The specificities of how this transference occurred, however, are not yet known. The transference of the epithet to the biography of Rumi’s mentor suggests that this Imam’s biography must have been known to Shams-i TabrÄ«zī’s biographers. This however, is not the occupation listed by Haji Bektash Veli in the MaqÄlat and was rather the epithet given to the Ismaili Imam Shams al-din Muhammad, who worked as an embroiderer while living in anonymity in Tabriz. Despite his occupation as a weaver, Shams received the epithet of “the embroiderer†(zarduz) in various biographical accounts including that of the Persian historian Dawlatshah. Before meeting Rumi, he apparently traveled from place to place weaving baskets and selling girdles for a living. Shams received his education in Tabriz and was a disciple of Baba Kamal al-Din Jumdi. However, various scholars have questioned Aflaki’s reliability. Apparently basing his calculations on Haji Bektash Veli’s MaqÄlÄt (Conversations), Aflaki suggests that Shams arrived in Konya at the age of sixty years. In a work entitled ManÄqib al-‘arifÄ«n (Eulogies of the Gnostics), Aflaki names a certain ‘Ali as the father of Shams-i TabrÄ«zÄ« and his grandfather as Malikdad. LifeĪccording to Sipah Salar, a devotee and intimate friend of Rumi who spent forty days with him, Shams was the son of the Imam Ala al-Din. The tomb of Shams-i TabrÄ«zÄ« was recently nominated to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He was an engaging speaker whose words were both simple and profoundly moving. Tradition holds that Shams taught Rumi in seclusion in Konya for a period of forty days, before fleeing for Damascus. Hazrat Shams left a single work in prose known as Maqalat (Discourses) which reveal him to be highly proficient in philosophy, theology and spirituality. He is credited for wholly transforming Mawlana Rumi’s life and thought after arriving in Konya in 642/1244. Shams al-Din Mohammad bin Ali bin Malik-e Dad or Shams al-Din Tabrizi (meaning “the Sun of Faith from Tabriz”) was a Persian Sufi saint who is best known for his intense spiritual relationship with Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi. Weaver, Poet, Philosopher | spiritual instructor of MewlÄnÄ JalÄl ad-DÄ«n Muhammad Balkhi, Shams al-Din Tabrizi (1185 - 1245)