Story Night - The Encounters of Shams Tabrizi & Me

Rumi was born in the early thirteenth century, in what is now Afghanistan. He later settled in Konya, in present-day Turkey, with his family. His father was a preacher and religious scholar, and he introduced Rumi to Sufism. Rumi continued his theological education in Syria, where he studied the more traditional legal codes of Sunni Islam, and later returned to Konya as a seminary teacher. There, he met an elder traveller, Shams-i-Tabriz, who became his mentor.

Many versions describe the meeting of Rumi with his guide, but according to one of the most interesting ones, Rumi was reading with a huge pile of books by his side when Shams Tabrizi passed by him. He asked Rumi what he was doing, to which he gave a nonchalant reply saying, “Something you cannot understand.”

Upon hearing this, Shams threw all the books in the nearby pool. But when Rumi picked them up from there, the books were all dry to his sheer surprise. Shocked, when Rumi asked the mysterious man about it, he said, “This is what you cannot understand.”

Shaykh Abdul Aziz Ahmed Fredericks was born in Nottingham in the United Kingdom where he completed his schooling before moving to Leicester for University studies. He completed a BEd degree in primary education specialising in Language Arts. He then went on to carry out post-graduate studies in Education at various universities including the London University Institute of Education, Strathclyde University and the Open University. Read More

Storytelling has been a means of conveying knowledge for many cultures since the creation of man.

Stories engage our thinking, and our emotions, and can even lead to the creation of mental imagery, the audience listening to stories react to them almost automatically, participating, in a sense, in the action of the narrative.

We aim to reintroduce this lost art to our communities through our monthly story night which will feature a range of different speakers and a range of different themes, join us for the first event of our Monthly Story Night Series, where Shaykh Abdul Aziz Fredricks will be going through the true life of Rumi. It will be in a relaxed, open environment, and of course, light refreshments will be provided.

Date: 17th December 2022

Time: 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Free Event | Open to Brothers & Sisters | Light Refreshments Served

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Madina Institute & Masjid Community Hub, Jackson Street, Oldham, United Kingdom