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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Rumi's poem begins by stating that this state of being is the only _______ of which he knows.
(a) Water.
(b) Peace.
(c) Death.
(d) Truth.

2. Rumi decided to answer that he wrote so much because no ________ came from the radiance inside of him.
(a) Peace.
(b) Truth.
(c) Words.
(d) Understanding.

3. When the poet talks about tearing down the ___________, he is talking about tearing down the self.
(a) Wall.
(b) Books.
(c) House.
(d) Rocks.

4. Shams comes down from the ___________, the poet says, and the readers will become the doorkeepers.
(a) Stone.
(b) Ledge.
(c) Roof.
(d) Window.

5. What images in the book does Barks say reflect the idea of openings within the world and in the poems?
(a) Doors.
(b) Windows.
(c) Cages.
(d) Birds.

Short Answer Questions

1. Rumi says that he does not regret love or passion, but owners everyone's __________, according to the writing.

2. The poet speaks of being locked in a _________ and of someone who brings him good and forgives him.

3. The poet says the reader is what every religion intends, urging _______ from love and from weeping.

4. The poets asks for a __________ to climb into the Friend, and the response is that this item is in the person's head.

5. Rumi uses the metaphor of tilling the soil to plant trees and roses for the way that one breaks up the __________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Barks ask a reader to do in relation to being in a state of spirituality?

2. What does the teacher say about speaking scripture, according to the writings of Rumi?

3. How does Rumi describe the idea of love in the last section of these poems?

4. What are the three ways in which Rumi could write, according to Shams?

5. What does Rumi have to say about the gamble of love and what does he urge the reader to do?

6. What happened as a result of Zuleikha loving Joseph so much that he became everything to her?

7. What does Barks say that openings are a place for, according to his commentary in this section?

8. What do the Sufis think about love and about its ability to help people, according to the book?

9. What does Rumi tell the reader to do in order to start their own spiritual journey, like Moses or Joseph did?

10. What happens during the chess game between Shams and Rumi, according to Barks?

(see the answer keys)

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