Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, better known simply as Rumi, was perhaps the greatest Sufi mystic and the finest Persian poet of all time. He had a great influence on Muslim writing and culture.

It is believed that Rumi would turn round and round while reciting his poetry, and it is this dance which formed the basis for the Whirling Dervishes, after his death. Dervish means doorway, and the dance is believed to be a mystical portal between the earthly and cosmic worlds.

Poem: Before Life

I wasn't like this before.
I wasn't out of my mind and senses.
Once I used to be wise like you,
Not crazy. insane and broken down
Like I am now.

I wasn't the admirer of life
Which has no trace, no being.
I used to ask, "Who is this?
What is that?."
And search all the time.

Since you have wisdom,
Sit and think
That probably I was like this before.
I haven't changed much.

I used to try to make
Myself better than everybody.
I hadn't been hunted
With the ever-growing Love before.
I tried to rise above the sky
With my ambition
Yet I didn't know
I was just wandering in the desert.
At the end, I have raised
A treasure from the ground.