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2022/04/26

Forty Rules of Love

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Novel about Rumi

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The Forty Rules of Love

by Elif Shafak (Goodreads Author)

4.14 · Rating details · 151,174 ratings · 17,773 reviews

In this lyrical, exuberant follow-up to her 2007 novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, acclaimed Turkish author Elif Shafak unfolds two tantalizing parallel narratives—one contemporary and the other set in the thirteenth century, when Rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, the whirling dervish known as Shams of Tabriz—that together incarnate the poet's timeless message of love.

Ella Rubenstein is forty years old and unhappily married when she takes a job as a reader for a literary agent. Her first assignment is to read and report on Sweet Blasphemy, a novel written by a man named Aziz Zahara. Ella is mesmerized by his tale of Shams's search for Rumi and the dervish's role in transforming the successful but unhappy cleric into a committed mystic, passionate poet, and advocate of love. She is also taken with Shams's lessons, or rules, that offer insight into an ancient philosophy based on the unity of all people and religions, and the presence of love in each and every one of us. As she reads on, she realizes that Rumi's story mirrors her own and that Zahara—like Shams—has come to set her free. (less)

Hardcover, 354 pages

Published February 18th 2010 by Viking (first published 2009)

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Popular Answered Questions

i loved this book however the friendship between Rumi and Shams of tabriz was shown as if they cared more about each other than the teachings of Islam. Anyone feel as if rumi and shams of tabriz friendship was far more important than their relationship with god ??? (I'm am referring to the characters in the book and how they are potrayed there, not the ones in real life)

43 Likes · Like 7 Years Ago See All 12 Answers

Zainab Although late to the party, in my opinion the answer is in the rule 38, '' do not ask yourself which kind of love you should seek, spiritual or materi…more

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ما كل هذه الروعه والأجواء الروحانيه؟ كنت أعشق مولانا الرومي فأصبحت أحبه أكثر وأحب شمس وسأبحث عن مزيد من الكتب عنهما كيميا كيرا وردة الصحراء إيلا الشجاعه عزيز أحببتهم جميعا

What is all this magnificence and spiritual atmosphere? I used to adore Mawlana Rumi and I became more and more in love with him and I love Shams and I will look for more books about them Kimya Kira and the Desert Rose Ella the Brave Aziz I loved them all39 Likes · Like 7 Years Ago See All 7 Answers

Noha Masri قرأت عن هذه الرواية كثيرا قبل أن أقرأها ، أعجبني الانتقال بين العالمين ، عالم الكاتبة وعالم جلال الدين الرومي والتبريزي، أسلوب سلس وعميق يعتمد على عمق…more

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The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafakساق البامبو by سعود السنعوسيالفيل الأزرق by أحمد مرادثلاثية غرناطة by رضوى عاشورتراب الماس by أحمد مراد

افضل ما قرات في ٢٠١٣The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Al Sanousi The Blue Elephant by Ahmed Murad The Granada Trilogy by Radwa Ashour The Diamond Trap by Ahmad Murad The best thing I read in 2013

843 books — 1,039 voters

هيبتا by محمد صادقمستحيلة by حسن الحلبيThe Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafakطغراء by شيرين هنائيالأسود يليق بك by أحلام مستغانمي

معرض القاهرة للكتاب 2014

590 books — 1,636 voters

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Average rating4.14 · Rating details · 151,174 ratings · 17,773 reviews

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Michelle Bird

Mar 15, 2010Michelle Bird rated it it was amazing

I heard the author of this book, Elif Shafak, interviewed on NPR on my way to work and had to rush out and buy the book (in hardback, no less) based on her interview. It's rare to hear someone on the radio and think, "That is an amazingly interesting person. I would love her writing." Kudos to Books Inc. in Alameda (one of the few independent bookstores around)- I walked in and said I was looking for a book by a Turkish author and there was something about love in the title... and they found it!

