FORTY RULES OF LOVE

On the seeker's path, wise men and fools are one.
In His love, brothers and strangers are one.
Go on! Drink the wine of the Beloved!
In that faith, Muslims and pagans are one.

A book that changes your ideas, thoughts and your way of thinking is the best book. Forty rules of love is like that kind of book to me. It changes my piece of thoughts about Sufism and the whirling dervishes. It is my most favorite of all reads, it is a book that I can read a thousand times and every time I learn something new from this amazing book.

The book, Forty rules of love is written by Elif Shafak she is an amazing Turkish writer. She is one of the most acknowledged authors and feminist of Turkey. Forty rules of love is her most amazing piece of work as it is one of the bestsellers.  In the forty rules of love, Elif Shafak has woven a wonderful tale of love and spirituality.

The story depicts two worlds, one the modern world and other shows thirteen century. The story starts with an unhappily married Jewish housewife Ella Rubinstein's life. She was living in Northampton, Massachusetts. She has to be grateful for a long stable marriage, three teenage children and a comfortable life in a pleasant home but something was missing in Ella's life. 

Talking a new challenge she started working as a reader at a literary agency. Her first assignment was to read a novel "Sweet Blasphemy" by a mysterious Scottish author, Aziz Z. Zahara. The sweet blasphemy is the second narrative of this novel and it was about a wandering dervish Shams of Tabriz. Shams was a mystic Sufi who was in search of a companion to whom he may deliver his knowledge to.

The thirteen century depicts the most beautiful part of this novel, a mystical era of Sufism. The two most important figures of thirteen century, Shams of Tabriz and Jalal-uddin-Rumi. The mystic era was enlightened by the most famous Islamic scholar and poet Jalal-uddin-Rumi who was called by his admirers as Maulana Rumi. He has thousands of disciples and admirers from all over the region and beyond, and was regarded as the beacon to all Muslims.

In 1244, Rumi met Shams, a wandering dervish with unconventional ways and heretical proclamations. Their encounter alter both their lives. As it marked the beginning of solid, unique friendship that Sufis in the centuries linked to the meeting of two oceans. After meeting Shams Rumi was transformed into a committed mystic, passionate poet, advocate of love and originator of the ecstatic dance of the whirling dervishes which is called 'sama'.

In the age of deeply embeded bigotries and clashes, Rumi stood for a universal spirituality, opening his door for to the people of all backgrounds Rumi stood for an inner oriented jihad where the aim was to struggle against our own ego, nafs. There were many people at that time who opposed him, they didn't open their hearts to love. The powerful bond between Shams and Rumi became the target of humor, slander and attack.

Three years after they met they separated but the story didn't end here but I this there is no end to this story even after many years have passed the spirits of Shams and Rumi are still alive today, whirling among us somewhere.... The novel of Aziz . Zahara goes round the story of Shams and Rumi as how Shams met Rumi, how they become friends, how Rumi starts to change and how people start to hate Shams including Rumi's family.

While Sweet Blasphemy changes Ella's life completely. She becomes acquainted to Aziz after she became highly affected by Sweet Blasphemy. The story of Sweet Blasphemy and bond between Shams and Rumi was very captive for Ella. She started connected to Aziz via emails. Over the course of few emails she finds out that she was ready to give up her life, her husband and children for the guy over the other end of email.

I like this novel because of Shams of Tabriz, his forty rules of love and the time he spent with Rumi. Shams had a strong belief in God. He had the urge to find the God in the most unlikely places. And that's what inspires me, that's what connect me to God. Shams character in this novel changed my perspective on life and my relation with God. And more specifically every other rule by Shams was life changing to me.

I really wanted to write some of my favorite rules from forty rules of love.

"How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame, it means there is too much fear and blame welled inside us. If we see God as full of love and compassion, so are we."

"Whatever happens in your life, no matter how troubling things might seem, do not enter the neighborhood of despair. Even when all doors remain closed, God will open up a new path only for you. Be thankful! It is easy to be thankful when all is well."

This is one of my most favorite of the forty rules:

"It's easy to love a perfect God, unblemished and infallible that He is. What is far more difficult is to love fellow human beings with all their imperfections and defects. Remember, one can only knew what one is capable of loving. There is no wisdom without love. Unless we learn to love God's creation, we can neither truly love nor truly know God." 

This book gives me a message too and that message is: "Never judge the way other people connect to God."  Because we never know who prays in the best way to God and who is beloved in the eyes of God.

" Every true love and friendship is a story of unexpected transformation. If we are the same person before and after we loved, that means we haven't loved enough."