Rumi

Why Cling

Why cling to one lifetill it is soiled and ragged?

The sun dies and diessquandering a hundred livedevery instant

God has decreed life for youand He will give another and another and another

-Rumi

Rumi's poetry forms the basis of much classical Iranian and Afghan music (Eastern-Persian, Tajik-Hazara music). Contemporary classical interpretations of his poetry are made by Muhammad Reza Shajarian,Shahram Nazeri, Davood Azad (the three from Iran) and Ustad Mohammad Hashem Cheshti (Afghanistan). To many modern Westerners, his teachings are one of the best introductions to the philosophy and practice of Sufism.

HarperCollins; First Edition edition (1996)