The Forty Rules of Love follows the parallel life paths of Rumi and Shams of Tabriz in the 13th century (a rather famous pair), the unfolding story of Ella, a Massachusetts housewife with her first editing job, and Aziz Z. Zahara, the globe-trotting author of the book she is reading. I was particularly impressed with the way Shafak told the story of Rumi and Shams through the eyes of the people around them- the historical chapters are alternately written in the voices of Rumis very different sons, the leper who begs outside the mosque, the prostitute trying to leave her brothel, Rumi's wife, Shams' main enemy, a leading scholar, and many others. Not surprisingly I found the female characters particularly compelling, as they took Shams' forty rules and attempted to apply them to their own lives, often finding they were not always a perfect fit. The forty rules themselves are worth returning to after finishing the book for further contemplation.

I feel I would be able to understand the book on a much deeper level if I knew Arabic and had a basic grounding in the Koran (while reading I had the sense there was a great deal more being alluded to). But even as an English speaking westerner with little knowledge of Islam, I now have a much greater sense of respect for Sufism and the place it occupies opposite the more traditional interpretation of Islam. This book is a study in opposites- discipline vs. spontaneity, reason vs. love, perspective vs. acceptance, wisdom vs. youth, and foundation vs. risk. Although the book argues strongly in favor of love, spontaneity and acceptance, it is actually the balance created between the two extremes that is most important (this balance is often represented as the friendship of two people who represent opposite attributes). Parts of the novel reminded me of The Feminine Face of God (which actually may have no relation to Shafak's writing) and there were bits of aura interpretation that slipped in here and there... what I liked best, however, was its frank treatment of the "dangers" of the spiritual path.

When one pushes beyond the boundaries society draws around spirituality, when one starts to say "no" to things one has said "yes" to before and one says "yes" to things one has said "no" to before, when one challenges accepted notions of respect, holiness, and spiritual authority- this is Pema Chodron's "when the rug is pulled out from under you"- a much celebrated place in spiritual development. What I particularly appreciate about this book is its honest and direct treatment of that place- and the deep confusion and pain it can bring to the seeker and those close to them. And, of course, the beauty and wisdom that come from that difficult experience. Had Shams not challenged every aspect of social order Rumi held dear, Rumi would not have learned. Had Rumi not lost Shams, he would not have become a poet. And we would not have his poetry. This book is a celebration of the radical transformation of Rumi from scholar to poet, from devoted spiritual man to visionary- and a deeply honest (historical, I can't vouch for, but truthful, yes) portrayal of every difficult step of that evolution.

Goodness. I think it's time to read some Rumi. (less)

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Khaled Mohamed

Feb 19, 2013Khaled Mohamed rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourite, novels

“Fourteenth Rule: Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?”

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Dana Al-Basha | دانة الباشا

Jan 30, 2015Dana Al-Basha | دانة الباشا rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: own, bio-memo-nonfic-his, audiobook

Before I write my review of this book, I need to clarify a few points that I believe are misleading in the book.

Islam in itself is a unity and oneness religion, all devoted to Allah, some people in later years fell in "love" with Allah, and called themselves Sufis. Sufism in itself isn't Islam, it's actually quite extreme and Islam is a religion of moderation.

The "love" that's repeated throughout the book should have been clarified as the "love" of Allah. Sufi people aren't all dervishes. And the word "Dervish" درويش is used in Arabic as دروشة which means going to a high state of طرب/Tarab which means going into a high state of rapture, mirth, and glee for Allah, so they either twirl which is common or sing, or write. But mostly twirl.

With that said, I feel better about starting my review.

I've always been fascinated with Sufism as a kid, the twirling dervishes with their skirts and dishdashas flying around in circles for such along time while they sang to Allah with tambours players repeating "God is alive" gave me a thrill in the bit of my stomach and heart... until this day, they mostly come out in Ramadan or events and visit local malls and such bringing with them a hint of the past with their customs.

Since 2010 I wanted to read this book, but many things stood in my way until I got married and moved to another country, now I'm reading it with a pounding heart, I already know Rumi and Shams's story and end but I want to read it still, I want to see how the story would unfold... I might even change like Ella by the end.

