Rumi and Sufism
A mystical tradition inside Islam produces some of the world's most read poetry.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 66 years
- Known to
- ± 5 years
- Era
- Post-Classical, Holocene
Sufism develops from early ascetic movements into organised orders offering a path of direct experience of God through remembrance, music, poetry and discipline. Jalal ad-Din Rumi, writing in Konya until his death in 1273, produces the Masnavi and a vast body of lyric verse; he remains among the most widely read poets in the world. Sufi orders also do much of the practical work of spreading Islam in Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia.