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Rumi Quotes (1207-1273)
Philosopher, Poet, Theologian
About Rumi
Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi (جلالالدین محمد رومی) Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi (جلالالدین محمد بلخى) (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273) was an Afghan philosopher, theologian, poet, teacher, and founder of the Mevlevi (or Mawlawi) order of Sufism; also known as Mevlana (Our Guide), Jalaluddin Rumi, or simply Rumi.
Best Rumi Quotes
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Rumi quotes.
“Afghanistan”
“Love rests on no foundation.
It is an endless ocean,
with no beginning or end.”
It is an endless ocean,
with no beginning or end.”
“Even though you're not equipped,
keep searching:
equipment isn't necessary on the way to the Lord.”
keep searching:
equipment isn't necessary on the way to the Lord.”
“If you are wholly perplexed and in straits,
have patience, for patience is the key to joy.”
have patience, for patience is the key to joy.”
“As quoted in "Rumi and Self-Discovery" by Ibrahim Gamard, in Islamica Magazine Issue 15, (Summer 2005)”
“They will ask you
what you have produced.
Say to them,
except for Love,
what else can a Lover produce?”
what you have produced.
Say to them,
except for Love,
what else can a Lover produce?”
Rumi Quotes by Topic
Find exactly what you are looking for by browsing this categorized list of Rumi quotes by topic.
Rumi on Love 10 quotes
View all 10 quotes on Love →Rumi on Poetry about love 9 quotes
View all 9 quotes on Poetry about love →Rumi on Sufism 4 quotes
“Come, seek, for search is the foundation of fortune: every success depends upon focusing the heart.”
Rumi on Silence 2 quotes
“Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking. Live in silence.”
Rumi on Tranquility
“That which is false troubles the heart, but truth brings joyous tranquillity.”
Rumi on Lions
Rumi on Soul
Rumi on Despair
“Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving — it doesn't matter, Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vow a hundred times, Come, come again, come.”
Rumi on Tigris–Euphrates river system
“Every object and being in the universe is a jar overflowing with wisdom and beauty, a drop of the Tigris that cannot be contained by any skin. Every jarful spills and makes the earth more shining, as though covered in satin.”
Rumi on Reincarnation
Rumi on Complaints
“When you see anyone complaining of such and such a person's ill-nature and bad temper, know that the complainant is bad-tempered, forasmuch as he speaks ill of that bad-tempered person, because he alone is good-tempered who is quietly forbearing towards the bad-tempered and ill-natured.”
Rumi on Temper
“When you see anyone complaining of such and such a person's ill-nature and bad temper, know that the complainant is bad-tempered, forasmuch as he speaks ill of that bad-tempered person, because he alone is good-tempered who is quietly forbearing towards the bad-tempered and ill-natured.”
What Rumi Said About Others
Discover personal opinions Rumi shared regarding contemporaries.
Rumi on Muhammad 6 quotes
View all 6 quotes on Muhammad →Rumi on Mansur Al-Hallaj 3 quotes
“From Hallaj, I learned to hunt lions, but I became something hungrier than a lion.”
Rumi on Women
Rumi on Saints
Rumi on Diogenes of Sinope
“Yesterday the wisest man holding a lit lantern in daylight was searching around town saying I am tired of all these beasts and brutes. I seek a true humanWe have all looked for one but no one could be found they saidYes he replied but my search is for the one who cannot be found.”
Quotes About Rumi
Gain deeper perspective through quotes about Rumi from others.
Reynold Alleyne Nicholson on Rumi
“Strange as it may seem to our Western egoism, the prospect of sharing in the general, impersonal immortality of the human soul kindles in the Sufi an enthusiasm as deep and triumphant as that of the most ardent believer in a personal life continuing beyond the grave. Jalaluddin, after describing the evolution of man in the material world and anticipating his further growth in the spiritual universe, utters a heartfelt prayer — for what? — for self-annihilation in the ocean of the Godhead.”
Alicia Ostriker on Rumi
“The idea that eroticism and spirituality should be separated is a travesty of both...Or read the great Persian poet Rumi...All mystical poetry is erotic, uses erotic language, because it desires fusion with God...all lovers see the beloved’s face and body as divine.”
Disputed Quotes
Quotes attributed to Rumi that are questionable.
“Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?
I cannot stop asking.
If I could taste one sip of an answer,
I could break out of this prison for drunks.
I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.
Whoever brought me here, will have to take me home.”
I cannot stop asking.
If I could taste one sip of an answer,
I could break out of this prison for drunks.
I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.
Whoever brought me here, will have to take me home.”
“
Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking.
Live in silence.
Flow down and down in always
widening rings of being.
“What is the body? That shadow of a shadow
of your love, that somehow contains
the entire universe.”
of your love, that somehow contains
the entire universe.”
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I will meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about
language, ideas, even the phrase each other
doesn't make any sense.”
there is a field. I will meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about
language, ideas, even the phrase each other
doesn't make any sense.”
“
Spring is Christ,
Raising martyred plants from their shrouds.
Their mouths open in gratitude, wanting to be kissed.
The glow of the rose and the tulip means a lamp is inside.
A leaf trembles. I tremble in the wind-beauty like silk from Turkestan.
The censer fans into flame.
This wind is the Holy Spirit.
The trees are Mary.
“'''''There is no reality but God'',
says the completely surrendered sheik, who is an ocean for all beings.'''”
says the completely surrendered sheik, who is an ocean for all beings.'''”
“Disputational knowing wants customers.
It has no soul.”
It has no soul.”
“Let the lover be disgraceful, crazy, absent-minded.
Someone sober will worry about events going badly.
Let the lover be.”
Someone sober will worry about events going badly.
Let the lover be.”
“
I can't stop pointing
to the beauty.
Every moment and place says,
"Put this design in your carpet!"
“
This dance is the joy of existence.
I am filled with you.
Skin, blood, bone, brain, and soul.
There's no room for lack of trust, or trust.
Nothing in this existence but that existence.
“The place that Solomon made to worship in,
called the Far Mosque, is not built of earth
and water and stone, but of intention and wisdom
and mystical conversation and compassionate action.”
called the Far Mosque, is not built of earth
and water and stone, but of intention and wisdom
and mystical conversation and compassionate action.”
“
This heart sanctuary does
exist, but it can't be described. Why try!
Solomon goes there every morning and gives guidance
with words, with musical harmonies, and in actions,
which are the deepest teaching. A prince is just
a conceit until he does something with generosity.
“Gamble everything for love,
if you are a true human being.”
if you are a true human being.”
“
Silence
is an ocean. Speech is a river.
When the ocean is searching for you, don't walk
into the language-river. Listen to the ocean,
and bring your talky business to an end
Traditional words are just babbling
in that presence, and babbling is a substitute
for sight.
“Every object and being in the universe is
a jar overflowing with wisdom and beauty,
a drop of the Tigris that cannot be contained
by any skin. Every jarful spills and makes the earth
more shining, as though covered in satin.”
a jar overflowing with wisdom and beauty,
a drop of the Tigris that cannot be contained
by any skin. Every jarful spills and makes the earth
more shining, as though covered in satin.”
“Christ is the population of the world,
and every object as well. There is no room
for hypocrisy. Why use bitter soup for healing
when sweet water is everywhere?”
and every object as well. There is no room
for hypocrisy. Why use bitter soup for healing
when sweet water is everywhere?”
“Lovers think they are looking for each other,
but there is only one search: wandering
This world is wandering that, both inside one
transparent sky. In here
there is no dogma and no heresy.”
but there is only one search: wandering
This world is wandering that, both inside one
transparent sky. In here
there is no dogma and no heresy.”
“It may be that the satisfaction I need
depends on my going away, so that when I've gone
and come back, I'll find it at home.”
depends on my going away, so that when I've gone
and come back, I'll find it at home.”
“Learn from Ali how to fight
without your ego participating.
God's lion did nothing
that didn't originate
from his deep center.”
without your ego participating.
God's lion did nothing
that didn't originate
from his deep center.”
“I am God's Lion, not the lion of passion....
I have no longing
except for the One.
When a wind of personal reaction comes,
I do not go along with it.
There are many winds full of anger,
and lust and greed. They move the rubbish around,
but the solid mountain of our true nature stays where it's always been.”
I have no longing
except for the One.
When a wind of personal reaction comes,
I do not go along with it.
There are many winds full of anger,
and lust and greed. They move the rubbish around,
but the solid mountain of our true nature stays where it's always been.”
Misattributed Quotes
Quotes mistakenly credited to Rumi
“Whenever we manage to love without expectations, calculations, negotiations, we are indeed in heaven.”
About Rumi
Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi (جلالالدین محمد رومی) Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi (جلالالدین محمد بلخى) (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273) was an Afghan philosopher, theologian, poet, teacher, and founder of the Mevlevi (or Mawlawi) order of Sufism; also known as Mevlana (Our Guide), Jalaluddin Rumi, or simply Rumi.