Sufi Mystic Rumi Rumi (born Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī on September 30, 1207, and died December 17, 1273) was a 13th-century Persian Sufi mystic, Islamic scholar, jurist, and poet. Born in Balkh (in modern-day Afghanistan), his family fled Mongol invasions and eventually settled in the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum (modern-day Turkey), from which his surname " Rumi " (meaning Roman or of Anatolia) is derived. Rumi’s core philosophy centers on divine love as the ultimate force of the universe and the only path to true spiritual awakening. He viewed the human soul as being in a state of painful exile from its divine source, and spent his life teaching how to bridge that gap. Rumi's Spiritual Philosophy Core Tenets of Rumi's Philosophy: Love as Cosmic Energy : For Rumi, love is not just a human emotion. It is the connective tissue of the universe and the mechanism through which God creates and sustains existence. The Pain of Separation : He famously opens his masterpiece...