Teaching
Shams spoke as a Muslim Sufi. In William C. Chittick's reading of his recorded sayings, Shams took one verse of the Qur'an as the heart of the prophets' guidance: "Know that 'There is no god but He,' and ask forgiveness for your sin" (47:19). The first part calls people to know God's unity, the second to negate their own existence. Although he is often pictured as an unlearned man intoxicated by love, he held knowledge to be the foundation of the path to God. 3
Who it is for
For readers who want to meet the man Rumi called his mentor through his own recorded sayings rather than through the legends about him. He spoke as a Muslim Sufi; this catalogue lists him among related paths, and 'nondual' is our word for this, not his.
Life and places
- His name places his origin in Tabriz. Little is certain about his life before 1244; he travelled widely and met Sufi teachers of his time. 8, 9
- In 1244 he came to Konya as a wandering dervish and became the mystic mentor of Rumi. 1, 2, 8
- In 1246 he was driven from Konya; Rumi's son Sultan Walad found him in Damascus and brought him back. 4, 9
- In 1247 he disappeared from Konya, and nothing certain is known about his end. 5, 8
Public context
- His sayings, noted down by himself and his followers, were collected as the Maqalat (Discourses) and kept in manuscripts by members of the Mevlevi order until modern times. Much of what is known about his life comes from Rumi, Sultan Walad and the Mevlevi biographers. 6, 9
- Rumi's collection of lyric poems, the Divan-e Shams, is dedicated to him. In the Masnavi Rumi tells the reader to "pluck the skirt of the (spiritual) king, Shams-i Tabrizi" (Book I, verse 427, in R. A. Nicholson's translation). 1, 7
Works
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Maqālāt-e Shams-e Tabrīzī (Discourses of Shams-i Tabrizi)
Book · Intishārāt-i Khvārazmī, Tehran
The recorded sayings of Shams in Persian prose, compiled from notes taken by him and his followers. Scholars such as William C. Chittick draw on it for his own teaching, apart from the legends about him.
The short summaries are ours.
Documented teaching relationships
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Personal teacher of Dschalal ad-Din Rumi (Mevlana)
The Encyclopaedia Iranica describes Shams al-Din of Tabriz as Rumi's mystic mentor: a wandering dervish who in 1244 took Rumi on the mystic path. Rumi's Divan is dedicated to him.
Biographical tradition · iranicaonline.org , iranicaonline.org (2)
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Personal encounter with Sultan Walad (Baha al-Din Muhammad Walad)
The Encyclopaedia Iranica says Sultan Walad served Shams al-Din of Tabriz, one of Rumi's closest companions, and brought him back to Konya after he had been driven out in 1246. E. J. W. Gibb names Shams among the Sufi teachers in whose service Sultan Walad spent his youth.
Biographical tradition · iranicaonline.org , archive.org
Teaching relationships are documented statements. They confer no trust and do not attest realisation.
Sources
- IRAN viii. PERSIAN LITERATURE (2) Classical (Charles-Henri de Fouchécour, 2006) · Encyclopaedia Iranica Signed survey article in an academic encyclopaedia, with a short section on Rumi's life and works accessed 13 Oct 2026
- RUMI, JALĀL-AL-DIN viii. Rumi’s Teachings (Jawid Mojaddedi, 2014) · Encyclopaedia Iranica Signed article in an academic encyclopaedia on his teachings, based mainly on the Masnavi and Fihi ma fihi accessed 13 Oct 2026
- RUMI, JALĀL-AL-DIN vii. Philosophy (William C. Chittick, 2017) · Encyclopaedia Iranica Signed article in an academic encyclopaedia on the ideas in Rumi's works, citing Shams's Maqalat in Movahhed's edition and Chittick's translation accessed 13 Oct 2026
- BAHĀʾ-AL-DĪN SOLṬĀN WALAD (Muhammad Isa Waley, 1988) · Encyclopaedia Iranica Signed article in an academic encyclopaedia on Rumi's son, drawing mainly on his Walad-nama accessed 13 Oct 2026
- ḤOSĀM-AL-DIN ČALABI (Mohammad Estelami, 2004) · Encyclopaedia Iranica Signed article in an academic encyclopaedia on Rumi's disciple and first successor accessed 13 Oct 2026
- AFLĀKĪ ʿĀREFĪ, ŠAMS-AL-DĪN (Tahsin Yazici, 1984) · Encyclopaedia Iranica Signed article in an academic encyclopaedia on the 14th-century biographer of Rumi's circle and his sources accessed 13 Oct 2026
- The Mathnawi of Jalaluddin Rumi, vol. II: translation of Books I and II, by R. A. Nicholson (E. J. W. Gibb Memorial, 1926) · Internet Archive Scan of a later reprint of the scholarly English translation from the Persian; read in part accessed 13 Oct 2026
- Selected Poems from the Divani Shamsi Tabriz, edited and translated by R. A. Nicholson (Cambridge University Press, 1898) · Internet Archive Scan of a scholarly edition of 1898; its introduction summarises what the early biographies say about Shams and calls their accounts of his end legends accessed 13 Oct 2026
- Maqālāt-i Shams, manuscript Süleymaniye Library, Özel 613 · The Islamisation of Anatolia project Manuscript record in the database of a research project at the University of St Andrews funded by the European Research Council, with biographical notes on Shams citing Schimmel and Lewis accessed 13 Oct 2026
- Concordance of English Translations of Selections from the "Discourses of Shams-i Tabrizi" (Ibrahim Gamard, 2011) · Dar al-Masnavi Concordance of English translations of the Maqalat, compiled by a translator of Rumi on a Mevlevi-oriented study website accessed 13 Oct 2026
- Maqālāt-i Shams-i Tabrīzī, ed. Muḥammad ʻAlī Muvaḥḥid (Intishārāt-i Khvārazmī, Tehran 1990) · Open Library Library catalogue record accessed 13 Oct 2026
- Me & Rumi: The Autobiography of Shams-i Tabrizi, translated by William C. Chittick (Fons Vitae, Louisville 2004) · Open Library Library catalogue record accessed 13 Oct 2026
Compiled by us from the sources listed. Last checked 13 Oct 2026.
This description is factual. It contains no recommendation, ranking or assurance. Statements about effects are those of the respective source.