The Life and Thoughts of Shams-i TabriziA Review Based on His Method of Teaching

Shams-i Tabrizi is one of the great mystics and great thinkers of his day, but until today and about two or three decades ago, he did not hold a prominent place in the history of Sufism except in the circle of Mulānā Jalāl-al Din Rumī and his companions. Our information about him is limited to Maqalat-e Shams-e Tabrizi (Discourse of Shams-i Tabrizi) and the sources that have written about his acquaintance with Rumī. It is only in Maqalat-e Shams-e Tabrizi that we get more detailed information about his life. One of remarkable thing about him is his teaching method. As it is clear from the sources, he used to teach children Qurān. His methods of teaching are different from the principles of modern education. They address two issues. First, to a certain extent, they refer to the methods of education of children in the seventh century AH; second, they show Shams-i Tabrizi method of education in great detail. His method of educating children is in line with his world-view and his critical and explicit approach. In the section of Shams-i Tabrizi's biography, the present essay used books and articles and his personality was evaluated by the analysis of content.