The numerical value of the word thānī (indicating the year of his birth) on Burhān al-Dīn’s gravestone is 561/1166 (Gölpınarlı, Mevlânâ, 47). As a young man, Burhān went to Balkh and became a disciple of Rūmī’s father Bahāʾ al-Dīn Walad (q.v.) (Sulṭān Walad, Walad-nāmah, 187). His aptitude for the Sufi path was such that he was able to grasp many of its subtleties, despite having only served for forty days under Bahāʾ al-Dīn Walad (Sipahsālār, 172; Aflākī, 1/71, see also 2/1013). According to some authors, including ʿAbd al-Wahhāb Hamadānī in his Thawāq…