Rumi

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–1273) was a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, jurist, and Sufi mystic born in Khorasan (present-day Afghanistan). He spent most of his adult life in Konya (in present-day Turkey), where his spiritual transformation following the death of his teacher Shams of Tabriz unleashed one of history's most extraordinary creative outpourings. His major works include the Masnavi (a six-volume poem of over 25,000 verses) and the Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. Most English "Rumi quotes" are loose adaptations rather than precise translations — Coleman Barks' influential versions, while widely read, are paraphrases of the Persian originals. Rumi's poetry is now among the best-selling poetry in the United States, read both as spiritual literature and as psychology. Rumi lived 1207 – 1273.