This Friday, I attended an event hosted by the Muslim Students Association (MSA) entitled Rumi: Divine Love. It was a lecture by Ustadh Feraidoon Mojadedi about the relationship between Rumi and his teacher Shams of Tabrez. The event promised to “examine a number of Rumi’s poems in hopes that we can learn a thing or two from his ancient wisdom, and divine love.”

Rhoads Dining Hall had been decked out in beautiful fairy lights. At the back was an assortment of cookies, a perk I took full advantage of.

Gradually the audience began to trickle in, a significant number of whom had come all the way over from Philadelphia.

The event opened to Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore who recited poetry he wrote describing his various experiences in Islam.

After Mr. Moore, Ustadh Mojadedi took the stage to deliver the lecture he had prepared.

He argued that the form the message appears in is just as important as the message itself. The form is what sets the ground for the way the content is to be understood. It provides a framework for the content to exist in, without which the content would be meaningless.

Essentially, that form has meaning.

In scripture, enlightenment and knowledge aren’t strewn across the text haphazardly, for the reader to encounter out of sheer coincidence. Their introduction follows a certain rhyme, a certain reason.

And it is the job of the reader to tease that out of the text, much in the same way Rumi had to tease out knowledge from Shams.

The evening inevitably led to a lot of conversation once the event had ended, a good way to start the weekend.