Rumi Quotes
Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi was a thirteenth-century Persian poet, jurist, and Sufi mystic, born in what is now Afghanistan and settling at Konya in Anatolia. After his transformative encounter with the wandering dervish Shams of Tabriz, his teaching turned from formal scholarship to ecstatic poetry as the proper vehicle for the soul's love for the divine. The quotes below are attributed to Rumi, organized by topic.
Browse Rumi by topic
Rumi on Death
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“Argue not from the condition of common men, Stumble not at severity and mercy; For mercy and severity, joy and sorrow are transient And transient things die; God is heir of all.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 237 (Whinfield)
Rumi on Freedom
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“My soul is grown weary of Pharaoh and his tyranny, I desire the light of the countenance of Moses , son of ʿImran.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 141, Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz (Nicholson)
Rumi on God
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Attributed to Rumi:
“The lamps are different, but the Light is the same.”
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“The fault is in the one who blames. Spirit sees nothing to criticize.”
Timothy Freke, Rumi Wisdom: Daily Teachings from the Great Sufi Master (2000) -
“Then think not lowly of thy heart, though lowly, For holy is it and there dwells the holy, God’s presence-chamber is the human breast, Ah! happy spirit with such Inmate blest.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 176, Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz (Falconer) -
“Reason is like an officer when the King appears; The officer then loses his power and hides himself. Reason is the shadow cast by God; God is the sun.”
Masnavi | IV, Story 4 (tr. Whinfield) -
“O heart! weak follower of the weak, That thou shouldst traverse land and sea, In this far place that God to seek Who long ago had come to thee!”
Pebbles, Pearls and Gems of the Orient(1882) | "Presence", no. 519 (Alger. Words ascribed to Rabia) -
“Thought is an arrow shot by God into the air How can it stay in the air? It returns to God.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 91 (Whinfield) -
“Union exists beyond all thought and speech Between great Allah and the soul of each.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 137 (Whinfield)
Rumi on Happiness
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“If the sleeping spirit knew itself to be asleep, Whatever it might see, it would feel neither joy nor sorrow.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 244, Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz (Nicholson)
Rumi on Justice
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“The generous die but their kindness remains, O happy he who drove this chariot (of kindness), The unjust die and their injustice remains, Alas for the soul that commits deceit and fraud.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 196 -
“Whereas want of fidelity is shameful even in dogs, How can it be right in men? God Almighty himself makes boast of fidelity Saying 'Who is more faithful to his promise than we?'”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 33 (Whinfield)
Rumi on Knowledge
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“Kabir Helminski (ed.) The Rumi Collection: An Anthology of Translations (2000)”
He whose intellect overcomes his desire is higher than the angels; he whose desire overcomes his intellect is less than an animal. -
“Timothy Freke, Rumi Wisdom: Daily Teachings from the Great Sufi Master (2000)”
The fault is in the one who blames. Spirit sees nothing to criticize. -
“This discipline and rough treatment are a furnace to extract the silver from the dross. This testing purifies the gold by boiling the scum away.”
I, 232-3 (tr. Helminski, 1990) -
“I, 232-3 (tr. Helminski, 1990)”
This discipline and rough treatment are a furnace to extract the silver from the dross. This testing purifies the gold by boiling the scum away. -
“Fortunate is he who does not carry envy as a companion.”
I, 431 (tr. Helminski, 1990) -
“I, 431 (tr. Helminski, 1990)”
Fortunate is he who does not carry envy as a companion. -
“The idol of your self is the mother of all idols. To regard the self as easy to subdue is a mistake.”
I, 760-2 (tr. Helminski, 1990) -
“I, 760-2 (tr. Helminski, 1990)”
The idol of your self is the mother of all idols. To regard the self as easy to subdue is a mistake. -
“Dwell in the place where your companions are spiritual heroes, So that they may wash the foul soot from your [heart] Don't think about their faults, for they Will know about it before you think.”
Masnavi | "Advice to the Disciple and Aspirant" (tr. Gamard and Farhadi) -
“Ah, me! so poor, can I declare that friend, who never had another friend his like,—none, therefore, who could know his soul?”
Pebbles, Pearls and Gems of the Orient(1882) | "The Ineffable One", no. 493 -
“We used to be on the earth, ignorant of the earth, Ignorant of the treasure buried within it.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 39 (Whinfield)
Rumi on Life
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Attributed to Rumi:
“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”
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Attributed to Rumi:
“Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.”
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Attributed to Rumi:
“Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead, let life live through you.”
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“Thou wilt never more endure without the flame, when thou hast known the rapture of burning. If the water of life should come to thee, it would not stir thee from the flame.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 60, Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz (Nicholson)
Rumi on Love
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Attributed to Rumi:
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”
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Attributed to Rumi:
“What you seek is seeking you.”
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“Anyone in whom the troublemaking self has died, sun and cloud obey. As his heart is afire with knowledge and love, the sun cannot burn him.”
Masnavi | I, 3004-5 (tr. Helminski, 1990) -
“For love of our Almighty God, the Lord of all, Who would not die; a stock, a block, we needs must call.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 26 (Redhouse) -
“Alas for this life so light, beware of this slumber so heavy, O soul seek the Beloved, O friend seek the Friend O watchman be wakeful; it behoves not a watchman to sleep.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 88, Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz (Nicholson) -
“Every moment the voice of Love is coming from left and right We are bound for heaven; who has a mind to sight-seeing?”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 118, Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz (Nicholson) -
“'Twere better that the spirit which wears not true love as a garment Had not been; its being is but shame.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 248, Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz (Nicholson) -
“Prize not at all life that has passed without love, Love is the water of life: receive it in thy heart and soul.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | pp. 288–9, Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz (Nicholson) -
“If in thirst you drink water from a cup, you see God in it. Those who are not in love with God will see only their own faces in it.”
