The Role of Ala'eddin Mohammad in Rumi's Life and Its Hidden Reflection in Mathnavi

In contrast to his brother, Sultan Valad, who was similar to his father in terms of both acts and words and passed the stages of spiritual journey under his supervision, Ala'eddin Mohammad, the eldest son of Rumi, took a different path from the very beginning. He joined the opposition camp, and encountered with Shams Tabrizi, such that he began to be the enemy of his father and his spiritual lover. It is even said that he was among the suspects of the possible murder of Shams. No matter what the truth is, one thing is certain, and that is the son did not play any positive role in the father's life, and after Rumi, his children and grandchildren were all expelled from the Ahfad dynasty and Rumi's relative descendants. It is obvious that the opposition chorus by Ala'eddin against Molavi and Shams Tabrizi cost Rumi heavily, so that the behavior of the son created such a frustrating anxiety in the mind and heart of Rumi. Fearing that too many family secrets would not be revealed, which would stain the prestige and the scientific and spiritual credit of Rumi, he very probably suppressed many of these anxieties. Naturally, these suppressed complexes are revealed in a secret and hidden form from the unconscious of Rumi in his imaginary narrations of Masnavi. While we cannot see a trace of Sultan Valad in these narrations, the negative impacts of the behavior of Ala'eddin Mohammad are reflected in some parts of the text. This study refers to the historical documents and the prose texts of Rumi, including Maktubat that has highly valuable information, and explores the hidden image of Ala'eddin and the way Rumi viewed this "disowned" son.