Roumi, le brûlé

Written in the form of a fictionalized biography, this book is the story of the fascinating life of Djalal al-din Mohammad Rumi, legendary sufist poet o the 13 th century. It is also the story of an extraordinary meeting between two men, a meeting who will give birth to some of the world's most beautiful poetry. Before Rumi meets Shams of Tabriz, he is a forty-year old man living with his family in Konya, Anatolia (todays Turkey). An acclaimed professor of religious science, his numerous students sometimes travel from as far as Iran, Syria and Greece to hear his teachings. Shams of Tabriz on the other hand is a poor, unknown, wandering dervish nearly 60 years old. From the moment Rumi meets Shams, his life will dramatically change. He abandons his work, his family and his students. The two men mysteriously seclude themselves in a cell for forty days with barely any nourishment and forbid anyone to disturb them. It would seem that during this time Shams introduces Rumi to a sacred dance called samâ whose role is to put the dancer in touch with the Divine. >Amidst such hostility, Shams leaves for Damascus however Rumi returns to isolation. He no longer eats, drinks, nor speaks and since there is much fear for his health, Shams is sent for and he returns to Konya. Once again, the two men retreat to the shadows of a cell. What are they doing? What bond unites them? Rumors of passion, jealousy and resentment surround their new isolation. After several weeks they reappear and for over a year the two men will openly live a loving relationship. However they have made any enemies over time and, surprisingly, one day Rumi asks Shams to leave. Rumi will never return to his old life. He will sing, dance and write poetry until his death. To fill the void left by Shams, Rumi becomes closes to Sala al-Din, an uneducated simple man who will share his life for ten years. When Sala al Din dies, Rumi finds a disciple twenty years his junior in Hesam al-Din. Hesam al-Din is the narrator of this book and also the instigator of Rumi's masterpiece, Masnavi.