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Sufi Comics: Rumi
Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, a 13th century Sufi poet, has crafted timeless wisdom in the most beautiful of poems and stories. Sufi Comics presents the second volume of Rumi's poems in graphic form. This rich visual narrative makes his message easier to understand and accessible to a wider audience. Read this book to experience Rumi, one of the world's most widely read poets, like never before.
122 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 20, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 3, 2017
A nice read :)
April 16, 2025
Sufi Comics is by the Vakil brothers - Mohammed Ali Vakil and Mohammed Arif Vakil. Interestingly, they are chartered accountants too. What is even more interesting is that they are practitioners and trainers of Getting Things Done (GTD - a productivity methodology propagated by David Allen). I have had multiple chances to meet and interact with them - at GTD workshop and at Comic Con Bengaluru (various years). You can right away tell that they embody sufism. Every time I look at these books, I wonder how much this path of spirituality must have influenced these two brothers that they invested themselves in Sufi Comics.
As labelled, vol. 1 of Rumi came out first and it shows. How it is structured is very different from vol. 2. In Rumi vol. 1, you will find quotes by other saints and maulanas along with those of Prophet Mohammed and Rumi a.k.a. Mevlana whereas Rumi vol. 2 is all about the latter two only. But, both the books have meaningful stories to go with the teachings and quotes, accompanied by appropriate illustrations by Rahil Mohsin (of Hallubol fame) and bewitching calligraphy by Muqtar Ahmed.
While reading Rumi vol. 1, one of the chapters intrigued me. In fact, it was a particular line at the end of that chapter. “The cries of the agonised spring from ecstasy.” After reading this line, I couldn’t get back to this book for two days. It got me thinking, why does one have to suffer in order to catch the attention of the gods, be it any religion? Is it something that got carried forward to the modern religions from old world ways of worshiping and pleasing the old gods? Is subjecting oneself to suffering to please the gods the alternative to animal sacrifices? I have had these questions with me for a very long time when it comes to discussions on religions. Gods, irrespective of religion, are made in the image of love and peace, even though there are wars between different religions. Why would the gods want to make us suffer, to see us suffer and offer those sufferings to them? One might say it is because the gods have something better in store for us and want us to strive for it. That makes sense. But, what if the followers are not ambitious and are okay with whatever they have, wherever they are? Is suffering still a necessity? What if the followers are grateful to the gods for what they have and need nothing more? I guess that’s where beliefs of different sects and clans come into picture. That’s where the differences and conflicts arise, internal as well as external.
I continued reading vol. 1 and moved to Rumi vol. 2. In it, if not for all of my questions, I found answers for a few, in one of the chapters. In this chapter, when Moses admonishes a person for not praying to Allah in a prescribed manner and makes that person run away in tears, the god in turn admonishes Moses, questioning him, who he is to say what is to be done and what not. Allah tells Moses that as long as the people talk, pray, worship or just communicate in whichever manner they see feasible, it is acceptable to Allah. The god shows the great Moses his place. This chapter gave me a bit of solace. Nobody is qualified to tell others how one has to behave with the gods as long as they are not misbehaving.
This is also the reason why there are many good hearted people in the world who are atheists. Communicating with the gods is a way of communicating with self and vice versa. If your inner moral compass is working well, then you don’t have to worry about which faith you need to belong to. But the sense of belonging gives a certain level of comfort to many. To each their own.
Apart from one volume putting to rest the doubts raised by another volume, these two books are beautiful and calming to look at. The floral and Islamic patterns that decorate both the books cover to cover go well with the teachings in them.
Rumi vol. 1 and 2 by Sufi Comics deserve the money you spend on them - for what you get to read and all the efforts that have gone in their making.
As labelled, vol. 1 of Rumi came out first and it shows. How it is structured is very different from vol. 2. In Rumi vol. 1, you will find quotes by other saints and maulanas along with those of Prophet Mohammed and Rumi a.k.a. Mevlana whereas Rumi vol. 2 is all about the latter two only. But, both the books have meaningful stories to go with the teachings and quotes, accompanied by appropriate illustrations by Rahil Mohsin (of Hallubol fame) and bewitching calligraphy by Muqtar Ahmed.
While reading Rumi vol. 1, one of the chapters intrigued me. In fact, it was a particular line at the end of that chapter. “The cries of the agonised spring from ecstasy.” After reading this line, I couldn’t get back to this book for two days. It got me thinking, why does one have to suffer in order to catch the attention of the gods, be it any religion? Is it something that got carried forward to the modern religions from old world ways of worshiping and pleasing the old gods? Is subjecting oneself to suffering to please the gods the alternative to animal sacrifices? I have had these questions with me for a very long time when it comes to discussions on religions. Gods, irrespective of religion, are made in the image of love and peace, even though there are wars between different religions. Why would the gods want to make us suffer, to see us suffer and offer those sufferings to them? One might say it is because the gods have something better in store for us and want us to strive for it. That makes sense. But, what if the followers are not ambitious and are okay with whatever they have, wherever they are? Is suffering still a necessity? What if the followers are grateful to the gods for what they have and need nothing more? I guess that’s where beliefs of different sects and clans come into picture. That’s where the differences and conflicts arise, internal as well as external.
I continued reading vol. 1 and moved to Rumi vol. 2. In it, if not for all of my questions, I found answers for a few, in one of the chapters. In this chapter, when Moses admonishes a person for not praying to Allah in a prescribed manner and makes that person run away in tears, the god in turn admonishes Moses, questioning him, who he is to say what is to be done and what not. Allah tells Moses that as long as the people talk, pray, worship or just communicate in whichever manner they see feasible, it is acceptable to Allah. The god shows the great Moses his place. This chapter gave me a bit of solace. Nobody is qualified to tell others how one has to behave with the gods as long as they are not misbehaving.
This is also the reason why there are many good hearted people in the world who are atheists. Communicating with the gods is a way of communicating with self and vice versa. If your inner moral compass is working well, then you don’t have to worry about which faith you need to belong to. But the sense of belonging gives a certain level of comfort to many. To each their own.
Apart from one volume putting to rest the doubts raised by another volume, these two books are beautiful and calming to look at. The floral and Islamic patterns that decorate both the books cover to cover go well with the teachings in them.
Rumi vol. 1 and 2 by Sufi Comics deserve the money you spend on them - for what you get to read and all the efforts that have gone in their making.
May 16, 2017
Reason, Faith & Humility.
An exceptional collection of stories here by Maulana Rumi, beautifully illustrated by the team behind Sufi Comics. Particularly loved the one about the importance of reason, (or aql as is it said in reason). The story brought home the point that reason is both a choice and condition, that it doesn’t operate in isolation, that the wise man takes faith and humility as reason’s travelling mates. In the troubled times where we live, where science is pitted against religion, which itself is seen not as ally but a force against peace, where reason is understood as the opposite of faith, Rumi’s words bring both peace and joy to the heart.
An exceptional collection of stories here by Maulana Rumi, beautifully illustrated by the team behind Sufi Comics. Particularly loved the one about the importance of reason, (or aql as is it said in reason). The story brought home the point that reason is both a choice and condition, that it doesn’t operate in isolation, that the wise man takes faith and humility as reason’s travelling mates. In the troubled times where we live, where science is pitted against religion, which itself is seen not as ally but a force against peace, where reason is understood as the opposite of faith, Rumi’s words bring both peace and joy to the heart.
December 15, 2022
Good, calm read, Alhamdulillah.
Not the best though.
Learned a lot but I was expecting more.
Not the best though.
Learned a lot but I was expecting more.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews