Warriors of Love: Rumi's Odes to Shams of Tabriz

by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi, James Cowan (Introduction)

In 1244 a man wrapped in a coarse black coat entered Konya and so into the life of Islam’s most celebrated poet and mystic: Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi. A wanderer and spiritual vagabond, Shams of Tabriz proceeded to wrestle with Rumi’s soul. What he wanted from his protégé was for him to embody a wilder, more robust spirituality that would enable him to embrace life’s rawness more completely than any saint had done in the past.

Warriors of Love is a fresh interpretation of a selection of 49 poems which were written by Rumi as metaphors for his love for God as well as for his friend Shams, the Wild One. In a long introduction on the life and times of Rumi and his friendship with Shams James Cowan also explores the historical facts of their encounter, Sufism, the Mevlevi Order of Dervishes, the new dimension that Shams brought to Islamic spirituality and the importance of friendship as a true path to God.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Classics, Theology, Spirituality

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 19, 2017

About the author

Sufism 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.

Reviews

[Natassia_trav · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is rather hard to find the right words to describe this interesting friendship between the two men of knowledge, Mevlana Rumi and the traveling dervish, Shams of Tabriz. It is a story that dates back to the 13th century, and causes a great public interest even today. Last year I got familiar with this story reading the book by Elif Shafak “The Forty Rules of Love". Shafak gives us a contemporary story of a middle-aged woman who finds herself unlucky with the life she’s living, so she falls in love with a person who she has never seen, Aziz Z. Zahara, the author of the novel Shafak uses to bring us a very interesting comparative story about Rumi and Shams. For me, that was one of those books that you don’t want to put down, but it was also an excellent reason to be interested in Rumi’s verses. So, when I saw “Warriors of Love” in front of me, I knew I had to read it.

James Cowan gives us an introduction into the lives of Rumi and Shams. The way Cowan describes this intriguing story will surely be interesting to all of you who read it for the first time, although for me there were not so many informations I didn't know before. Nevertheless, the author of the introductory study was able to answer the question I had in my mind for a long time; is this kind of male friendship, based on the exchange of knowledge and efforts to reach the highest truths about life and God, characteristic only for the Islamic culture and centuries that has been long behind us, or similar examples can also be found elsewhere? Though I had some examples on my mind, Cowan brings his answer to my question.

He compared the friendship of Rumi and Shams with relationships between the brothers Vincent and Theo van Gogh, friendship of epic heroes Achilles and Patroclus, Dante and Vergilius, the Italian Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino and his friend Giovanni Cavalcante, Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday, French poets Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and composer Richard Wagner, Nikos Hazantzakis and Greek Zorba. Athough these are excellent examples of friendship, they had no mythical dimensions like the one of Rumi and Shams. Cowan says that their friendship is an archetype of unity like no other we knew in history or literature.

Shams and Rumi are examples of friends who have found teachers among themselves, as opposed to many who had teacher-student relationship. For one another they were a friend and a guide, not a servant. Their friendship was totally equal because they were both at a very high spiritual level so they could progress far more together. Shams was the cause of Rumi's transformation into a poet, and Rumi was inspired by their friendship, mythical friendship, like no other mentioned in Islam since the time of the Prophet Muhammad.

The death of Shams of Tabriz thus brings only the end of their physical friendship, while spiritually it continues through Rumi's verses. Shams's death was an ultimate sign of friendship to Rumi, the moment in which a friend renounced his own life to allow the other to completely free himself from his influence and to allow him to grow and reach the heights that were intended for him.

Though Rumi in his verses never renounces the principles of his Islamic faith, he is convinced that the religion of love crosses the boundaries of all doctrines, including religious ones. Cowan says that Rumi's pantheism (or panentheism, as he states) was directed at one of the supreme goals: the unification of mankind with God. Perhaps with this idea, his verses today are shared throughout the world, especially from the 18th and 19th century, when translations into European languages became available to the general public. Shams's thoughts needed a little longer, only in 1990, after the various records of his thoughts were found in Turkish archives, they saw the light of day and gave the other dimension and the integrity to the well-known thoughts of his friend Rumi.

Although it would be wonderful to read the Rumi's verses in the original language, because I believe that is the only way one can reach the depths that he discovered, the verses that Cowan brings to us are quite a worthy substitute. So if you're in the mood for some poetry and very interesting introductory study about lives of Shams and Rumi by James Cowan, I certainly recommend this book to you. Those of you who would like something a bit easier to read, I suggest to go with "The Forty Rules of Love" by Elif Shafak. Or, maybe you could just read both of them...

[anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, this book has two equally important parts: Rumi's biography, focused on his relationship with Shams, and Rumi's poetry. The biography gives us the very needed context to his poems, though they are great even without that.

Now, what I'm most amazed by. The author describes the bond between Rumi & Shams in great detail, using beautiful language, elaborate metaphors and generally doing everything in his power to ensure we understand said relationship & properly appreciate it. He also makes it abandonly clear from basically the first sentence that they were gay and in love. And yet among all those fancy words & countless epithets for the love the mystics felt for each other, not once did he use "gay" or "in love". Truly amazing! Especially when he compares them at some point to Achilles and Patroclus or to Raimbaud and Verlaine. Especially when all the imagery he uses rings so true to a gay ear. We get lines like "Rumi became intoxicated while in Shams' company" or "burned in the fire of bitterness at their separation", we get the "Warriors of Love" title!! and the author is never brave enough to call it what it is.

Okay.

As for Rumi's poetry, I honestly feel like I don't have adequate skills & knowledge to judge it. Let me just say, it's even better than you would have expected. (And very gay.)

[Nazmi Yaakub · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adaptasi Dewan Shams At-Tabriz daripada terjemahan sedia ada terutama Nicholson. Bagaimanapun pendahuluan buku ini menyerlahkan pandangan alam penyusunnya yang cenderung kepada spiritual tanpa kerangka agama dan lebih kepada penyatuan dengan Tuhan seperti yang difahami dalam terma hulul dan ittihad yang tentunya jauh daripada tasawuf sebenar termasuk yang menjadi nafas kepada hubungan Maulana Rumi dan Shams.

Bagaimanapun, membaca adaptasi ini dalam keadaan kerangka Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah dipegang oleh pembaca, saya kira tidaklah bermasalah, sebaliknya lebih mudah kerana adaptasi yang dilakukan oleh penyusun dapat membantu.

[Wyzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Scientists of the spirit’ with ‘Solomon’s secret,’ my Hidden Imam, ‘Our journey is towards the rose-garden of union, where buds become blooms.’

“He asked: ‘What are your intentions?’ I replied: ‘Constancy and friendship.’”

“Seek from Love’s face something other than beauty; it’s time you associated with a genuine friend.”

“In a garden, may a rose to Resurrection bloom!”

[Lutfa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most beautiful collection of Rumi’s poems. I love my friend so much more for lending me this and giving something so beautiful I can always turn to.

[Sandman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewing this book feels impossible, such is the magnitude of its impact. Years from now, maybe I can look at it fairly but right now I'm beyond viewing it that way.

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warriors of Love: Rumi's Odes to Shams of Tabriz by Mevlana Rumi is a partial biography and a small selection of poetry. Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. 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.

James Cowan provides the introduction and translation in this work. This inclusion is important since the introduction makes up the bulk of the book. Cowan describes the relationship of Rumi and Shams of Tabriz. The friendship between the two grew into something that Cowan describes as seeing a reflection of God in each other. Thier friendship expanded into a spiritual love and a great understanding of God. They were both practitioners of Sufism, a mystical form of Islam that centers on internal purification and self-discovery. Strict dogma is missing from this practice and includes things that may not be acceptable in stricter interpretations like dancing and being a fool for God.

Much of the introduction concerns itself specifically with Rumi's deep friendship with Shams and his discovery of poetry in the process of and in remembrance of that friendship after Shamsdisappearence and murder, something Rumi never fully accepted. Comparisons of other very strong friendships are covered before the poetry section.

The poetry is translated by Cowan and represents a more poetic translation of these verses using modern style instead of the traditional Victorian style. He attempts to keep the rhythm and intent of the original poetry intact rather than strict meaning. Shams is presented as the perfect man and the wild one (his dancing in part). The short selection of poetry is interesting in a modern sense and always written in couplets although not rhyming. A translation that, however, does seem to keep the original intent of the writing intact. It is difficult to classify the book itself as poetry since so much is written as an introduction.  However, calling it a biography supported with poetry may be closer to reality.  Either way, very well done and informative. 

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let it first be said that I'm a massive Rumi fan, and so I was delighted and thankful to be a winner of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway contest. My expectations were high, since any literary work associated with Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi should in my opinion do justice to the great man and his wonderful poetry. Having now read it, I can honestly say I was not disappointed.

This little gem of a book is composed of a short biographical introduction about Rumi, followed by a selection of his beautiful lyrical odes; both of which focus on Rumi's spiritual way of life, his beliefs, values, relationship with God, and his deep loving friendship with the the whirling dervish known as Shams of Tabriz.

The book starts with a biographical perspective, where the platonic, loving bond between these two great men is explored and beautifully analyzed. We are informed how the distillation of two individual egos results in "a drink more potent than either could have brewed alone".

