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Unraveling the Mystery:
Who Was the Real “Shams” in Rumi’s Life?
The Controversy Explained
For centuries, a fascinating historical puzzle has perplexed scholars and spiritual seekers alike: Who was the mysterious “Shams” who transformed Jalaluddin Rumi from a conventional scholar into history’s most celebrated poet of divine love? The confusion stems from the fact that three distinct historical figures named “Shams” lived during roughly the same period, each with connections to Tabriz, Sufism, and spiritual leadership.
This article examines the
evidence surrounding:
1. Shams Tabrizi
(1185–1248) — The famous Sufi mystic traditionally recognized as Rumi’s teacher
2. Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad
(c. 1230–1310) — The 28th Nizari Ismaili Imam
3. Pir Shams Sabzwari
(c. 1244–1356) — The Ismaili missionary buried in Multan, Pakistan
The Three “Shams” Phenomenon
Figure 1: Shams Tabrizi — Rumi’s
Spiritual Mentor
Lifespan:
1185–1248 CE
Origin:
Tabriz, Persia
Role:
Wandering Sufi dervish and poet
The
overwhelming consensus in Persian literature and academic sources identifies Shams
Tabrizi (also called Shams al-Din Mohammad) as Rumi’s spiritual mentor.
Their legendary meeting occurred in Konya around 1244 CE, when Shams challenged
Rumi’s scholarly approach to spirituality, leading to an intense companionship
that transformed Rumi from a jurist and theologian into an ecstatic poet of
divine love.
Key
Evidence:
•
Rumi’s monumental work Divan-i Shams-i
Tabrizi is explicitly dedicated to him
•
Their relationship is one of the most documented
spiritual partnerships in Islamic mysticism
•
Tradition holds that Shams taught Rumi in
seclusion for periods of forty days before fleeing to Damascus
•
He retired to Khoy (now in West Azerbaijan
Province, Iran), where he died and is buried
Shams
Tabrizi emphasized finding God within oneself and dissolving boundaries between
teacher and student, lover and beloved. After his mysterious disappearance
(possibly murdered by jealous followers around 1247–1248), Rumi channeled his
grief into thousands of verses where Shams is invoked as a symbol of the divine
beloved.
Figure 2: Imam Shamsuddin
Muhammad — The Ismaili Imam
Lifespan:
c. 1230–1310 CE
Imamate:
1257–1310 CE (53 years)
Origin:
Fortress of Maimundiz
Imam
Shamsuddin Muhammad was the 28th Imam of the Nizari Ismaili community, born
during the period of Mongol invasions. He succeeded to the Imamat in 1257 after
the execution of his father, Imam Rukn al-Din Khurshah, by the Mongols. His
life was marked by concealment (taqiya) to evade persecution.
Key
Characteristics:
•
Known as Agha Shams in Syria and Shah
Shams in India
•
Also referred to as Shamsu’l Haq in
Iranian poems
•
Adopted the guise of a Sufi mystic and worked as
an embroiderer, earning the nickname Zarduz
•
Settled near Tabriz in Azerbaijan, where he was
sometimes called “Shams Tabriz” due to his radiant presence
The
Chronological Problem:
Imam
Shamsuddin Muhammad was allegedly born around 1230–1250 CE, while Shams Tabrizi
died in 1248 CE. This timeline makes it chronologically impossible for the
Ismaili Imam to have been Rumi’s teacher, as he would have been an infant or
not yet born when Shams Tabrizi died.
Figure 3: Pir Shams Sabzwari —
The Ismaili Missionary
Lifespan:
c. 1244–1356 CE
Origin:
Sabzwar, Iran
Role:
Ismaili missionary (Da’i)
Pir
Shams Sabzwari (also called Shamsuddin Sabzwari Multani) was an Ismaili
missionary who traveled extensively to spread the faith in regions including
Badakhshan, Tibet, Kashmir, Punjab, and India. He settled and is buried in
Multan, Pakistan.
Sources
of Confusion:
•
His name “Shams” and missionary work led to him
being confused with Shams Tabrizi in some South Asian traditions
•
His tomb in Multan has sometimes been
erroneously linked to Shams Tabrizi
•
He composed Ginans (devotional hymns) that
narrate his travels and spiritual teachings
Important
Distinction: No direct ties between Pir Shams and Rumi are documented.
Their lives barely overlapped, and they operated in different spiritual and
geographical spheres.
The “Embroiderer” Connection: How
the Confusion Began
The primary link
between the Ismaili Imam and Rumi’s teacher is a shared epithet that caused
historical biographies to blur over centuries.
The Transference of Identity
Research by scholars such as Shafique
Virani reveals that the epithet “zarduz” (the embroiderer) was originally
associated with Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad, who worked as an embroiderer
while living anonymously in Tabriz. This detail somehow transferred to
biographies of Shams Tabrizi, who was actually a weaver and basket-maker by
trade.
This transference indicates that
biographers may have conflated the two figures, transferring details from the
Ismaili Imam’s secretive life to the more famous Sufi mystic.
The Ismaili Perspective
Within the Ismaili tradition,
there exists a belief that Shams Tabrizi, the teacher of Rumi, was himself an
Ismaili. Aga Khan III is recorded to have stated at the Evian Conference
in 1952 that “Shams Tabriz was Ismaili,” while clarifying that “Rumi was not an
Ismaili though pupil of an Ismaili.” Some Ismaili sources also explicitly
describe him as an “Ismaili Iranian Sufi mystic.”
