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Love: The Joy That Wounds: The Love Poems of Rumi
An immortal voice speaks on the greatest poetic theme in this English-language selection of the works of Rumi. Enriched by the lush calligraphic illustrations of Arabic artist Lassaâd Metoui, the poems bear remarkable power and emotional intensity, reflecting on the complexities of love, passion, pain, and faith. With exuberant imagination and rhythms that echo the ecstatic dance of the whirling dervishes, these songs of the spirit offer an intimate introduction to the poet's genius, as well as a sublime meditation on the mysteries of love.
- GenresPoetryMiddle East
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
6 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
1,170 books15.7k followersSufism inspired writings of Persian poet and mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi; these writings express the longing of the soul for union with the divine.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
April 3, 2015
And what if the sea had
Never known love's desire?
In the end it would have
A place to rest somewhere.
Never known love's desire?
In the end it would have
A place to rest somewhere.
April 3, 2015
And what if the sea had
Never known love's desire?
In the end it would have
A place to rest somewhere.
Never known love's desire?
In the end it would have
A place to rest somewhere.
October 20, 2016
And we know of nothing to sing
Except the song of unknowing
Oh you, unceasing sun, to me
Your particles communicate
The luminous essence of God
I cannot differentiate
Between my drunk and sober state
Oh master come, oh master come!
Oh master, come again, again!
You are the brightness of the day,
The joy that burns away sadness,
The moon that shines upon the night,
The cloud that bears such sweetness. Come!
Oh you, staying heart, just come!
Oh you, aching live, just come!
If the path to the gate is closed,
Take the way by the wall, but come!
Oh sky, without me, do not change,
Oh moon, without me, do not shine;
Oh earth, without me, do not grow,
Oh time, without me, do not go
Without me, you become myself
I become all that you display
The mirror to prove you exist
Nor am I this, nor am I that
Oh master, do give me a name,
A name by which to call myself
Your absence leaves a void
Without you, I can't cope
Love asks us to enjoy our life
For nothing good can come of death
Who is alive? I ask
Those who are born of love
Seek us in love itself,
Seek love in us ourselves
Sometimes I venerate love,
Sometimes it venerates me
I'll tear apart seven skies,
And I shall cross the seven seas,
When you, you charmer, look at me
And patience flees my heart,
And reason flees my mind
Desire for your face
Would split the hardest stone
Fire becomes like water,
My reason is destroyed
And imagining you
Kills any hope of sleeping
Except the song of unknowing
Oh you, unceasing sun, to me
Your particles communicate
The luminous essence of God
I cannot differentiate
Between my drunk and sober state
Oh master come, oh master come!
Oh master, come again, again!
You are the brightness of the day,
The joy that burns away sadness,
The moon that shines upon the night,
The cloud that bears such sweetness. Come!
Oh you, staying heart, just come!
Oh you, aching live, just come!
If the path to the gate is closed,
Take the way by the wall, but come!
Oh sky, without me, do not change,
Oh moon, without me, do not shine;
Oh earth, without me, do not grow,
Oh time, without me, do not go
Without me, you become myself
I become all that you display
The mirror to prove you exist
Nor am I this, nor am I that
Oh master, do give me a name,
A name by which to call myself
Your absence leaves a void
Without you, I can't cope
Love asks us to enjoy our life
For nothing good can come of death
Who is alive? I ask
Those who are born of love
Seek us in love itself,
Seek love in us ourselves
Sometimes I venerate love,
Sometimes it venerates me
I'll tear apart seven skies,
And I shall cross the seven seas,
When you, you charmer, look at me
And patience flees my heart,
And reason flees my mind
Desire for your face
Would split the hardest stone
Fire becomes like water,
My reason is destroyed
And imagining you
Kills any hope of sleeping
May 19, 2014
“Love asks us to enjoy our life
For nothing good can come of death.
Who is alive? I ask.
Those who are born of love.
Seek us in love itself,
Seek love in us ourselves.
Sometimes I venerate love,
Sometimes it venerates me.”
For nothing good can come of death.
Who is alive? I ask.
Those who are born of love.
Seek us in love itself,
Seek love in us ourselves.
Sometimes I venerate love,
Sometimes it venerates me.”
October 9, 2024
"You are the drop and the ocean,"
Beautiful.. It gives me something to noodle on before I crash.
