Rumi’s poems are timeless expressions of love, spirituality, and the soul’s longing for union with the divine. Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rumi (1207–1273), the great Persian poet and Sufi mystic, used poetry as a way to dissolve the boundary between the human heart and God. His verses are not merely meant to be read—they are meant to be felt, experienced, and lived.
A central theme in Rumi’s poetry is divine love. He often speaks of love as a burning force that destroys the ego and transforms the seeker. In poems from the Masnavi and Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi, love appears as wine, fire, music, and dance—symbols of spiritual ecstasy. For Rumi, love is the path that leads the soul back to its source.
Another powerful aspect of Rumi’s poems is their simplicity paired with depth. His language is often direct and lyrical, yet it carries profound philosophical meaning. He writes about loss, separation, joy, pain, and longing in ways that feel deeply personal, even to modern readers.
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- Rumi’s poetry also emphasizes inner awakening. He invites readers to look beyond religious labels and external rituals, urging them to discover truth within themselves. Lines like “Why are you so busy with this or that or good or bad; pay attention to how things blend” reflect his universal vision.
- Today, Rumi remains one of the most widely read poets in the world. His poems continue to inspire readers across cultures, offering comfort, wisdom, and a reminder that love is the core of all existence.
I AM THINE AND THOU ART MINE
Rumi
(trans. by R.A. Nicholson)
Eternal Life is gained
by utter abandonment of one’s own life.
When God appears to His ardent lover,
the lover is absorbed in Him, and not so much as a hair of the lover remains.
True lovers are as shadows,
and when the sun shines in glory the shadows vanish away.
He is a true lover to God to whom God says
“I am thine and thou art Mine.”
A PRAYER
Rumi
(trans. by R.A. Nicholson)
Pray in this wise and allay your difficulties:
“Give us good in the house of our present world,
And give us good in the house of our next world.
Make our path pleasant as a garden.
And be Thou, O Holy One, our goal!”
LOVE SOUNDS THE MUSIC
OF THE SPHERES
Rumi
(trans. by William Hastie)
O soul, if thou, too, wouldst be free,
Then love the Love that shuts thee in.
‘Tis Love that twisteth every snare;
‘Tis Love that snaps the bond of sin;
Love sounds the Music of the Spheres;
Love echoes through Earth’s harshest din.
The world is God’s pure mirror clear,
To eyes when free from clouds within.
With Love’s own eyes the Mirror view,
And there see God to self akin.
THOU AND I
Rumi
(trans. by R.A. Nicholson)
Happy the moment when we are seated in the Palace, thou and I.
With two forms and with two figures but with one soul, thou and I.
The colours of the grove and the voice of the birds will bestow immortality
At the time when we come into the garden, thou and I.
The stars of heaven will come to gaze upon us;
We shall show them the moon itself, thou and I.
Thou and I, individuals no more, shall be mingled in ecstasy,
Joyful, and secure from foolish babble, thou and I.
All the bright plumed birds of heaven will devour their hearts with envy
In the place where we shall laugh in such a fashion, thou and I.
This is the greatest wonder, that thou and I, sitting here in the same nook,
Are at this moment both in Iraq and Khorasan, thou and I.
The Flame of Love
Rumi
(trans. by R.A. Nicholson)
How long wilt thou dwell on words and superficialities?
A burning heart is what I want; consort with burning.
Kindle in thy heart the flame of Love,
And burn up utterly thoughts and fine expressions.
O Moses! the lovers of fair rites are one class,
They whose hearts and souls burn with Love another.
The Gifts of the Beloved
Rumi
Where will you find one more liberal than God?
He buys the worthless rubbish which is your wealth,
He pays you the Light that illumines your heart.
He accepts these frozen and lifeless bodies of yours,
And gives you a Kingdom beyond what you dream of,
He takes a few drops of your tears,
And gives you the Divine Fount sweeter than sugar.
He takes your sighs fraught with grief and sadness,
And for each sigh gives rank in heaven as interest.
In return for the sigh-wind that raised tear-clouds,
God gave Abraham the title of “Father of the Faithful.
The Silence of Love
Rumi
Love is the astrolabe of God’s mysteries.
A lover may hanker after this love or that love,
But at the last he is drawn to the KING of Love.
However much we describe and explain Love,
When we fall in love we are ashamed of our words.
Explanation by the tongue makes most things clear,
But Love unexplained is better.
The Day of Resurrection
Rumi
On every side is clamour and tumult, in every street are candles and
torches,
For to-night the teeming world gives birth to the World Everlasting.
Thou wert dust and art spirit, thou wert ignorant and art wise.
He who has led thee thus far will lead thee further also.
How pleasant are the pains He makes thee suffer while He gently draws
thee to Himself!
