We didn't know much about Shams Tabrizi save that he was Maulana Jalalludin Rumi's enigmatic mentor. Now, thanks to this great autobiography, which has been translated by a knowledgeable scholar, we can get an inside look (William Chittick). Furthermore, it may correct some of our childhood illusions regarding both Rumi and Shams.This is a genuine biography, but it's a little out of the ordinary. "The first thing we need to understand about the Discourses is that it was not authored by Shams," says the translator's introduction. Rather, while Shams was speaking, one or more members of Rumi's inner circle took notes.
Shams Tabrizi, who was he? To answer this question for yourself, you must read the book. Shams narrates: "So, what do you know about me? I proceeded into the bush where lions wouldn't dare to go and I was overcome with amazement." What did anyone know about him, after all? . Shams' heart-secret (sirr-e asrar), it is obvious from this work, was no match for contemporaneous mystics, but he did esteem one or two or perhaps a few.
Even though this autobiography will always be considered advanced reading, it is a must-have for anybody truly interested in Islamic Sufism (or any tradition for that matter) in general, and (auto)biographies of mystics in particular.