Rumi was a Muslim, a Sufi, indeed, and, therefore, a Muslim. The examples of his writing contained in this book refer at times to the Quran and to Muhammad, whom he calls, "the prophet." To the disunified, pagan world of syncretic religion, found throughout the Arabian peninsula in the seventh century, Muhammad (believed by Muslims to have been inspired by God to speak the words of the Quran) had brought a message of monotheism, a message of iconoclasm, a message attempting to unite Jews and Christians by tweaking the Christian message to make it more palatable to Jews and cutting the content of Judaism in order to appeal to Christians. Muhammad had achieved his goal of uniting warring tribes by preaching peace, carrying a big sword, and "encouraging" allegiance to himself as an allegiance to God (Quran, Surah 48:10). In the eclectic populace of Arabia, Muhammad had encouraged this allegiance by prodding pagans and faltering Jews and Christians into a form of monotheism removed from the breadth and depth of post-Temple Judaism's mystical tradition, disconnected from the mystical theology and liturgical richness of Altar-centered Christianity, and free of the inhuman imagery, moral relativism, and shifting allegiances of pagan syncretism.

Nevertheless, even at its inception, Islam was not void of a mystical form of spirituality. Sufi mystical tradition, in which Rumi participated, traces its spiritual practices back to Muhammad and his first converts. Existing in both Sunni and Shia Islam, Sufism is not a distinct sect, but rather a spiritual approach that seeks to go beyond rudimentary requirements of the religion out of love for God to find a "way and a means of the soul out into the domain of the pure arid unimprisonable Spirit which itself opens out on to the Divinity" (Martin Lings, WHAT IS SUFISM? [Lahore: Suhail Academy {2005}], p.15). As a mystic and ascetic aspect of Islam, Sufism is considered as the part of Islamic teaching that deals with the purification of the inner self. By focusing on the more spiritual aspects of religion, Sufis strive to obtain direct experience of God by making use of "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to use.

Though the means of approach toward God may be different in Sufism and Orthodox Christianity, the intent to experience God and be united with Him in love seems to be a point of commonality. It is in acknowledgement of this similar intent that the writings of Rumi can be understood to reflect some aspects of the Orthodox Christian Way and therefore be something with which an Orthodox Christian can relate. Reading and becoming conversant in the writings of Rumi can help to create an appreciation for the spiritual yearning of Muslims and serve as the basis for honest dialogue with our Muslim friends regarding their spiritual path and the Way of Christ in which we struggle to enter and remain through ongoing repentance through the enablement of Divine Grace. ( )