However, these claims do not
resolve the fundamental chronological issues:
•
Rumi was born in 1207 CE
•
Shams Tabrizi died in 1248 CE
•
Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad’s Imamate began in 1257
CE
What the Historical Sources Actually
Say
The Mainstream Academic View
The weight of historical
evidence clearly supports Shams Tabrizi as Rumi’s true spiritual
inspiration:
1.
Chronological Consistency: Shams Tabrizi
(1185–1248) was alive during Rumi’s formative period (Rumi was born in 1207),
while Imam Shamsuddin would have been too young or not yet born.
2.
Literary Evidence: Rumi’s Divan-i
Shams-i Tabrizi explicitly names Shams of Tabriz, and the poetry describes
their relationship in intimate detail.
3.
Geographical Consistency: Shams Tabrizi
was from Tabriz and traveled to Konya where he met Rumi, while Imam Shamsuddin
was associated with Azerbaijan and the Alamut region.
4.
Academic Consensus: Mainstream Persian
literary studies and historical sources consistently identify Shams Tabrizi as
Rumi’s teacher.
The Ginan Traditions: Pir Shams
Sabzwari
The Ginans
attributed to Pir Shams preserve memory, devotion, and identity—but not modern
historiography. His life story exists on a spectrum from plausible historical
reconstruction to hagiographic legend.
Most Reliable
Elements:
•
Missionary activity in Multan, Punjab, and Sindh
(strong historical grounding)
•
Use of vernacular languages (Sindhi, Multani,
Gujarati-like dialects)
•
Cultural adaptation of teaching (use of Indic
cosmology, Bhakti-style devotion)
•
Travel within northwestern India along
documented trade and pilgrimage routes
Legendary
Elements:
•
Journeys to Tibet and remote Himalayas (no
Tibetan or Central Asian sources mention him)
•
Miraculous conversions and supernatural acts
(standard hagiographic motifs)
•
The “Fourteen Regions” mission (likely symbolic
of universality rather than literal travel)
•
The famous Gujarat Navratri Garbi episode
(plausible but stylized—Pir Shams allegedly joined Hindu festival dances,
composed 28 garbis, and converted participants)
Separating Fact from Fiction
What We Can Say with Confidence
About Shams Tabrizi and Rumi:
•
Shams Tabrizi (d. 1248) was Rumi’s
spiritual teacher
•
Their meeting in Konya (c. 1244)
transformed Rumi’s life and work
•
Rumi’s Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi stands as
testament to their relationship
•
Shams Tabrizi was likely a Sufi mystic, possibly
with Ismaili connections (according to some traditions), but distinct from the
Ismaili Imam
About Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad:
•
He was the 28th Nizari Ismaili Imam (1257–1310)
•
He lived in concealment in Tabriz and Azerbaijan
•
He was known as “Zarduz” (the embroiderer)
•
He was not Rumi’s teacher
(chronologically impossible)
•
He may have been a contemporary of Rumi for the
last 16 years of Rumi’s life (1257–1273), but there is no evidence of direct
contact
About Pir Shams Sabzwari:
•
He was an Ismaili missionary active in South
Asia
•
He composed Ginans that blend Islamic and Indic
spiritual concepts
•
He is buried in Multan, Pakistan
•
He had no documented relationship with
Rumi
The Source of Confusion
The conflation of these figures results from:
1. Similar names: All three are called “Shams”
(Arabic for “sun”)
2. Tabriz connections: Both Shams Tabrizi and
Imam Shamsuddin were associated with Tabriz
3. Sufi-Ismaili overlaps: Imam Shamsuddin
disguised himself as a Sufi mystic 4. Transfer of biographical details:
The “embroiderer” epithet moved from the Imam to the Sufi mystic in later accounts
5. Hagiographic expansion: Communities often
magnify founding figures, leading to legendary accounts that obscure historical
facts
Conclusion
The evidence overwhelmingly supports Shams
Tabrizi (1185–1248) as the historical figure who inspired Rumi. The
chronological impossibility of Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad (c. 1230–1310)
serving as Rumi’s teacher, combined with the explicit dedication of Rumi’s Divan-i
Shams-i Tabrizi to the mystic from Tabriz, makes the case clear.
The confusion between these figures is a rich
example of how history, hagiography, and oral tradition can intertwine over
centuries. The Ismaili Imam’s life and epithet became entangled with the
biography of Rumi’s famous teacher, while Pir Shams Sabzwari’s missionary work
in South Asia created additional layers of confusion.
For readers of Elif Shafak’s The Forty Rules
of Love, the novel draws on the established tradition of Shams Tabrizi as
Rumi’s teacher. While the book takes creative liberties, it follows the
mainstream historical narrative rather than the Ismaili Imam theory.
The “forty rules” themselves are attributed to
Shams Tabrizi in the novel, reflecting the traditional association of these
spiritual teachings with the famous Sufi master. Whether these rules
historically originated with Shams Tabrizi or represent later Sufi wisdom
compiled under his name, they capture the essence of the transformative
relationship that changed Rumi—and through him, millions of readers across
centuries.
Key Timeline for Reference:
•
1185: Shams Tabrizi born in Tabriz
•
1207: Rumi born in Balkh
•
1244: Rumi meets Shams Tabrizi in Konya
•
1248: Shams Tabrizi dies in Khoy
•
1256: Fall of Alamut; Imam Rukn al-Din Khurshah
surrenders to Mongols
•
1257: Imam Rukn al-Din Khurshah executed; Imam
Shamsuddin Muhammad begins Imamate
•
1273: Rumi dies in Konya
•
1310: Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad dies
•
1356: Pir Shams Sabzwari dies in Multan
Sources: Academic Persian literature
studies, Ismaili historical texts (including Noorum Mubin), Ginanic traditions,
and scholarly works by Shafique Virani, Asani, and Nanji.
