It is said that once upon a time Yunus Emre and Jelaluddin Rumi met. Both were highly realised Sufis, and both were poets proclaiming the power of Divine love, but in many ways they were quite different. Rumi wrote in Persian, and his influence was naturally felt in the well educated classes, whereas Yunus wrote in Turkish, and his poems were sung and celebrated by peasants and herdsmen.

When they met, Yunus was asked his opinion of the Masnavi, Jelaluddin Rumi’s six-volume masterpiece, regarded by many as the greatest piece of mystical poetry ever written.

“Well,” said Yunus, “it’s a little long. I would have written it differently.”

“Oh?” said Jelaluddin, “How would you have done it?”

“I would have written: I came from eternity, clothed myself with skin and bone, and called myself ‘Yunus.'”