“If you wish mercy, show mercy to the weak.”
— Rumi, Rumi Daylight
Best Rumi Quotes
Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Rumi quotes.
“Fortunate is he who does not carry envy as a companion.”
— Rumi, Rumi Daylight
“When in Love,
body, mind, heart and soul don't even exist.”
— Rumi, Hush Don't Say Anything to God
“Were there no men of vision,
all who are blind would be dead.”
— Rumi, Rumi Daylight
“Love said to me,
there is nothing that is not me.
Be silent.”
— Rumi, Hush Don't Say Anything to God
“If you are irritated by every rub,
how will your mirror be polished?”
— Rumi, Rumi Daylight
“I always thought that
I was me — but no,
I was you
and never knew it.”
— Rumi, Hush Don't Say Anything to God
“If you dig a pit for others to fall into,
you will fall into it yourself.”
— Rumi, Rumi Daylight
“Love rests on no foundation.
It is an endless ocean,
with no beginning or end.”
— Rumi, Hush Don't Say Anything to God
“Many of the faults you see in others, dear reader,
are your own nature reflected in them.”
— Rumi, Rumi Daylight
“If you are wholly perplexed and in straits,
have patience, for patience is the key to joy.”
— Rumi, Rumi Daylight
“The branch might seem like the fruit's origin:
In fact, the branch exist because of the fruit.”
— Rumi, Teachings of Rumi
“The lion who breaks the enemy's ranks
is a minor hero
compared to the lion who overcomes himself.”
— Rumi, Rumi Daylight
“Even though you're not equipped,
keep searching:
equipment isn't necessary on the way to the Lord.”
— Rumi, Jewels of Remembrance
“The idol of your self is the mother of all idols.
To regard the self as easy to subdue is a mistake.”
— Rumi, Rumi Daylight
“They will ask you
what you have produced.
Say to them,
except for Love,
what else can a Lover produce?”
— Rumi, Hush Don't Say Anything to God
“Come, seek, for search is the foundation of fortune:
every success depends upon focusing the heart.”
— Rumi, Jewels of Remembrance
“As quoted in "Rumi and Self-Discovery" by Ibrahim Gamard, in Islamica Magazine Issue 15, (Summer 2005)”
— Rumi
“Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.”
— Rumi
“Come, come, whoever you are.Original / Translation (Arabic / Persian)“باز آ باز آ هر آنچه هستی باز آ گر کافر و گبر و بتپرستی باز آ این درگه ما درگه نومیدی نیست صد بار اگر توبه شکستی باز آhttp://ganjoor.net/abusaeed/robaee-aa/sh1/”English: “Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving — it doesn't matter, Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vow a hundred times, Come, come again, come.”
Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving — it doesn't matter,
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow a hundred times,
Come, come again, come.”
— Rumi
Rumi Quotes by Topic
Find exactly what you are looking for by browsing this categorized list of Rumi quotes by topic.
Rumi on Love 10 quotes
“Gamble everything for love,
if you are a true human being.”
— Rumi
Rumi on Poetry about love 9 quotes
“Gamble everything for love,
if you are a true human being.”
— Rumi
Rumi on Sufism 4 quotes
“Come, seek, for search is the foundation of fortune:
every success depends upon focusing the heart.”
— Rumi
“Reason is like an officer when the King appears;
The officer then loses his power and hides himself.
Reason is the shadow cast by God; God is the sun.”
— Rumi
“Love is the ark appointed for the righteous,
Which annuls the danger and provides a way of escape.
Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.
Cleverness is mere opinion, bewilderment intuition.
• Variant: Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.
Cleverness is mere opinion, bewilderment is intuition.”
— Rumi
Rumi on Silence 2 quotes
“Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking.
Live in silence.”
— Rumi
“Silence
is an ocean. Speech is a river.When the ocean is searching for you, don't walk
into the language-river. Listen to the ocean,
and bring your talky business to an endTraditional words are just babbling
in that presence, and babbling is a substitute
for sight.”
— Rumi
Rumi on Tranquility
“That which is false troubles the heart, but truth brings joyous tranquillity.”
— Rumi
What Rumi Said About Others
Discover personal opinions Rumi shared regarding contemporaries.
Rumi on Mansur Al-Hallaj 3 quotes
“From Hallaj, I learned to hunt lions, but I became something hungrier than a lion.”
— Rumi
“He says, "There’s nothing left of me. I’m like a ruby held up to the sunrise. Is it still a stone, or a world made of redness? It has no resistance to sunlight." This is how Hallaj said, I am God, and told the truth! The ruby and the sunrise are one. Be courageous and discipline yourself. Completely become hearing and ear, and wear this sun-ruby as an earring.”
— Rumi
“This is what is signified by the words Anā l-Ḥaqq, "I am God." People imagine that it is a presumptuous claim, whereas it is really a presumptuous claim to say Ana 'l-'abd, "I am the slave of God"; and Anā l-Ḥaqq, "I am God" is an expression of great humility. The man who says Ana 'l-'abd, "I am the servant of God" affirms two existences, his own and God's, but he that says Anā l-Ḥaqq, "I am God" has made himself non-existent and has given himself up and says "I am God", that is, "I am naught, He is all; there is no being but God's." This is the extreme of humility and self-abasement.”
— Rumi
Rumi on Women
Rumi on Saints
Rumi on Diogenes of Sinope
“Yesterday the wisest man holding a lit lantern in daylight was searching around town saying I am tired of all these beasts and brutes. I seek a true humanWe have all looked for one but no one could be found they saidYes he replied but my search is for the one who cannot be found.”
— Rumi
Quotes About Rumi
Gain deeper perspective through quotes about Rumi from others.
Reynold Alleyne Nicholson on Rumi
“Strange as it may seem to our Western egoism, the prospect of sharing in the general, impersonal immortality of the human soul kindles in the Sufi an enthusiasm as deep and triumphant as that of the most ardent believer in a personal life continuing beyond the grave. Jalaluddin, after describing the evolution of man in the material world and anticipating his further growth in the spiritual universe, utters a heartfelt prayer — for what? — for self-annihilation in the ocean of the Godhead.”
— Reynold Alleyne Nicholson
Alicia Ostriker on Rumi
“The idea that eroticism and spirituality should be separated is a travesty of both...Or read the great Persian poet Rumi...All mystical poetry is erotic, uses erotic language, because it desires fusion with God...all lovers see the beloved’s face and body as divine.”
— Alicia Ostriker
Disputed Quotes
Quotes attributed to Rumi that are questionable.
“Disputational knowing wants customers.
It has no soul.”
— Rumi
“Gamble everything for love,
if you are a true human being.”
— Rumi
Misattributed Quotes
Quotes mistakenly credited to Rumi.
“Before you speak, let your words pass through 3 gates; Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?”
— Rumi
“Whenever we manage to love without expectations, calculations, negotiations, we are indeed in heaven.”
— Rumi
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
— Rumi