Rumi | Poet and Mystic | R. A. Nicholson

Rumi: Poet and Mystic, first published in 1950, is one of the most beloved and enduring introductions to the life and thought of Jalal al-Din Rumi. It was the final work of the great British Orientalist Reynold A. Nicholson, who is legendary for being the first to translate the entire Mathnawi into English.

Book Description

This book is not a dense academic tome, but a carefully curated “spiritual anthology.” Nicholson selects the most profound and evocative passages from Rumi’s two masterpieces—the Mathnawi and the Diwan-i Shams-i Tabriz—and provides concise, insightful commentary to explain their metaphysical depth.

Nicholson’s goal was to show that Rumi was not just a poet of “fine feelings,” but a Gnostic of the highest order. The book tracks Rumi’s journey from a traditional legal scholar to an ecstatic mystic under the influence of his wandering mentor, Shams of Tabriz, ultimately illustrating the Sufi doctrine of “extinction in God” through the language of Divine Love.

Key Points

1. The Religion of Love (Mazhab-i ‘Ishq)

Nicholson highlights Rumi’s central message: that Love is the “astrolabe of God’s mysteries.” He explains that for Rumi, love is not an emotion but a cosmic force that pulls the soul back to its Origin, bypassing the limitations of the rational mind.

2. The Soul’s Exile and Return

The book opens with the famous “Song of the Reed,” which Nicholson identifies as the key to Rumi’s entire philosophy. The reed, torn from its reed-bed, represents the human soul separated from the Divine. Its music is the “moan” of longing to return to its source.

3. The “Universal Man” (al-Insan al-Kamil)

Mirroring the teachings of his contemporary, Ibn al-Arabi, Rumi describes the “Perfect Human” as the mirror of the Divine. Nicholson explains how Rumi views the Prophets and Saints as the “eyes” through which God looks at the world, and the goal of the seeker is to realize this state.

4. The Alchemy of the Spirit

Nicholson explores Rumi’s use of alchemical metaphors. He explains that the “base metal” of the lower soul (nafs) must be “melted down” through suffering and discipline until it is transformed into the “gold” of spiritual purity.

5. The “Oneness of Being” through Poetry

While Rumi rarely uses technical metaphysical jargon, Nicholson shows how his poetry beautifully illustrates Wahdat al-Wujud. He uses Rumi’s imagery of waves and the ocean, or the sun and its beams, to explain the relationship between the Multiplicity of the world and the Unity of God.

6. The Role of the Spiritual Guide

The book emphasizes the necessity of the “Pir” or “Murshid.” Nicholson uses Rumi’s relationship with Shams-i Tabriz to show that the Guide is like a “ladder” to heaven—someone who has already traversed the path and can protect the traveler from the “brigands” (illusions) of the ego.

RŪMĪ: Poet and Mystic

In his extensive writings he explored the profound themes that had gradually evolved with the long succession of Sufi thinkers since the ninth century, such as the nature of truth, of beauty, and of our spiritual relationship with God. Professor R. A. Nicholson translated this inspiring collection of mystical poems shortly before his death. It contains delicately rhythmical versions of over a hundred short passages from Ramis greatest works, together with brief yet illuminating explanatory notes. With this attractive and accessible translation, a wider readership can appreciate the range and depth of Rurnis intellect and imagination, and discover why it is so often said that in Rumi the Persian mystical genius found its supreme expression. He combined exact scholarship with notable literary gifts; some of his versions of Arabic and Persian poetry entitle him to be considered a poet in his own right. His deep understanding of Islam and of the Muslim peoples was all the more remarkable in that he never travelled outside Europe

Reynold A. Nicholson

Reynold A. Nicholson (1868-1945) was an English Orientalist who exercised a lasting influence on Islamic studies. Educated at Aberdeen University and Cambridge, Nicholson was a lecturer in Persian (1902-26) and Sir Thomas Adams Professor of Arabic (1926-33) at Cambridge. He was a leading scholar in the fields of Islamic literature and mysticism. His Literary History of the Arabs (1907) remains the standard work on that subject in English, while his many text editions and translations of Sufi writings culminating in his eight-volume Mathnawi of Ja15.1 al-Din Iturni (1925-40), eminently advanced the study of Muslim mystics. He combined exact scholarship with notable literary gifts; some of his versions of Arabic and Persian poetry entitle him to be considered a poet in his own right. His deep understanding of Islam and of the Muslim peoples was all the more remarkable in that he never travelled outside Europe. A shy and retiring man, he proved himself an inspiring teacher and an original thinker.