This work is not meant to be an explanatory narrative of Shams' words, a collection of answers, or a book to be read from cover to cover. If you, like Shams, are concerned with God, then you will find both inspiration and learning latent in his words but we warn you from the outset: making sense of Shams' words is not easy! They will sometimes surprise with their generosity and sometimes frustrate in their opacity, but they will always offer more.įor this twenty-first century publication, Shams' words have been translated from the compilation of the original thirteenth century Farsi by Mohammad Ali Movahed into modern English by an Iranian American, herself a disciple of a living spiritual teacher in a lineage of contemporary mystics. Shams' sole concern was the reality of spirit, the divine-a reality some refer to as God. They were not directed toward historians of mysticism and Sufism, lovers of literature or poetry or philosophers seeking a coherent narrative on life's meaning. Shams' words were thus addressed to a lover of divine Truth.
His mission was to transform Rumi into a God-intoxicated, God-realized human being. It is believed that Shams came for one disciple, one student, to whom he directed his energy and his teachings: Jalal al-Din Rumi, fondly known as Rumi. We are pleased to present passages from the recorded discourses of Shams-e Tabrizi in the context of a dynamic relationship between teacher and student.