'The Way of Love' is a gripping fictional account of the life of Sufi mystic Jalal-uddin Rumi, one of the world's most loved poets and teachers. Although there is no definitive biography of "Rumi", the basic events of his life are generally agreed upon. He was born in what is now Afghanistan in 1207, the son and grandson of respect Muslim scholars. He settled in Konya, the capital of Anatolia, and died there in 1273. The Mevlevi school of Sufism - famed for their whirling dance - was founded soon after his death. Perhaps less well known is the extraordinary relationship that inspired his poetry and teaching.
Rumi was 37, already a respected imam with a following of thousands, when a wandering dervish called Shams of Tabriz exploded into his life. Rumi immediately fell under the spell of this provocative, unorthodox spirit. To the alarm of his disciples, he suddenly closed the religious college where he taught, shut the doors of his house, and began what he called his apprenticeship of the heart.
'The Way of Love' charts this extraordinary and controversial friendship from their first meeting through a period of intense adoration to the tragic aftermath. Rumi's life was never the same after meeting Shams. By turns ecstatic and harrowing, his voyage of discovery teaches us in turn the true meaning of devotion.