I know many people loved this book, but I found it to be misleading, giving people some of the truth with a spoon of deceptive opinions. The author insists that being extremely religious is "bad" and leads to wars and acts of violence, while being spiritual is the "right" way to live. She shows Sufism and Islam as dueling sides. While Islam is the core of any religious doctrines such as Sufism and Shi'a ideologies. One of the reasons I love Islam so much is it's simplicity that speaks to my heart and mind in equal measures.

The ideas the author imagined and gleaned from her research are deep yet not fully truthful. Some parts were so deep and accurate, other parts made me think: "what is she talking about?! This is not Islam!"

God didn't not create humans in His image (check surat Noor, Ayah 35), you can't be one with God (check surat Al-Ekhlas), every religion isn't the same as Islam (Check surat Al-Imran, Ayah 19), the main three (and lasting) religions shouldn't be compared with human-created ones. The ideas that Sufis can do whatever they wanted because they "love" God is heresy and God says about such people ( الَّذِينَ جَعَلُوا الْقُرْآنَ عِضِينَ ) which means they choose what to follow and what to believe. God's favorite servants are الاتقياء which means the ones who fear him most in everything they do and think. God wants us to think about Heaven, hell and Earth, it's not about forgetting the purpose of this life but to enhance the work inside and out, or God wouldn't have mentioned them so frequently in Quran.

As for the beautiful names of God in Islam, the author makes her argument as Shams, stating God's Merciful names only, as if God hasn't called Himself The Avenger المنتقم, The Afflictor الضار, The Giver of Dishonor المذل? To believe in Allah fully we need to "believe" that God is capable of doing us harm as He is able of doing us good, to fear His wrath is smart, and doesn't make you less of a believer. He Himself has said:

قُل لِّمَن مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ قُل لِّلَّهِ ۚ كَتَبَ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ ۚ لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ ۚ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ (12) سورة الأنعام

وَإِذَا جَاءَكَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآيَاتِنَا فَقُلْ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ ۖ أَنَّهُ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنكُمْ سُوءًا بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابَ مِن بَعْدِهِ وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَنَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ (54) سورة الأنعام

God did swear His mercy but only for those who fear and obey Him and do good deeds.

Reading this book deepened this idea in my mind, what if Shams wasn't actually a good thing to happen to Rumi, what if meeting him was a test? Same goes to Ella and Aziz.

(less)

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Israt Zaman Disha

Jun 24, 2017Israt Zaman Disha rated it really liked it

Actual rating: 3.5stars

“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.”

I started this book some time ago. But after a few pages I put it down. For it raised a very conflicting situation in my mind. And I was not sure whether to read it further. As a reader I am very much affected by books. I have seen a good book touch my heart and change my way of thinking. I was not sure if it would be that kind of book and I did not want to raise an exception to my mind in that particular time. So I decided to read it some time later. A few days ago I was depressed and out of the blue started to read it again.

"If you want to change the ways others treat you, you should first change the way you treat yourself, fully and sincerely, there is no way you can be loved. Once you achieve that stage, however, be thankful for every thorn that others might throw at you. It is a sign that you will soon be showered in roses."

It was a very nice choice for me at that particular time I must say. This book has a soothing sense as it speaks of love. Love for God, for mankind and all other kinds of love. As I was going deeper into the book I liked the book even more. I can read in a moderate pace but I read the book slowly taking in everything it says. I found the forty rules beautiful. Somewhere in our heart we know the rules. We have read it in different books at different times. It all came in front of me at once in this book.

"Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to look at the end of a process. What does patience mean? It means to look at the thorn and see the rose, to look at the night and see the dawn. Impatience means to be shortsighted as to not be able to see the outcome. The lovers of God never run out of patience, for they know that time is needed for the crescent moon to become full."

In this story I understood Shams of Tabriz but I did not understood Rumi very well nor did I understood their connection well. Shams was a very intimidating character and he could intimidate people in good or bad ways. But what he was trying to bring out of Rumi was very unclear to me. I felt if I could know Rumi's transition in detail I would understand it better. It is the only thing I felt lacking in this book.

