The Forty Rules of Love
By Elif Shafak
Published Year: 2011
Page Count : 350 pages
Medium Used: Paperback
Genre : Mystical, Spiritual, Fiction, Rumi, Shams of Tabiz, Religion, Love, 2024-read.
Rating : 5/5 💝💝💝💝💝
Disclaimer : Some Spoilers from the book mentioned here!
I just wrapped this up and I couldn't imagine putting myself in the shoes of either of the main characters. They had both experienced a truly, unique kind of spiritual love with people they couldn't hold onto. Needless to say, my emotional state is in a turmoil and nerves are strung raw.
This is a very complex book with layers upon layers of wisdom and spiritual guidance. The author has tried to simplify and make us understand what it means to look at the world - all flawed and filled not only with saints but also with drunks, robbers, murderers and prostitutes - through eyes of acceptance and open hearted love. She shows through the experiences of two people - Rumi of 13th century Konya, Baghdad and Ella of 21st century Northampton, USA - what it means to share a deep, spiritual bond with a lover and lose them, thus plummeting into a vortex of eternal and endless yearning, longing.
Ella is a married woman with three children. She had been married for twenty years and sticks to her husband despite his extramarital affairs and flings. She doesn't confront him because she doesn't want to rock her boat. She is - or tries to be - happy and content with her routine and cooking. This is until her path crosses with an author Aziz, whose book called Sweet Blasphemy, she starts to read. The book takes her back to the 13th century and as she reads chapter over chapter of the life and interactions of Shams of Tabriz and Rumi, her perspective of life and what it means to base actions on love undergo a process of transformation. She connects with the author and as they exchange mails, they fall deeply in love. Their story resonates with that of the Shams of Tabriz and Rumi from 13th century. Shams of Tabriz is a sufi, dervish traveler. He has traveled the world for a long time and has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. He seeks for a disciple who is his perfect companion. Rumi is a scholar and preacher whose ways are set and is also in search of a companion with whom his sense of inner void is filled. When Shams of Tabriz and Rumi accommodate each other and become like twin mirrors reflecting each other to infinity, they become as one unit vibrating with intense spiritual force. Despite the scandals and enemies that Shams of Tabriz makes with his straight forward and outspoken nature, he imparts his wealth of wisdom to Rumi and prophesies that he would one day turn into a great poet. Their bond is pure and untarnished. Shams of Tabriz also has a transformative effect on several downtrodden and oppressed people in the society. Through his actions and teachings, he opens up the heart and soul of Rumi into unconditional acceptance. He makes the scholar with left brained reasoning into a poet with right brained activity.
I liked all the different people,their inner dialogue and experiencing the story unfold from their points of view. This had a really cinematic and triggering effect on me. I wanted to keep experiencing Shams of Tabriz as a prostitute would or as a killer or as a student and all his interactions, teachings made me think deeper. A great book for all those who are spiritually inclined. Although sufism and this book are dominantly Muslim oriented, I felt the teachings transcend the religious boundaries and apply to those of any religion. They apply to all seekers of God and the ultimate truth.
I felt that all the actions of Shams of Tabriz are irreproachable..except the one where he drove his young and devoted wife to her early death through his insipid and rigid adherence to virtue. I think a man with such wisdom should have known better and abstained himself from marrying in the first place. Or found a way to appease his wife's young, fluttering heart in other ways.
Really liked the book. I only regret reading this in a pirated copy. I feel the title doesn't make justice to the content. It should have been named something else.. a little more apt to the subject matter. Like rules of spiritual growth or rules of unconditional loving etc. Overall, a fantastic book! Taking first step is the most difficult and takes a leap of faith but after that the ball is in the court of God. Such invaluable gems of wisdom!
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