STUDY OF RUMI'S WORKS BY FEMALE SCHOLARS.

Annemarie Schimmel has been one of the most sensitive Western interpreters of Rumi for many years. Her masterfully concise and highly readable book, published for the first time in English, discusses the religious and cultural foundations of Rumi's Sufism and the dominant strands of his imagery. Schimmel shows how Rumi's work, although timeless and with enduring cross-cultural appeal, must ultimately be understood as part of the larger Islamic mystical tradition, albeit as an expression of that tradition that remains unrivaled in its beauty and depth. Jalaluddin Rumi can only be described through excellence. After all, Rumi is the most famous and perhaps the greatest representative of the mystical tradition in Islam. The Masnavi, Rumi's longest and most fully realized poetic work, survives in the eastern lands of Islam. Perhaps even more surprisingly, at least for those not already familiar with his works, Rumi is also often cited as the most widely read poet in the world today. The richness of his language and his insightful spiritual understanding of the divine mean that Rumi has an enduring ability to transport readers across any culture, Islamic or otherwise.