"The whole universe is contained within a single human being-you. Everything that you see around, including the things that you might not be fond of and even the people you despise or abhor, is present within you in varying degrees. Therefore, do not look for Sheitan outside yourself either. The devil is not an extraordinary force that attacks from without. It is an ordinary voice within. If you set to know yourself fully, facing with honesty and hardness both your dark and bright sides, you will arrive at a supreme form of consciousness. When a person knows himself or herself, he or she knows God. "

I loved the emails between Ella and Aziz. They were deep and meaningful. I like these kind of conversations where you can find the depth of mind of others. As I am a very closed of person and don't talk to people how I feel very often, I always long for this kind of friendship.

"The past is an interpretation. The future is on illusion. The world does not more through time as if it were a straight line, proceeding from the past to the future. Instead time moves through and within us, in endless spirals. Eternity does not mean infinite time, but simply timelessness. If you want to experience eternal illumination, put the past and the future out of your mind and remain within the present moment."

Lastly, I am very glad that I have read this book. This is not one of my most favorite books but yet it will stay with me for a long time.

“The words that come out of our mouths do not vanish but are perpetually stored in infinite space, and they will come back to us in due time.” (less)

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Aneela ♒the_mystique_reader♒

May 03, 2017Aneela ♒the_mystique_reader♒ is currently reading it

Shelves: fiction, to-die-for, favorites, all-time-favourites, historical-fiction

Finally! The book I wanted to read for such a long time.

Glad I managed to finish my ARC pile. Now its time for some pleasure reading. :-)

...more

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Burcu

Jun 06, 2011Burcu added it · review of another edition

This was my first Elif Safak and I can only hope that not all of her novels are like this. I simply found this novel weak, even "forced." It reads like any other Western/American novelist writing about the Eastern culture. But wait... Elif Safak is Turkish, right? Precisely.. I think what the author tries to do with this novel (and unfortunately fails) is to show a treasure of Eastern spiritualism to the American reader. What happens as a result is that it becomes another form of exoticism. There's something that doesn't quite fit with the language. Shams and Rumi speak American, and Aziz is definitely not Scottish. Has Safak's language become too American? She has written this work originally in English, so is she writing for a primarily American readership? Is she stuck between the liminality of the American and the Turkish? Whatever the source of the problem is, I'm afraid I found the story superficial, weak and cliched. It almost reads like fictionalised dummies guide to Rumi. She tries to create an original narrative structure with book-within-book, parallel narratives and multiple narrative voices, but it's all to simplistic and lacks literary finesse.

I'm aware that this is a rather scathing review, but I'm highly disappointed with the novel. Still, before I give up on Safak, I'll make sure I'll read something else of her. (less)

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Reneesarah

Aug 28, 2010Reneesarah rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Unlike many other readers I did not like this book. I felt like the story narrative was a half-baked excuse to string together the "Forty Rules of Love." It would have bern better to just have listed the forty rules of love with the list of source materials given in the back. (Spoiler alert! i mention what happens in the book in the next sentence.) That Ella, the main character in our present time, leaves her husband and children to engage in a romantic relationship with her Sufi teacher dishono ...more

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Usman Hickmath

May 09, 2017Usman Hickmath rated it did not like it

Ella is in her late 30s and has a routine of a typical housewife of that age. Her husband is cheating on her, and the daughter is not listening to her and wants to marry a man who is not from the same faith. Depressed by all these events, she gets into a relationship with an author, Aziz, also a Sufi, whose novel is being reviewed by her for a publisher. And the story goes on to tell what happened to their relationship.

Ella’s story, which is nothing more than a story of a below par soap, makes up about 100 pages of the novel. As there is no spice in it, author has filled another 250 pages with the story of Shams Tabriz and Rumi where she has included forty rules developed by Shams in a haphazard manner, and tried to connect Shams-Rumi relationship with Ella’s and Aziz’s.

