The Forty Rules of Love

The night before Shams meets Rumi, Shams thinks about the meeting to come. He remarks upon the importance of knowing oneself because knowing oneself brings one closer to God. He thinks of himself as a conduit between the underbelly of the world and Rumi, and destined to represent the world to Rumi.

Riding through the streets on horseback, Rumi is approached by Shams. Shams asks Rumi to name which person was more holy—a famous mystic or the Prophet Muhammad. Rumi is taken aback by the question but the two debate before the crowd and come to equally respect one another. Rumi suddenly realizes that Shams is the man from his dream but instead of feeling joy, he is struck with a sense of dread.

Ella thinks about the ways that she and Aziz are different. While Ella believes that religion is the root of discord in the world, she respects Aziz’s spirituality and the way that it seems to create a place at the table for everyone. She also is struck by his focus on the present, while she is often overwhelmed by planning for the future.

Aladdin, Rumi’s son, returns home after hearing about Rumi’s encounter with Shams and is perturbed by their meeting and the fact that Shams is staying in their home. Shams and Rumi retreat into Rumi’s study for forty days, during which time Aladdin tries to eavesdrop on their conversations, but to no avail. Aladdin’s older brother advises Aladdin to mind his business and respect his father but Aladdin is resentful. One the fortieth day, with Aladdin sitting outside the door of the study, Shams tells Rumi that Aladdin’s heart is “darkened with envy” (162). Irate, Aladdin bursts in and is rude to Shams before Rumi sends Aladdin away to think about his actions.

Rumi describes the seven stages on the Path to Truth, a topic that relates to Shams’s question about the Sufi mystic and the Prophet. After recounting the stages, Rumi realizes that Shams’s question was really about how far Rumi would go—how much of himself he would eschew—in order to be closer to God.

Kerra, Rumi’s second wife, thinks with envy about all of the books in Rumi’s study and how she wished she was able to study them. She recounts a time she was cleaning the study and Rumi asked her to stay out of it; now, with Shams and Rumi holed up in the library, Kerra feels that old resentment bubble up once more.

Kimya, Rumi’s adopted daughter, relays the story of how she came to live with him. When she was 12, Kimya’s family encountered a hermit who recognized her gifts—the ability to see and converse with ghosts—and encouraged her to find Rumi and study with him. Upon meeting Rumi, Kimya met the ghost of his first wife and the subsequent conversation about his wife proved Kimya’s gifts to Rumi. Kimya moved in with the family and became close with Rumi’s eldest son and was treated better by Kerra than her own mother. The chapter ends with Kimya saying that she never regretted coming to Konya until Shams showed up.

Ella thinks about the complicated situation she is in: she is supposed to be writing a review of Aziz’s book for the literary agent and keeping that from Aziz while flirting with him via email and over the phone, while at the same time keeping the content of those conversations from the literary agency. It seems as though Ella’s home life is improving almost accidentally: Jeanette and Scott break up and move on and her husband is paying more attention to her. Ella becomes more focused on her own life than her relationship with David.

Kerra despairs that she feels as though she does not know her husband anymore, given his new camaraderie with Shams. She feels distant from him and reflects upon their relationship prior to Shams’s arrival, and how she felt as though Rumi would always stand by her. She thinks back to their marriage and her conversion from Christianity, as well as the secret she is keeping—that she often prays to the Virgin Mary for guidance. Kerra takes solace in the fact that Shams is a wandering dervish and will not be around for long, but she is clearly eager for things to go back to normal, and to have her husband back.

This chapter focuses on Shams’s reflections prior to his studies with Rumi. He remarks upon the interconnected nature of the world and the need to dwell in the present, using examples from the Qua’ran to support his thoughts. The chapter ends with Shams quoting Rumi: “‘Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi or zen. Not any religion or cultural system. I am not of the East, nor of the West […] My place is placeless, a trace of the traceless’” (182).

After finishing her editorial report on Sweet Blasphemy, Ella thinks about the fact that she doesn’t know what Aziz looks like. She emails him a picture of herself and receives one in return. Ella realizes that she finds him attractive and wonders what it would be like to kiss him. She also notices that his looks resemble the way that Aziz describes Shams, in his novel, and wonders if Aziz based Shams’s looks off of his own, or if the two men are somehow connected by history. She also realizes she does not know much about Aziz’s personal life.

Baybars thinks about all of the wars being waged around the world, particularly the Crusades and those fought by the Mongols. He views the Mongols as the most dangerous of all armies. Baybars thinks that Rumi and Shams want Muslims to be weak and passive and not to fight back. Baybars believes this kind of rhetoric to be toxic and is not in the best interest of the Muslim people.

Ella and Aziz exchange emails with Ella asking Aziz if he is Shams or if Shams is him. Aziz answers that Shams was a historical figure and cites one of his teachers, provoking Ella to ask who this teacher was. The chapter ends with Ella saying she has “plenty of time” to hear about Aziz’s life (191).

Rumi opines about his love for Shams and how it is not understood by the people of Konya or by his family, for that matter; when asked to explain why he feels so deeply for the eccentric dervish, Rumi finds it impossible to put into words. The chapter ends with Rumi saying that he does not expect the outside world to understand his love for Shams because they are not him and thus cannot comprehend his feelings.

Kimya feels heartbroken that Rumi no longer provides lessons for her now that Shams is around. She is torn between feeling bitter that Shams has pulled Rumi away from her and wanting to get to know Shams better, in order to try to understand the bond between Shams and Rumi. Befuddled with a question one afternoon, Kimya goes looking for Rumi but finds Shams in his place. They have a conversation about the place of women in the Qur’an. Shams tells Kimya that men and women have both manliness and womanliness inside of them; as he explains this, he caresses her face and Kimya feels an attraction toward him. After he sends her away, she thinks about what it would be like to kiss Shams.

