Rumi Composes the Masnavi

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–1273), a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic, composed the Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi ("Rhyming Couplets of Profound Meaning") — a six-volume poem of roughly 25,000 verses. Often called "the Quran in Persian," the Masnavi uses stories, parables, and ecstatic verse to explore themes of divine love, the annihilation of the ego, and union with the Beloved. Rumi also inspired the Mevlevi Order of whirling dervishes. In the 21st century, Rumi became the best-selling poet in the United States, his words on love and longing transcending cultural and religious boundaries.