Beautiful.. It gives me something to noodle on before I crash.
October 31, 2016
When love ripped my pocket awry,
I said: 'Hey, what are you doing?'
Love said: 'Isn't my unending
bounty enough to satisfy?'
I said: 'Hey, what are you doing?'
Love said: 'Isn't my unending
bounty enough to satisfy?'
May 2, 2012
The title of this book is certainly apt...this book features a selection of Rumi's poems that more often than not reflect the anguish and pain of being in love, as opposed to the joy and beauty and intoxication. I have found other collections of his writings more uplifting.
What really makes this book special, however, are the beautiful calligraphy designs by Lassaad Metoui. I would love to photocopy some of them to frame and hang on my walls in a collage. They express the beauty of Arabic writing and calligraphy with stunning artistic flourish.
What really makes this book special, however, are the beautiful calligraphy designs by Lassaad Metoui. I would love to photocopy some of them to frame and hang on my walls in a collage. They express the beauty of Arabic writing and calligraphy with stunning artistic flourish.
November 1, 2014
"Love asks us to enjoy our life
For nothing good can come of death.
Who is alive? I ask.
Those who are born of love.
Seek us in love itself,
Seek love in us ourselves. Sometimes I venerate love, Sometimes it venerates me".
This was my first Rumi read ever. I can't believe I've never heard of him before, shame on me indeed. The translations to English were remarkable, lyrcial and just beautiful. I loved the Arabic calligraphy with its own translations.
For nothing good can come of death.
Who is alive? I ask.
Those who are born of love.
Seek us in love itself,
Seek love in us ourselves. Sometimes I venerate love, Sometimes it venerates me".
This was my first Rumi read ever. I can't believe I've never heard of him before, shame on me indeed. The translations to English were remarkable, lyrcial and just beautiful. I loved the Arabic calligraphy with its own translations.
December 22, 2008
I love the calligraphy in this book, and the poems - it's Rumi!!!
January 21, 2016
The poems were sweet, but the calligraphy was by far the best part, they were beautiful, and the meanings quite apt for each poem
October 2, 2020
Poetry that fills the heart with absolute wonder and joy, a deepness and enrichment coming with every word of Rumi's.
What a read!
P.S. The calligraphy is love!
What a read!
P.S. The calligraphy is love!
Read
August 16, 2008Love: The Joy That Wounds: The Love Poems of Rumi by Rumi (2006)
June 3, 2014
sublime poetry; immaculately illustrated
June 2, 2017
This new found love for poetry is ruling my mind now...
Loved the collection here.
recommended to everyone.
life changing writing.
Loved the collection here.
recommended to everyone.
life changing writing.
December 29, 2010
Sweet little book of a couple of his love poems. Beautiful Arabic calligraphy throughout.
May 3, 2025
“Give me neither bread nor water,
Give me no rest, nor any sleep.
For the thirst to possess your love,
Is worth my blood a hundred times.”
I went to my local library and found myself with a stack of books of poetry. This was one of them. I had heard of Rumi but did not know much about them. The introduction of this book let me know that Rumi was a scholar who had fallen in love with a wandering man. They made love for forty days and forty nights, and when they went their separate ways, Rumi was transformed. He became a poet and a lover, someone who worshipped the gift of life. This part of the introduction resonated with me greatly. Recently I’ve found myself with a new love for life, through my grieving of a friend who passed over two years ago. These poems explore the transformative nature of love, and how it shapes us and reveals us to the universe, or reveals the universe to us. This is one of the rare moments in life where it feels like a book comes to you at the right time, for if I had read this any year before now, it would not have touched me in the way that it did. While the poems themselves did not impact me through their literary techniques or writing styles, the energy and the emotions behind the words moved me. I felt connected to Rumi and his gratitude for experiencing love, and how it transformed him. I also feel grateful for love. I feel transformed.
“All details of the world
Are lovers. And every
Detail of the face's
Universe sings with life.
But in no way will they
Let you know their secret:
Only he who merits
The forbidden secret.
Were that the sky were not
Rapturously in love,
In no way would there be
Purity in its heart.”
Give me no rest, nor any sleep.
For the thirst to possess your love,
Is worth my blood a hundred times.”
