Mevlana Jalal al Din Rumi

Mevlana and the Mevlevi Order: The Mevlevi Order is an institution entirely founded on love and tolerance. Hazrat Mevlana is a master of love who taught us to love all creatures in the world for the sake of the Creator, and to speak of love to us. Mevlana met Shams i Tabrizi on November 15, 1244. In Shams, Mevlana saw "the existence of absolute perfection" and in his beauty, "the divine light." However, their companionship did not last long. Shams died suddenly. After Shams' death, Mevlana withdrew into seclusion for many years. In later years, Salahaddin Zerkubi and Hüsameddin Çelebi tried to fill the void left by Shams i Tabrizi. Mevlana, who summarized his life with the words "I was raw, I was cooked, I was burned," passed away on Sunday, December 17, 1273. According to Mevlana's will, Sadrettin Konevi was to lead the funeral prayer. However, Sadrettin Konevi, unable to bear the loss of his beloved Mevlana, fainted at the funeral. Therefore, Qadi Sirajuddin led the funeral prayer for Mevlana. Mevlana considered the day of his death as a day of rebirth. When he died, he would be reunited with his beloved, that is, God. For this reason, Mevlana called the day of his death "Shab i Arus," meaning wedding night or bridal night, and he bequeathed to his friends that they should not mourn or weep after his death.