In the Mathnawi ...

In the Mathnawi , when Rumi takes up the cudgel on behalf of personal experience against mere logic-chopping, he points to Razi as a representative of a class of people who want to enter the realm of religious truth, walking on the wooden legs of mere argumentation: “If dialectics alone could reveal the secrets of the spirit, Razi would have certainly reached them, but the feet of the dialectician are wooden and the wooden feet are most shaky.” It is said that Razi was so jealous of the popularity and prestige of Baha’ al-Din that he poisoned the mind of the monarch against him by insinuating that, if the influence of this preacher were allowed to develop indefinitely, he would wield a power that would surpass the power of the sovereign.

Autocratic rulers in Christendom as well as in Muslim kingdoms have often shown fearful jealousy of religious leaders, be they popes or priests. There is no wonder that Khwarizm Shah became apprehensive of the growing influence and prestige of Baha’ al-Din and his fears were fanned by the latter’s rivals in the religious field. It is quite possible that Baha’ al-Din left Balkh along with his whole family to forestall an adverse action against him.

But there is also another version about his motive to migrate. Shortly after he left Balkh the Tarter invasion over-whelmed the domains of Khwarizm Shah. It may be that Baha’ al-Din had seen that it was…