Rumi: a never ending search for the Truth
Rumi: a never ending search for the Truth
I
Dear heart, let us turn to the wisdom of Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, that indrawing beacon of divine truth. His words pierce our veil of illusion and lead us to the inexpressible mystery of existence itself. So ponder the great paradox, said Rumi’s Hidden Music, who found God in every particle of creation:
“I searched for God and found only me. I searched for myself, and only God I found.” ¹
What is this mystery? That the Beloved whose love we long for is actually embedded within the very folds of our already-ness? And as Rumi, blessed by insight, reminds us:
“If you cannot find me in that which is within you, you will never find me.” ²
We quarry the world for money, we lust, we work, we thirst. But Rumi’s voice flies like a flute’s whistling to remind us:
“You’re going to the world to find treasure, but the treasure is you. ³
Notes:
1. Rumi, J., 1995. The Essential Rumi. Translated by C. Barks. HarperOne, p. 39.
2. Ibid., p. 41.
3. Chittick, W., 1983. The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi. Albany: State University of New York Press, 87.
II
A cherished seeker after the Truth senses the ocean of longing and knowing — the eternal call of Maulana Rumi’s heavenly flute. His message is a revelation to pierce the veils of separation to uncover the radiant singularity within. Plunging deeper into the everlasting sea of his instructions:
Maulana Rumi’s words challenge us to consider the paradox of our existence: how we can be both distant from one another and yet close. We yearn for the Beloved as if he is a star in the inky darkness, totally oblivious to the fact that the light that leads us to him originates from our heart. This mystery is elucidated by Rumi with simplicity:
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ¹
This statement is the fulcrum of his teachings. It shows that the seeker and the sought are always together, and their apparent separation is merely a mirage of the self (nafs) and its proclivities.
It isn’t a journey out into the universe; it’s a journey into our being.
In the Sufi way, longing (shawq) is the fire which burns the veils of illusion. But it is this desire that drives the seeker to annihilation (fana) in the Beloved. Rumi explains:
“Love is the bridge between you and everything.” ²
This is not the love that grips and grasps in the everyday world; this is the love that dissolves and merges in God. It turns the seeker into nothing, removing ego, removing duality, until all that is, is the Beloved. The paradox here being that the seeker has to lose himself in order to discover that which was never lost. ³
Like all the great saints, Rumi leads us inward. He reminds us that the Beloved lives not in a distant temple, but in the sanctuary in our heart:
“Why do you not run, wear a coat in early summer? ⁴
This prison is the self’s bondage to form, to identity, to the illusion of power. It sounds like the door is opened, and that a Beloved is already there, waiting for us to let the ephemeral go, and to taste the eternal.
Dissolve the seeker in order to truly seek. This is the meaning of surrender (taslim) in Sufism. Rumi writes of this surrender as the flame that burns away all notions of separation:
“You have wings, why crawl through life?” ⁵
To be the search is to surrender the notion of “I” and allow irada — divine will — to direct each and every step of the way. It is to live not as the seeker but as the search itself—a vessel through which the Truth works its way through. ⁶
It’s a time for reflection, to sit quietly, and what do you see when you look inside yourself? When the mirror of the heart is clear, the Beloved manifests vividly. ⁷
Setting the Veils on Fire with Dhikr (Remembrance)
Remember Allah constantly, O Beloved. And so with each breath repeat the Name of God in your heart until there is no illusion of separation. ⁸
Live as the Treasure
Behave as if the treasure you seek is already within you. Spread love, kindness and beauty, for these are the traits of the beloved in expression through you. ⁹
Through all this, trust, if you can, that the Beloved is leading you on despite your own disappearing from the way. Make your seeking part of the surrender, not part of the striving.¹⁰
Rumi’s teachings lead us to the final discovery: the quest isn’t travel to discovery, but travel to remembrance. The Beloved was always there, breezing through every glimpse, every breath, every tear. In the words of Rumi:
“Close your eyes. Fall in love. Stay there.” ¹¹
Let us love the One who is nearer to us than our jugular vein. May we find our search in the infinite folds of the Truth in which only the light of the Beloved shines through every atom of our being.
Ameen, ya Rabb al-‘Alameen.
Notes:
1. Rumi, J., 1995. The Essential Rumi. Translated by C. Barks. HarperOne, p. 36.
2. Ibid., p. 32.
3. Schimmel, A., 1975. Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, p. 293.
4. Rumi, J., 1995. The Essential Rumi. Translated by C. Barks. HarperOne, p. 54.
5. Ibid., p. 45.
6. Chittick, W., 1983. The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi Albany: State University of New York Press, p. 87.
7. Helminski, K., 1999. The Rumi Daybook. Shambhala Publications, pp. 119.
8. Rumi, J., 1995. The Essential Rumi. Translated by C. Barks. HarperOne, p. 63.
9. Schimmel, A., 1975. Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 241.
10. Helminski, K., 1999. The Rumi Daybook. Shambhala Publications, pp. 143.
11. Rumi, J., 1995. The Essential Rumi. Translated by C. Barks. HarperOne, p. 95.
________________________
H. Matthews, 21/11/24
See insights and ads
Boost post
Like
Comment
Send
Share
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shushtarī
أيها العاشق، سلِّم نفسَك للحب.
— أبو الحسن الشُّشْتَري
Yā ayyuhā al-‘āshiq, sallim nafsaka lil-ḥubb.
(O you who have fallen in love,
give yourself up to it).
— Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shushtarī
O you who have fallen in love, give yourself up to it. Let it consume you, let it transform you. Love is not a thing to be measured or restrained—it is a fire that refines, a sea that drowns the self, leaving only the beloved.
Abu al-Hasan al-Shushtari, the wandering dervish, knew this well. He surrendered to love, not as a fleeting passion but as a path to the Divine. To love truly is to let go of fear, to step beyond the limits of the self, and to embrace what is written in the heart.
So, love as if nothing else matters. Love with all that you are.
_______________________________________
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shushtarī
He was Abū al-Ḥasan ‘Alī ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Numayrī al-Shushtarī, born in 610 AH / 1213 CE in Shushtar, Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain).
He was one of the great Sufis of the Maghreb and Al-Andalus. He was a disciple of Abu Sa’id al-Baji and later joined the Shadhili Order under the guidance of Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili. He was also influenced by his teacher Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi.
He traveled through the Maghreb, living in Ceuta, Tunisia, Béjaïa, Fez, and Marrakesh, before settling in Egypt, where his influence spread widely in Sufi circles.
He passed away in 668 AH / 1269 CE in Damietta, Egypt, where he was buried. His tomb remains a site of pilgrimage for seekers of spiritual wisdom.
His Poetry and Philosophy of Love:
Fanā’ fi’l-Maḥbūb (فَنَاءٌ فِي ٱلْمَحْبُوب).
Al-Shushtarī was a renowned Sufi poet, blending classical Arabic with local dialects. He taught a philosophy of annihilation in divine love, Fana fi’l Mahboob, believing that love is the highest path to God.
يا أيها العاشق، سلِّم نفسَكحب هو الطريق الأسمى إلى الله.