Rumi: A Spiritual Biography

Like Hildegard of Bingen and Julian of Norwich in the Christian world, Jalaluddin Rumi was both poet and mystic, and is counted among the greatest Islamic artists in both arenas. His poetry, translated from medieval Persian, has become extremely popular in the United States, and Sufism, the mystical practice that he helped establish, has found a new home among American converts to Islam. Wines's short biography of the great religious poet is straightforward and easily comprehensible, showing clearly her own background in journalism. The bare outlines of Rumi's life--his family's flight from Afghanistan to modern Turkey during the Mongol invasions in the 13th century, his early educational achievements, and the meeting with the eccentric Shams al-Din al-Tabriz that catapulted him into love and mysticism--are presented here with a sprinkling of the poetry for which Rumi is famous. Wines's book offers no new or startling knowledge about Rumi, as she has relied on secondary sources by well-known scholars for her information; therefore it is not particularly interesting to anyone who already knows the general facts of his life. For those who have come to Rumi through his poetry and are only secondarily discovering the man, however, her accessible biography, with its list of further recommended reading, is a fine resource. (Jan.)