Discuss the importance of Rumi's poetry in relation to the Sufi tradition

What will be an ideal response?

The great Sufi poets emphasize the pursuit of the beautiful, often in the form of a beautiful woman, or, in the case of Rumi, a beautiful man. However, such a pursuit is an allegory for, or figurative representation of, the pursuit of the beauty that is God. Rumi's poetry, especially the Mathnavi , an epic-length verse collection of mystical stories composed of some 27k,000 verse couplets, is considered the masterwork of the sufi tradition – "the Qur'an in Persian." The stories, which invariably end happily, illustrate God's limitless mercy toward humankind, and Rumi invokes the Qur'an's message of hope repeatedly; for Rumi hope is virtually synonymous with faith. The stories interpret the Qur'an in terms of human potential for mystical union with God.