Masnavi | VI, 3640 (ed. Fadiman and Frager, 1997) -
“The fire of Love cooks me Every night it drags me to the Tavern. It seats me with the People of the Tavern So that no one except the People of the Tavern will know me.”
Masnavi | "The States of the Lover" (tr. Gamard and Farhadi) -
“'Tis slave-caressing thy love has practised, Else, where is the heart worthy of that love? Every heart that has slept one night in thine air Is like radiant day; thereby the air is illuminated.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 42, Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz (Nicholson) -
“O indestructible Love! O divine minstrel Thou art both stay and refuge; a name equal to thee I have not found.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 78, Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz (Nicholson) -
“If you desire that God may be pleasing to you, Then look at Him with the eyes of those that love Him. Look not at that Beauty with your own eyes, Look at that Object of desire with His votaries’ eyes.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 99 (Whinfield)
Rumi on Mind
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Attributed to Rumi:
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
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“He whose intellect overcomes his desire is higher than the angels; he whose desire overcomes his intellect is less than an animal.”
Kabir Helminski (ed.) The Rumi Collection: An Anthology of Translations (2000)
Rumi on Nature
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“Jesus, son of Mary, went to heaven and his ass remained below, I remain on the earth but my spirit has flown to the sky.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 135, Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz (Nicholson)
Rumi on Time
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“Our celestial spirit is free to eternity, Although for a short time we are imprisoned in forms of flesh.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 31, Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz -
“Ah! O crow, give up this life and live anew! In view of God’s changes cast away your life! Choose the new, give up the old, For each single present year is better than three past.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 122 (Whinfield) -
“Jesus , thy spirit, is present beside thee, Ask aid of Him for He is a sufficient helper.”
A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations(1911) | p. 135
Rumi on Truth
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“Seek truth from thought, not in mouldy books. Look in the sky to find the moon, not in the pool.”
Pebbles, Pearls and Gems of the Orient(1882) | "Knowledge and Wisdom", no. 121
Things actually not said by Rumi
A number of widely-shared lines are circulated as Rumi but are in fact from someone else. Did Rumi say these? No. Each entry below pairs the line with the person who actually wrote it.
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Did Rumi say this? No.
“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.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: Sy Safransky (ed.) Sunbeams: A Book of Quotations (1990) p. 67 | Often attributed to Rumi, but apparently by Abu Sa'id Abu'l-Khayr . The original poem in Farsi is: باز آ باز آ هر آنچه هستی باز آ گر کافر و گبر و بتپرستی باز آ این درگه ما درگه نومیدی نیست صد بار اگر توبه شکستی باز Variations: Come, c
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Did Rumi say this? No.
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but the actual source is Helen Schucman A Course. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: Helen Schucman A Course in Miracles (1976) Ch. 16: The Forgiveness of Illusions, p. 338, #6
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Did Rumi say this? No.
“Whenever we manage to love without expectations, calculations, negotiations, we are indeed in heaven.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: Elif Şafak, The Forty Rules of Love (2010) — The book is about Rumi, but the quote is the author's own words. [ citation needed ]
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Did Rumi say this? No.
“We carry inside us the wonders we seek outside us.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: The Tao of Dad: The Wisdom of Fathers Near and Far (2006) p. 62. Compare: Thomas Browne , Religio Medici (1643) pt. 1, sect. 15: "We carry within us the wonders we seek without us: there is all Africa and her prodigies in us.
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Did Rumi say this? No.
“I once saw in an office a plaque that suggested that before we open our mouths to speak, we should make our words pass through three gates: Is it true, is it kind, and is it necessary?”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: Donald Ernest and Vesta West Mansell, Sure As the Dawn (1993) p. 194 — Various sources attribute this saying to Rumi, although never to a specific work or correspondence. It may be a misquote of Sathya Sai . [ citation needed ]
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Did Rumi say this? No.
“Often attributed to Rumi, but apparently by Abu Sa'id Abu'l-Khayr . The original poem in Farsi is: باز آ باز آ هر آنچه هستی باز آ گر کافر و گبر و بتپرستی باز آ این درگه ما درگه نومیدی نیست صد بار اگر توبه [3] شکستی باز”
Variations: Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, idolator, worshipper of fire, come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times, Come, and come yet again. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Amin Malak, Muslim Narratives and the Discourse of English (2004) p. 151 Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshipper, lover of living, it doesn't matter Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come even if you have broken your vow a thousand times, Come, yet again, come, come. M. Fatih Citlak and Huseyin Bingul, Rumi and His Sufi Path of Love (2007) p. 81 Come, come again, whoever you are, come! Heathen, fire worshipper or idolatrous, come! Come even if you broke your penitence a hundred…
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Did Rumi say this? No.
“Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, idolator, worshipper of fire, come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times, Come, and come yet again. Ours is not a caravan of despair.”
Amin Malak, Muslim Narratives and the Discourse of English (2004) p. 151
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Did Rumi say this? No.
“Come, come again, whoever you are, come! Heathen, fire worshipper or idolatrous, come! Come even if you broke your penitence a hundred times, Ours is the portal of hope, come as you are.”
Martha Kneib, Turkey: A Primary Source Cultural Guide (2004)