In 1244 a man wrapped in a coarse black coat entered Konya and so into the life of Islam's most celebrated poet and mystic: Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi. A wanderer and spiritual vagabond, Shams of Tabriz proceeded to wrestle with Rumi's soul. What he wanted from his protege was for him to embody a wilder, more robust spirituality that would enable him to embrace life's rawness more completely than any saint had done in the past.

Warriors of Love is a fresh interpretation of a selection of 49 poems which were written by Rumi as metaphors for his love for God as well as for his friend...