Shams Tabrizi
Spiritual instructor of Mewlānā Rumi · Writers · Lived 1185 to 1248 · aged 63
A wandering Persian dervish who walked into Rumi's life and upended it - then disappeared. The grief Rumi poured into verse after Shams vanished became some of the most ardent poetry in Islamic mysticism.
Shams Tabrizi is read about 932 times a day, in 39 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 13 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 400 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?People around Shams
Close ties
Media & music
Photos 8
Miniature of Shams Tabrizi by Hossein Behzad, dated 1957.jpg?width=1200)
A fine lacquered mirror case, school of Muhammad Isma'il, Qajar Iran, circa 1855-60 (cropped)
A fine lacquered mirror case, school of Muhammad Isma'il, Qajar Iran, circa 1855-60%2C_Qajar_Iran%2C_dated_1840-1841.jpg?width=1200)
A large portrait of Rumi's spiritual mentor, Shams-i Tabrizi (1185-1248), Qajar Iran, dated 1840-1841
Interior of Konya Panorama Museum 152248 06
Interior of Konya Panorama Museum 152248 07
Interior of Konya Panorama Museum 152248 08_meeting_Shams-i_Tabrizi._C%C4%81mi%CA%BF%C3%BC%E2%80%99s-siyer_of_Muhammed_Tahir%2C_Topkap%C4%B1_Palace_Museum_Library%2C_Istanbul%2C_H._1230%2C_fol._121a.jpg?width=1200)
Mawlana ("Rumi") meeting Shams-i Tabrizi. Cāmiʿü’s-siyer of Muhammed Tahir, Topkapı Palace Museum Library, Istanbul, H. 1230, fol. 121aIn their own words 10
, There may be one fault in a man that conceals a thousand qualities, or one excellence that conceals a thousand faults. The little indicates much.
Intellect takes you to the door, but it doesn't take you into the house.
The salat can be made up for, but there is no making up for false show or outward worship without presence.
About this person
Shams Tabrīzī was born in 1185, a Persian dervish whose name means nothing until it collides with another's. He met Rumi in Konya and taught him in seclusion for forty days - a span that rewired the older poet entirely. Then Shams fled to Damascus. Rumi's "Divan-i Shams-i Tabrīzī" is saturated with reverence and loss, the absence of the teacher becoming the subject itself. Shams died in 1248. His tomb was recently nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status, a belated institutional nod to a man who left no writings of his own, only the shape of what he took away.