Sultan Walad, Rumi’s eldest son, is troubled by his younger brother Aladdin’s attitude toward their father. Sultan Walad recognizes that Aladdin feels left behind by Rumi and it is their father with whom he is truly angry, not Shams. Sultan Walad advises Aladdin to imagine their mother’s face in place of Shams and this seems to soften Aladdin a little; at the end of the chapter, however, Sultan Walad says he “felt confident that he would repair his relationship with Shams and the harmony in our house would soon be restored. Given the course of events that followed, I couldn’t have been more mistaken” (203).

One afternoon, while delivering lunch to Rumi and Shams, Shams asks Kerra how she made the bread. Surprised and irritated by the time Shams and Rumi have been spending together, Kerra asks Shams why he is interested, as he would be unable to make the bread anyway. Kerra thinks that this is the end of this until that afternoon, when Shams submerges some of Rumi’s most valuable books in the fountain. Irate, Kerra comes outside and chastises Shams before he removes one of the books from the water and it is perfectly dry. When she asks how he was able to do that, Shams retorts, “But why are you asking? Even if I told you how, you couldn’t do it” (205). Angry and embarrassed, Kerra runs away crying.

Rumi and Shams are in the woods discussing Rumi’s scholarship. Shams remarks that Rumi needs to get in touch with people from different walks of life, including drunks, beggars, prostitutes, and thieves, but tells him he will not do this through sermons; rather, he will do this through poetry. Rumi counters that he is not a poet but Shams tells him that he will be and that his words will be known far and wide. Rumi says that he thinks he will be able to do this with Shams there but Shams says he will not be there and this is the first time that they acknowledge what they have both prophesied independent of one another—Shams’s death.

Sultan Walad is concerned about the gossip about Rumi and Shams as well as Shams’s seemingly hostile behavior toward people who want to visit Rumi. Sultan Walad gently confronts Shams about this but Shams is unmoved. When Sultan Walad suggests that people are starting to think that there might be something more than friendship between Shams and Rumi, Shams tells him that those people need to cleanse their minds.

Ella reads an email from Aziz that explains why he became a Sufi. After growing up in a remote and quiet Scottish town, Aziz moved to Holland after meeting and falling in love with a radical, left-wing Dutch woman named Margot. In Amsterdam, Margot worked with refugees while Aziz climbed the corporate ladder. Margot was killed while walking down the road one night and her death marked the beginning of Aziz’s journey to becoming a Sufi.

After the scene at the mosque, Desert Rose has not been allowed to leave the brothel. She is despondent and downtrodden, her spirit further broken when Baybars requests her specifically. They speak for a few moments about Shams and Desert Rose reveals that Shams has come to visit her at the brothel multiple times. Before long, Baybars consumes cannabis and becomes intoxicated and initiates violent sex, which Desert Roses suffers through. When Desert Rose suggests that Baybars only has his status because of his uncle, Baybars brutally beats her, and she believes she is dying. In spite of this, she feels light and free and has no pain.

After realizing that she never got a chance to ask Shams about the fourth level of understanding of the Qur’an, Kimya and Shams have a conversation about understanding and the lack of clear distinctions between right and wrong in the world. During the conversation, Kimya is increasingly aware of her attraction towards Shams and, by the end of it, realizes that she is in love with him.

Shams remarks upon the sin of gossiping and how readily religious people are to do something that ought to be treated as terrible. He thinks about the rumors that surround him—that he is a member of The Assassins, that he has Rumi under a spell—and is amused by them, rather than concerned. While Shams acknowledges Sultan Walad’s and Kimya’s concerns about the gossip, he is primarily concerned for Rumi’s wellbeing and his response to the rumors. In spite of this, Shams thinks that the gossip is good for Rumi’s ego—he points out that Rumi has never had his ego bruised and that this is a necessary part of the transformation Rumi will undergo.

In another email to Ella, Aziz recounts his life after the death of his wife, Margot. Doing drugs led to Aziz losing almost everything—his apartment, his job, and his friends—before realizing he was at rock bottom and beginning to rebuild. After getting a job as a photographer in Africa, an anthropologist suggests that Aziz could be the first person to sneak into an Islamic holy city and recommends checking out the Sufis as a connection. Instead of sneaking in, Aziz falls in love with Sufism and thus begins his journey.

Although she felt as though she were dying at the time, Desert Rose survives the beating and now makes plans to leave the brothel. After packing a bag and putting on her best clothes, she attempts to leave but is stopped by another prostitute, who warns her that Jackal Head will be sent after her if she tries to leave. This makes Desert Rose think about all the other girls who met their end when trying to leave. In spite of this, Desert Rose is determined to dedicate her life to God and is able to convince the other prostitute to let her leave.

Ella receives another email from Aziz about his story of becoming a Sufi. He describes how he moved to a Sufi dervish in Morocco and his struggles with drugs and alcohol over the four months he was there. At some point during his stay, he became more and more interested in Sufi philosophy and this interest became a large portion of his life. His teacher, Master Sameed, introduced him to the teachings of Shams and said that Aziz reminded him of Shams.

Approaching Rumi in his room, Shams has a vision of Rumi in the future: older, still sitting in the same room, and with a scar on his heart from Shams’s death. This makes Shams sad, and Rumi can tell that his friend is distressed. Shams asks Rumi to go fetch two bottles of wine for them and advises him to take his time and speak with the patrons of the tavern. Even though alcohol is prohibited in Islam, Rumi agrees and Sham feels a profound sense of joy.