Discover the richness of Rumi’s
spiritual tradition—through
facing-page commentary
that brings his writings to life for you.
"This book you are now holding is a
selection of what I believe are the best of Rumi’s
accounts of the compassionate actions, sayings, and qualities
of the Prophet, which include Rumi’s own inspired
comments and explanations. It is my hope that you will be
surprised and uplifted by the profound wisdom that Jalaluddin
Rumi conveys through these stories and sayings."
—from the Preface
This great Sufi poet and teacher can
become a companion for your own spiritual journey.
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.
"Dr. Ibrahim Gamard, after
painstaking research from classical Persian texts, has
masterfully managed to assemble wonderful summaries,
quotations, and a wealth of important information in one book.
This work will shatter some old myths and bring new
light to the subject."
—Ravan
Farhadi, former professor of
history of Persian classics, University of California at
Berkeley; ambassador of Afghanistan to the United Nations
