166–68, 170–72, 177–78
and Ibn Arabi, 130–31
in Konya with and without Rumi, 137–39
living in seclusion with Rumi for
Shams of Tabriz (Shamsoddin) months at a time, 118–24, 134–35, 174, 272
marriage to Kimiya, 159–61, 163–66
meeting Rumi for the first time, 116–18, 351n116
parents of, 126
personality of, 122–23
religion of the heart, 123–24, 168
return to Konya and Rumi, 154–57
and Rumi, 139–41, 146, 170–72
Rumi expressing his love for, 142–43, 145
Rumi merging with Shams in his heart, 186–87
Rumi’s commitment to, 125
and Rumi’s Masnavi, 289–90
as Rumi’s teacher, 119–24, 168–70
rumors of death of, 177–78, 187–88
scholars’ and Rumi’s followers’ disapproval, 142, 143–45
on separation from Rumi, 168–70
and Shafii jurisprudence, 129–30
and Shehab Harive, 131–32
stories of, in Rumi’s Masnavi, 249–50, 265–66
travel lust of, 158–59
Shams (Rumi’s friend), 7
Sharaf (Sharafoddin Samarqandi), 32–33, 40
Sharia (religious law), 53, 327
Shehab Harive, 131–32
Sheikh Mohammad, 130–31. See also Ibn Arabi
Shia (minority branch of Islam), 97–98, 327–28
shrine to Rumi in Konya, 6–7
siege of Samarkand, 30–31, 342n26
Silk Road
about, 43–44
Baghdad, 50–56
Baghdad to Mecca, 56–60
Nishapur, 44–49
shift from Persian to Arabic, 49
slaves and slavery, 238
Stoning of the Devil hajj ritual, 58–59, 345n58
Sufism (mystical branch of Islam)
about, 328
in Baghdad, 54–56
Bayazid’s hymn of praise, 116–17
and Borhan, 87–88
disapproval of Rumi within, 254–55
guiding notion about a living spiritual world axis, 195–96
and Ibn Arabi, 63
Kermani and, 129
New York City group, 4–5
persecution of Sufis, 96
resilience in spite of Genghis Khan, 69
saints of, 55–56
and Seljuks, 71
shahed-bazi practice, 54
in Tabriz, 126–27
words and logic as “veils” hiding the truth, 123
Sultan Han caravanserai, Konya, 80–81
Sultan Valad (Rumi’s son)
about, 276
on Attar’s and Sanai’s influence on Rumi, 48
on Baha Valad, 74
on Baha Valad’s funeral, 85–86
birth and childhood, 72–74
chastisement from Rumi while studying in Damascus, 109–10
delivering verse letters for Sham, 150, 151, 152
and Faridun, 287
on Hosam and Rumi, 245
and Hosam as Rumi’s successor, 260–61, 295–96
as leader of Mevlevi Order, 303
marriage to Salah’s daughter Fateme, 212–13, 214–16
presented to Shams as boy for serving him, 121
and Rumi, 238
on Rumi after Shams’s death, 195
on Rumi and Salah, 206
on Rumi’s comparison of his Masnavi to the Quran, 270
on Rumi’s preaching, 111
on Rumi’s transformation in Damascus, 190–91
and Salah, 210–11
and Shams, 135, 144, 163, 170
on Shams’s disappearance, 174
violent temper of, 193, 214–15
Sunni (majority branch of Islam), 26, 35, 71, 328, 343n35
Tabriz, 125, 187–88
takhallos (signature, tag, or pen name of a poet), 185–86, 204, 328
Termez, Khorasan, 39, 67, 87
“Testament” (Razi), 19
Tigres River, 52
Time magazine, 4
transliteration process, 319
Treasury of Secrets (Nezami), 64
turbaned class, 93, 107
Umayyad dynasty, 50, 328
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, 98
Vakhsh, Tajikistan, 13–18, 24–25, 40, 340–41n13
Venice and Venetians, 95
visions of angels, 11–12, 128
wealthy or wordly people, Rumi’s avoidance of, 239–40
whirling and whirling dervishes
dervishes, 88, 90, 133, 289, 325
by Gooch in Aleppo, 7
reemergence of, 304
Rumi creating poetry at the same time, 226–27
Rumi’s use of when Shams disappeared, 175–76, 180
Shams learning about, 127–28
Shams teaching Rumi about, 124
Whitman, Walt, Rumi compared to, 2–3
Yaqut, 45, 51–52, 68
Zolaykha’s coded language, 289–90