The Forty Rules of Love

Aladdin is making plans for how he will ask his father for Kimya’s hand in marriage when Rumi walks into the house with the wine bottles. Aladdin is surprised by this and becomes angry when Shams tells Aladdin to not pass judgment on Rumi, and that it was Shams who sent Rumi to get the wine. When Aladdin says he is not surprised by this, Rumi lifts his arm as if to strike him but does not, instead only saying that Aladdin has shamed him. Aladdin is horribly embarrassed by this, even more so when he realizes that Kimya has witnessed the scene.

After the confrontation with Aladdin, Shams and Rumi go out into the garden with the wine. When Shams pours wine onto a tree, a flower appears there. He pours the wine on the ground and then takes a sip before offering it to Rumi. Before Rumi can drink, however, Shams snatches it away and throws the liquid onto the snow, clearly tired of the game.

At the suggestion of David, he and Ella go to a new Thai restaurant. While they are there, David confesses that he has read Ella’s emails with Aziz and knows about the affair. He says he is willing to forgive Ella and start over. Rather than agree, Ella tells David that she is in love with Aziz and in spite of David’s comments about their children, Ella says she does not want to work on their marriage. That night, Ella and David sleep in separate beds and Ella writes a letter to Aziz.

The zealot and uncle of Baybars, Sheikh Yassin, learns of the news of Rumi drinking in the Jewish quarter and seems overjoyed. He rants about Rumi’s lack of piety, making a point that the fact that he married a Christian convert to Islam should express his morality—Sheikh Yassin thinks that Muslims and Christians are like oil and water. When he finally gets to the madrassa, all of his students are in a stunned silence, as Shams is there. He says he is visiting because he knows that Sheikh Yassin is the person who hates him the most.

Husam watches as Sheikh Yassin and Shams debate about the importance of rules and rule-following in Islam, as well as the role of scholars in answering the questions of other Muslims. Shams warns the students not to get too caught up in the details of the faith, a comment that enrages Sheikh Yassin and provokes him to kick Shams out of the classroom. Before he goes, Husam provides an answer to one of Shams’s questions. Shams likes the response, which earns Husam dirty looks from his fellow classmates.

Baybars has been thinking about Desert Rose nonstop since he beat her during his last visit to the brothel; he wonders why she did not fight back, and thinks to himself that he would have stopped had she yelled. After trying to stay away, Baybars finally gives in and goes to the brothel only to be told that Desert Rose has left, at the encouragement of Shams.

Instead of writing an email to Aziz, this time Ella writes a paper letter. In the letter, she tells Aziz that she has been captivated by his writing in the emails and the book since she began reading each of them and she thinks often about what it would be like to have him nearby, and a part of her daily life. She laments the fact that they have not met and tells him she is not sure what to do about it.

Kerra reflects on how Desert Rose showed up at her house looking for Shams and saying that she has decided to devote her life to God. When Shams and Rumi arrive back at the house, Shams is thrilled to see Desert Rose and says that she does not ever have to go back to the brothel but is dismayed that Kerra did not let Desert Rose into the house due to her concern about what the neighbors would think. Desert Rose fears that Jackal Head will come after her but Shams does not seem too concerned by this. The chapter ends with Rumi inviting Kerra to a Sufi dance that he and Shams are going to do for the community.

Sultan Walad goes to see Rumi and Shams perform. He’ s pleased to see that many people—and even Rumi’s new detractors—are present. He prays that the dance will go well if only to help his father’s declining reputation. Sultan Walad’s fears are assuaged, however, when the whirling dance is a major success. The chapter ends with Sultan Walad thinking that the night would have been great if it weren’t for something that ruined it.

After the dance finishes, Suleiman witnesses the ruler Kaykhusraw pay tribute to the dervishes by flinging a purse full of gold coins at the stage. The crowd and Kaykhusraw himself are immediately dismayed when Shams throws the coins back and tells Kaykhusraw that his coins are no good. Slighted, Kaykhusraw and his men leave and the crowd turns on Rumi and Shams for fear of Kaykhusraw taking out his anger on the whole town. Suleiman notices Aladdin, Rumi’s son, with a group of Rumi’s detractors, including Sheikh Yassin.

Upon witnessing the scene between Shams and Kaykhusraw at the dervish dance, Aladdin decides he has finally had enough of Shams. Instead of going home, Aladdin spends the night of the dance with friends, feeling frustrated and wishing things would go back to normal. The next day, he finds Shams in the garden and the two have an argument about what is best for Rumi; Aladdin suggests that by getting rid of Shams, he will be freeing his father, while Shams says that if he goes, his father will break as well. The chapter ends with Aladdin thinking that by the time he realized the flaw in this plan, it was too late.

Shams reflects upon the dance and the altercation with Kaykhusraw, remarking that the rift between Rumi and Kaykhusraw is now in line with the rift between the governing group and the masses and that this is a lesson for Rumi. Shams thinks about Rumi’s poetry and how all relationships are meant to be transformative ones. With that said, he feels himself dwindling into nothing and believes that his time is coming to a close.

In the midst of dinner with her family, Ella receives a text message. When she finally checks it, she realizes it’s from Aziz and he is telling her that he is in Boston on an assignment and would like to get together. Although David knows that Ella is going to Boston for Aziz, she lies to him and they bicker a bit in front of the children before David relents. Ella immediately begins getting ready to drive the two hours to Boston that evening. In spite of her excitement, Ella is apprehensive about meeting Aziz because she is worried he won’t like her.