Poems & Poets

This poem is authored by Jalal-od-Din Mohammad Balkhi (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد بلخى‎; 30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), also known as Mawlavi, Mawlana and Rumi. Mawlana was a 13th-century Persian poet, faqih, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic originally from Khorasan in Greater Iran (present-day Afghanistan). His works focus on “the roots of the roots of the roots of the religion”, in that they address the heart and soul of the Qurʾanic message and the Prophetic legacy. He is arguably the most well-known of all Persian poets and mystics.

This ghazal is a love-poem dedicated to the beloved. The poem extolls an intense human love for the beloved and begins with a 'call to prayer from the heavens': a time of union and meeting. A time when one's demons and worries are washed away with the remembrance and presence of the beloved. Mawlana signs off his poem with an oft-used turn of phrase: 'be silent' or 'hush!', indicating that enough has been said.

Reference: Mawlavi – Divan-e-Shams – Ghazal 34