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

2. Rumi asks the reader to welcome all __________ in one's life, even the ones which are negative.
(a) People.
(b) Lessons.
(c) Animals.
(d) Emotions.

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

4. __________ in the presence, at the price of one's life, is a bargain, according to one of the poems of Rumi.
(a) Singing.
(b) Kneeling.
(c) Thinking.
(d) Kissing.

5. Barks talks in his commentary about the mysterious "________" in the poem, though he defines it differently.
(a) Bird.
(b) Color.
(c) You.
(d) Book.

Short Answer Questions

1. The robe of the teacher creates _________, according to Rumi, and the teacher also creates new life.

2. Shams comes down from the ___________, the poet says, and the readers will become the doorkeepers.

3. The poet has to ask Shams and _________ to help him, since he is partly within himself and partly outside of himself.

4. The poet describes _________ appearing at the footsteps of his teacher, in one of his poems in this section.

5. _________ are the wandering Sufis who laugh and love at everything, but they are in turmoil inside.

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens as the result of the spiritual journey that Shams and Rumi discuss?

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

3. What did the poet's teacher teach him to do, according to the writings of Rumi?

4. Why does the poet say that it is not necessary to grieve, according to the writings of Rumi?

5. When Shams asks about if the drop stays still in the ocean, what does he tell Rumi to do?

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

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

8. What is essential in the windows of one heart to another, according to the writings of Rumi?

9. How does Rumi describe the person named David in his writings and poems?

10. What happens as the result of surrendering to love, according to the writings of Rumi?

(see the answer keys)

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