This 'sets the scene' perfectly for the selection of odes that are to follow, and for me personally, being hitherto unaware of the story about Shams and his intervention in Rumi's life, it gave me some useful context and effectively made the poetry selection even more meaningful. I really appreciated this format, and found the book engaging to the point where I didn't want to put it down.

Thank you very much to the Watkins team... I will treasure this little book, and share it, and will almost certainly read it several times.

[Jestora (muaad) the poet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book because it shows many things. For one it shows the skill of Rumi (this book is only his odes) and the second it captures the essence of his outlook and philosophy in a short book. So if anyone wants to see the way of love according to Rumi, this short book is a good example. This book came to me at an important time. I started reading it early in the year and then I put it down only picking it up recently. This books showed me the vision of Rumi again and allowed me to return to my good ways. Away from the world and into my self. Away from the external and back to the internal, away from division and back to love.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/4 stars A goodreads giveaway. Although I only read the poetry and not the first part of the book by the compiler, Which is the part of the book I have rated. I have two other poetry book by Rumi. I expected the same: great poetry, I wasn't disappointed at all. It did have far less poems than the other books read from Rumi. The good thing about it that their were only 10-11 of the poems in this book that was in the other three.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway.
This was my introduction to Rumi. The first section was fascinating and informative. The poetry was beautiful in the last section but not being a huge fan of any poetry I skimmed past most of it. If you like Rumi you are seeking a better understanding of him and his times this is a good source.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book in every sense. The fascinating story of how Rumi met Shams really captured my imagination. I didn't really understand most of the poetry, the allusions and metaphors went over my head so a study guide to explain what they mean would be useful.

[Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evocative, Spiritual and Poetic.

[Vex · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, with a good collection of poems. This may be personal preference, but I would have enjoyed if the history and narration about these two figures was broken up by the poems in a chronological order.

[Theresa Wade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be interesting but not for me.

[Hannah]

Love me some Rumi. I knew nothing about his friendship with Shams, so the introduction was pretty interesting!

[Rawan Omer · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who read fiction mostly, this one was nice!

[Shikha · Rating 4 out of 5]

“There goes a river dragging a mighty ocean behind it."

This is a mighty amazing book, part biography and part odes on Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi’s thoughts, beliefs, his relationship with God and his friendship with the spiritual vagabond, Shams of Tabriz. The bond between them is fully exhausted, beautifully analysed from all the possible angles by the author. His attempt at solving the mystery of the relationship with the wanderer who had the most effect on Rumi’s life is commendable. The viewpoint and thinking process of each of them is explained in a engaging format.

It’s a bit difficult to get into the context of the book if you are not yet familiar with who Rumi is. But once you keep reading, it builds up the interest, the mystery and you keep getting impressed. The addition of Odes is a wonderful feature. The translations are beautiful and they show the compelling relationship of Rumi with his God and his Wild One.

If you keep reading you peel out layers and layers of Rumi and that’s wonderful in itself. All in all a good book.

[Jane Marga · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why do the books depicting Rumi and Shamz a bit overly dramatic and romanticized?
If not, a bit rose-colored and fantastic?
Aside from that here are lots of details that had been told all over again.

[Najlla Habibyar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading it. It was repetitive as mostly when you read about Shams and Rumi the stories will be much similar. There would be small twists by writers but I must confess that if it would have been the first read about Shams and Rumi; I would have had scored it better.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Goodreads win review. This is in ancient times and the topic is about a spiritual vagabond and it has 49 poems about God.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received an advanced readers copy. Beautiful binding and wonderful reading. Would recommend.

[Safwa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this book from shakespeare and co. because I fell in love with the cover which turned out to be the only good thing about it. I couldn't digest the poems, too cringy and repetitive.

[Marjorie Jensen]

My review of this book was just published in Spiral Nature Magazine: https://www.spiralnature.com/reviews/...

[Krystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an interesting exploration of the instrumental historical wisdom that is Rumi's Islamic spirituality and insightfully meaningful friendship with Shams, which impacted him deeply.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Mevlana Rumi, Watkins, Watkins Publishing, and NetGalley for this free honest reviewer copy of "Warriors of Love: Rumi's Odes to Shams of Tabriz."

I have always had a deep and abiding love for the works of Rumi, and so it was no surprise I jumped at this book when there was the chance to both read and review it for NetGalley.

I was moved to discover so much about his past, that I'd never known before, in the section covering his biography (which I both never expected to find in a poetry text, and was swept over the moon with recieving as an extra gift in this time).

The poetry, itself, was a beautiful delving into a relationship and friendship of two great scholars and learned men, Mevlana Rumi and Shams of Tabriz. While the story does date back to the 13th century, it's never been lost entirely from renown discussion. You will feel and see those bonds of deep truth, love, and friendship reflected throughout the whole reading. I had several passages I stopped on to read over and bookmarked to share with those dear to me.