Claim: Rumi was an influential scholar.
Evidence: Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī , also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī , Mevlânâ / Mawlānā -LRB- مولانا , `` our master '' -RRB- , Mevlevî / Mawlawī -LRB- مولوی , `` my master '' -RRB- , and more popularly simply as Rumi -LRB- 30 September 1207 -- 17 December 1273 -RRB- , was a 13th-century Persian Sunni Muslim poet , jurist , Islamic scholar , theologian , and Sufi mystic.
Rumi 's influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions : Iranians , Tajiks , Turks , Greeks , Pashtuns , other Central Asian Muslims , and the Muslims of South Asia have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy for the past seven centuries.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature , but also Turkish , Ottoman Turkish , Azerbaijani , as well as the literature of some other Turkic , Iranian , and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai , Urdu , Pashto , and Bengali.