The illuminating story of the first meeting between Mevlana Rumi and Hazrat Shams Tabrezi! ( A thread)

In the marketplace of Konya, amid the cotton stalls, sugar vendors, and vegetable stands, Rumi rode through the street, surrounded by his students.

Shams caught hold of the reins of his donkey and challenged the master with two questions. “Who was the greater mystic, Bayazid [a Sufi saint] or Prophet Muhammad?” Shams demanded.

"What a strange question! Incomparably, Muhammad is greater than all the Prophets and Saints," Rumi replied.

"So, why is it then that Muhammad said to God, ‘I didn’t know you as I should have,’ while Bayazid proclaimed, ‘Glory be to me! How exalted is my Glory! ?"

Mevlana Rumi explained that Muhammad was the greater of the two, because Bayazid could be filled to capacity by a single experience of divine blessings. He lost himself completely and was filled with God's blessings.

Prophet Muhammad’s capacity was unlimited and could never be filled. His desire was endless, and he was always yearning. With every moment he came closer to God, and then regretted his former distant state. For that reason he said, “I have never known you as I should have.”

It is recorded that after this exchange of words, Rumi felt a window open at the top of his head and saw smoke rise to heaven. He cried out, fell to the ground, and lost consciousness for one hour.

Shams, upon hearing these answers, realized that he was face to face with the object of his longing, the one he had prayed God to send him. When Rumi awoke, he took Shams’s hand, and the two of them returned to Rumi’s school together on foot, secluding themselves for 40 days

In Rumi's poetry Shams becomes a Qutub (Perfect Guide) of Allah's (Creator) love for mankind; Shams was a sun ("Shams" means "Sun" in Arabic) shining the Light of Sun as guide for the right path evading darkness For Rumi's heart, mind & body on earth.

The relationship between Mevlana Rumi & Hazrat Shams Tabrez is distorted by Orientalists who portray them as lovers. Hazrat Shams was a spiritual guide (Murshid) of Hazrat Rumi who transferred all his knowledge into the heart of Rumi & transformed him into the great Mevlana.

In the world of Sufism, it is firmly accepted that there is No Guide (Murshid) Greater than Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and no greater disciple (Mureed) than Khalifat tur RasulAllah Sayyidna Abu Bakr Sideeq RadiAllah Anhu who is the most superior man after the Prophets Alahim Salam.

Mevlana Rumi says about his relationship with Hazrat Shams Tabrezi:

Maulvi could never be Maula E Rum
if he had not devoted himself to Shams Tabrizi

And it must be understood that all Saints are given Sainthood by the bestowal and favour of grace by Sayyidna RasulAllah Muhammad ﷺ who is God's Beloved and the leader of all Creation. All Saints were lovers of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ & believed that they were dust on his pure path.

Source of story: Masnavi by Mevlana Jalal Ud Din Rumi