I went to my local library and found myself with a stack of books of poetry. This was one of them. I had heard of Rumi but did not know much about them. The introduction of this book let me know that Rumi was a scholar who had fallen in love with a wandering man. They made love for forty days and forty nights, and when they went their separate ways, Rumi was transformed. He became a poet and a lover, someone who worshipped the gift of life. This part of the introduction resonated with me greatly. Recently I’ve found myself with a new love for life, through my grieving of a friend who passed over two years ago. These poems explore the transformative nature of love, and how it shapes us and reveals us to the universe, or reveals the universe to us. This is one of the rare moments in life where it feels like a book comes to you at the right time, for if I had read this any year before now, it would not have touched me in the way that it did. While the poems themselves did not impact me through their literary techniques or writing styles, the energy and the emotions behind the words moved me. I felt connected to Rumi and his gratitude for experiencing love, and how it transformed him. I also feel grateful for love. I feel transformed.
“All details of the world
Are lovers. And every
Detail of the face's
Universe sings with life.
But in no way will they
Let you know their secret:
Only he who merits
The forbidden secret.
Were that the sky were not
Rapturously in love,
In no way would there be
Purity in its heart.”
December 31, 2022
My new favorite when depressed or astray.
it inspired me to reach out to people again.
A surprisingly concise and rewarding read.
Also a gentle way back into the habit of reading,
or a powerful introduction to poetry...
These poems untangled festering emotions and illusions
and guided me out of the swamp when I needed it most.
Sorry to set expectations so high.
Suspend disbelief, leave Dwight at the Office,
read with an open hart, an open mind and an open bottle of wine.
it inspired me to reach out to people again.
A surprisingly concise and rewarding read.
Also a gentle way back into the habit of reading,
or a powerful introduction to poetry...
These poems untangled festering emotions and illusions
and guided me out of the swamp when I needed it most.
Sorry to set expectations so high.
Suspend disbelief, leave Dwight at the Office,
read with an open hart, an open mind and an open bottle of wine.
September 20, 2021
I had high expectations for this book because I have heard good things about Rumi, and I love poetry.
Here's one that struck a chord in me: "My heart has begun a revolt. Oh, it has spilt the blood of kings. My heart is filled with everything, and yet still it must walk alone."
Here's one that struck a chord in me: "My heart has begun a revolt. Oh, it has spilt the blood of kings. My heart is filled with everything, and yet still it must walk alone."
January 16, 2024
No idea how this collection landed in my hands but I've read much better from Rumi. This felt...strange. Nonsensical, even. Lots of talk about intoxication and wine. Not sure if I trust the source.
Loved the calligraphy though.
Loved the calligraphy though.
February 10, 2017
"When love ripped my pocket awry
I said: Hey, what are you doing?
Love said: Isn't my unending
bounty enough to satisfy?"
Both of the words and the calligraphy are simply remarkable.
I said: Hey, what are you doing?
Love said: Isn't my unending
bounty enough to satisfy?"
Both of the words and the calligraphy are simply remarkable.
February 28, 2017
The book is beautifully set and I loved one of the poems (To the Wind Shall I Scatter You) but the others were just ok to me. Still, it got me interested in Persian poetry so overall I liked it :)
November 24, 2017
I'm all for parsimony but I found this collection to be generic, or not really getting at the meat of the subject of love
January 2, 2018
gorgeous and full of passion that i feel suffocated sometimes, but i guess that's the point of it all.
December 2, 2018
Come what may, I no longer hold sway,
For to a stranger I belong.
And wherever he may entice me,
Invariably shall I go.
My first Rumi’s poetry..
For to a stranger I belong.
And wherever he may entice me,
Invariably shall I go.
My first Rumi’s poetry..
May 3, 2020
You are the drop and the ocean
When could the lesson that love has
Given at last be forgotten?
To the wind shall I scatter you
When could the lesson that love has
Given at last be forgotten?
To the wind shall I scatter you
August 12, 2020
Short, alive, bittersweet. Somehow I feel that my thirst has not been satisfied, I am on a Rumi binge.
April 10, 2025
Bite-sized and conservative Rumi. I wouldn't give this to someone for their first readings of Rumi. Beautiful calligraphy next to the poems though.
June 17, 2025
my heart has begun a revolt
oh, it has split the blood of kings.
my heart is filled with everything,
and yet it must walk alone.
oh, it has split the blood of kings.
my heart is filled with everything,
and yet it must walk alone.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews