A Study of Sufi Poet Rumi’s Thought on "Desire"

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273) is a famous poet and one of the greatest Sufi scholars in the world of Islam, whose educational thought exerted far-reaching impact on later generations. With the Islamic principles of tawḥīd and wisal al-haqq in Sufism (al-Ṣūfiyya) as the basis, his literary creation centered upon a series of interrelated concepts--love, God, spirituality and “the perfect man” as the main themes. This article expounds on the spiritual significance of desire and the way to find truth, as well as the importance of self-control in the pursuit of self-perfection through analyzing relevant poems in his work. Knowledge of the relationship between "desire" and "the perfect man" will help to promote the understanding of Rumi’s thought among nations and contribute to social development in world civilizations.