From that moment on the two were inseparable, master and student, best friends, close companions, soul mates, seekers of enlightenment. And with that Rumi was hooked and this meeting pretty much sealed the fate of Shams. Rumi then asked Shams, 'What is this?' To which Shams replied, 'Mowlana, this is knowledge that cannot be understood by the learnedвЂќ. Rumi hastily rescued the books and to his surprise they were all dry. On hearing this, Shams threw the stack of books into a nearby pool of water. Soon he found the promising candidate, Rumi (now in his late 30's), reading next to a large stack of books, approached him and asked, 'What are you doing?' Rumi (thinking that Shams was a homeless, nosy and uneducated wanderer) scoffingly replied, ' This is knowledge that cannot be understood by the unlearnedвЂќ. He introduced himself as a travelling merchant looking for вЂњsomething which he could only find in KonyaвЂќ. On a day in 1244 Shams (clothed in black from head to toe), arrived in the famous inn of Sugar Merchants of Konya. Shams remembered the promising candidate he met once and decided to go to Konya to find him. Many years later Shams was still searching for a student to teach, but because of his reputation people avoided him, until 'a voice' came to him one day and told him that 'The one you seek is Jalal ud-Din of Konya'. During the travels of Rumi and his family, Shams noticed him in one town and thought him to be a great candidate to teach and train as mystic, but Rumi was only 21 at the time and too young according to Shams, so he decided to give up the idea. He was a wanderer nicknamed 'the Bird' (because he never stayed long anywhere, to great relief of everyone) and many thought him to be utterly mad. By all accounts he was rude, obnoxious, and crude. Shams Tabrizi was a powerful mystic known by many not just for his teachings, but also for his wild ways. He was the most important member in the society and part of the elite group of aristocrats, highly respected and acclaimed. RumiвЂ™s public life started and he became an Islamic Jurist and gave sermons in the mosques of Konya. Rumi was trained in Shariah and the Tariqa and after his fatherвЂ™s death, he inherited his fatherвЂ™s position as head of the madrassa (aged 25). After her death he remarried and had another son and a daughter. During this journey Rumi married Gowhar Khatun in Karaman with whom he had two sons. When the Mongol Invasion started Walad, his entire family and followers started migrating westward and finally settled in Konya, Anatolia, on the invitation of the ruler. The profession of the family for several generations was that of Islamic preachers of the liberal Hanafi rite, and this family tradition was continued by Rumi. His father was BahДЃ ud-DД«n Walad, a theologian, jurist and a mystic from Balkh, who was also known by the followers of Rumi as Sultan al-Ulama or 'Sultan of the Scholars'. Rumi was born in Balkh during the time of the Persianate Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in 1207.

Rumi shams tabrizi