'' Rumi and Mary '...

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The great medieval Muslim mystic and poet, Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273), interpreted the birth of Jesus as an allegory of the soul. Rumi was born in Balkh in northern Afghanistan, but his family fled the Mongol invasions and settled in Konya in what is now Turkey. Rumi was a refugee child. Anatolia had been Byzantine territory and in Rumi’s time Konya still had a substantial Greek-speaking Christian population that celebrated Christmas all around him. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Both the Christian and the Muslim traditions honor Mary the mother of Jesus and it was natural that Rumi should think about the spiritual significance of the Nativity.discussed last year, the Qur’an tells the story of the virgin birth in Chapter 19, entitled “Mary.” ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' The Chapter of Mary, 19:16-23, says (my interpretation): ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' And mention in the Book Mary, when she withdrew from her family to an eastern place. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' And once remote from them, she hid behind a screen. Then we sent to her our spirit, who took the shape of a well-formed man. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' She said, “I take refuge in the All-Merciful from you, if you are pious.” ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' He said, “I am but an angel of your lord, come to bestow on you a son without blemish.” ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' She said, “Will I have a son, when no mortal has touched me, and I was not rebellious?” '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' He said, “So it is.” He said, “Your Lord says, it is easy for me. We will make him a sign for the people and a mercy from us. The matter has already been decreed.” ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' So she bore him, and withdrew with him to a remote place. And the pangs of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, “I wish I had died before now, and had been forgotten in oblivion.” Rumi in chapter 5 of his Arabic treatise “In it What is In It,” translated by AJ Arberry as “Discourses of Rumi,” makes this mention of the pangs of childbirth his starting point for considering the spiritual message of this event. I will interpret from the original Arabic text.