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Rumi was born in 1207 in Wakhsh (present-day Tajikistan), in what is now Afghanistan. He frequently travelled throughout his life, due to the political turmoils of his era. After the Mongol invasion of Central Asia around 1215, Rumi’s family moved steadily westward. They visited Baghdad (in modern-day Iraq), Persia (modern-day Iran) and made a pilgrimage to Mecca. The family finally settled in Konya (modern-day Turkey)

Rumi was brought up in the Islamic faith and became well acquainted with the Quran. Rumi became a celebrated scholar and was admired for his learning. At the age of 25, Rumi took up a position as the Islamic Mmolvi of a madras in Konya. Although following the Sufi path, he became an Islamic jurist and gave sermons in the mosques of Konya.

However, his life changed when he met the wandering Sufi mystic Sham al-Din in 1244. This meeting had a profound impact on Rumi, he felt Sham to be a divinely inspired person, and he took him to be his Guru. Under the guidance of Shams, Rumi lost interest in the more cerebral academic studies and became enamoured of the way of the mystic – the path of the heart. Rumi became an ascetic and devoted to the unorthodox spiritual path.