The forty rules of love of Shams, the relationship between Shams and Rumi and their characters are not the outcome of creative brilliance of the author. It is history. With a simple google search you can read all forty rules in one go.

I admire Elif Shafak for her knowledge of politics, culture, and her brilliant eloquence. Never expected such a shallow work from a powerful personality. (less)

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Abubakar Mehdi

Sep 21, 2016Abubakar Mehdi rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Sufism, as much as I have understood it, stretches the idea of existence and the divine to such abstractness that it allows even an agnostic to become a sufi. Sufi doesn’t believe in God in the conventional sense, that is, his conception of god is rather obscured by flashy metaphors and quite distinct from the idea of God that religion puts forward.

This book tries to make sufism the new sexy, and fails miserably. And its failure isn’t on a philosophical level, but at a humiliatingly lower and fundamental level of ‘narration’. The language isn’t even mediocre, and the dialogue as stale and monotonous as it could be. The story line goes more like a soap opera, and less like a work of literary fiction. Ella, our main lady, is keeping up with her husband’s infidelity for years now, and we don’t know why. She immediately falls for a stranger whose manuscript she is assigned to read by her boss. I understand that people can do stupid things but this is almost like abusing your liberty. And thence begins a story that is as incredulous, presumptouos, pseudo-philosophical and preposterous as any ever told.

Now if you loved Paulo Coelho, you will adore Shafak too. She is just the muslim version of Coelho, with more sugar coated bullshit and a lot more meaningless obfuscation of metaphors.

For anyone actually interested in Sufism, I’d urge them to read Rumi, and see how beautiful the original verses of the maestro are, rather than this ludicrous meandering of a novel. (less)

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Sarah

Mar 19, 2016Sarah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites, 2016-reads, owned-books, fiction

This book was sitting on my shelf for more than over a year, and I had no plans to rush and read it. I mistakenly thought it is just another novel about 'love', so I withheld reading it.

I was wrong.

But I guess back then it was not the right time for me to read it.

A while ago, I became obsessed with Rumi's poetry, and so, one of my friends recommended that I should read this novel ASAP.

So I did.

What can I say? I'm still quite shaken by this masterpiece.

The novel consists of two parallel narratives; a one by which tells the story of a woman named Ella.

Ella had to learn to live her life while shutting her heart to love, that is until a book titled 'Sweet Blasphemy' fell under her hands, and ended up to shake her entire world and change everything she had known.

The second narrative, tells the story of a wandering dervish called Shams of Tabriz who was on the lookout for a companion that he can deliver his knowledge to, and it was none other than Rumi.

I loved this novel so much, mostly because of Shams and his rules. These rules are ones to go by for life.

I highly recommend it. I will definitely mesmerize you. (less)

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Apoorva

Apr 10, 2021Apoorva rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, historical-fiction, romance, philosophy-religion

I picked "Forty Rules of Love" because I wanted to read something light and sweet, which was just that. This year has been just a massive slump for me, but I'm trying my best. The plot is quite interesting. It begins with Ella, our protagonist, who has a perfect life; she has a loving husband and children, and everything seems to be going well for her. But on the inside, things are not what they seem. I feel like when if something looks too good or perfect, there's something fishy going on in there!

There's emptiness in her life, and there are problems she's trying to run away from until she comes across a book that changes her life and makes her find what she's missing- love! While working for a literary agent, she has to review a novel called "Sweet Blasphemy" written by a Dutch author for her first assignment. The story in the book takes place in the 13th century in Turkey and is about a Sufi poet Rumi and Shams of Tabriz and his forty rules of love.

So I love books obviously, but you know what's better? A book within a book. We get to read "Sweet Blasphemy" while Ella reads it, and we learn her thoughts on the book and how it affects her life. The book inspires Ella to look up the author, and she starts corresponding with him, which takes her life in a completely new direction.

When I say I loved this book, I mean I loved the story set in the 13th century. It has a lot of things going on, and it's turbulent. It has war, religious conflicts, Sufism, love, faith. It's beautifully written, and the author has done a great job at bringing every character to life. I felt connected and invested in all of them.

I loved Shams of Tabriz. He was someone who ruffled feathers everywhere he went, and he's eccentric and unpredictable. There is this one character who is a leper, and on one page, he describes how people see him, and it's heartbreaking. I had to pause to gather myself. I was a bit impatient at the parts where they kept talking about God, maybe because I'm not religious. But in the end, I enjoyed it.

The novel has two parallel stories, one in the contemporary world and one in the 13th century, and I wanted to see how the two stories tied together. Well, I'm sad to say I was disappointed. I could not connect with Ella and her story. I was waiting for something to happen like a big revelation it didn't. I also could not relate the two stories together whatsoever.

But apart from that, this book has so many beautiful "quotable" quotes that are too good to miss, so I collected them. If you're wondering if you should pick this book, definitely do.

Read on BOOKSTAGRAM (less)

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Aqsa

Jan 02, 2019Aqsa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

4.5 Wonderful Stars!

Love came to Ella as suddenly and brusquely as if a stone had been hurled from out of nowhere into the tranquil pond of her life.

I wanted to read something soft and sweet when I started this, but it was anything but. The prologue was very capturing, and I decided to read more. Part one interested me and I was curious to read more but not desperate until I reached the middle of Part two.

I love the fact that each chapter starts with “B” and I love that we get to read the novel that changes Ella’s life. I enjoyed it more than Ella’s story. I liked that four of the parts were named after the four elements: Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire with the fifth named Void. The chapters were very small and that always motivates me. The writing was good and smooth and I loved so many perspectives, so many POVs, that was very good work. The best thing was that every character had his/her views on a single subject and the different views which represent the different groups of our society were very close to the reality of what’s going on in people’s minds.

I didn’t really like Ella since she was so confused and so uncertain about herself. I’m sure most of us feel that we don’t even know ourselves and have missed the opportunities to be someone else, but I guess I wasn’t interested in Ella because she knew and still thought that she had no idea. I think it was a sudden realization for her in 2008 rather than a gradual understanding and that’s what made it somewhat indigestible for me. And to the honest, I was more interested in Sweet Blasphemy as the author wanted, but Ella’s story did become gripping in time.

Once in our lives, we should all embark upon this journey and research and try to really find some answers about who we are, where we come from and where we’ll go. Only an extensive research and quest can be relied upon to help us make an informed decision and help us believe. We all think about religion one way or another but only a few know them.

Highly Recommended for fellow Muslims since they’ll understand it better. It made me ask so many questions about myself. I don’t agree with everything in it and I have my own views and opinions but it brought it all out. If you have read this, I’d ask you to read my thoughts below and I’d love to discuss with you :)

P.S. Not a 5 Star since I needed a little more about Kimya in the end.

My Thoughts as I Read:

Part 1:

[I didn’t get it why Ella decided to live like that for twenty dull years! Hi husband’s disloyalty alone should’ve provoked her to get a divorce or at the very least confront him about it. He didn’t waste a second in asking her about her feelings of him, why should she? Being the silent victim is not brave and doesn’t make you better, it makes you foolish and it makes the other think you deserve it. I hate such characters. One ought to speak up! As for the novel within this book, it has been so interesting reading it. I feel like going and reading all the history, and more about it. Not that I have usually agreed with Sufism. Also, I don’t claim to know much but shaving his whole face was really weird. And Ella’s tory is going too slowly in comparison to Sham’s. (hide spoiler)]

Part 2:

[

Hassan the Beggar:

None of these people seem to realize that as keen as they are to avoid me, I am far keener to avoid them and their pitiful stares.

People can be so cruel at times, showing sympathy and disgust at the same time.

So profound is their need to show off how generous and charitable they are, not only do they race to give us alms, but for that single day they almost love us.

Amazing. I love how Elif Shafak explained everything in such simple words. It’s true what he wrote here. It’s a shame we don’t truly care.

Desert Rose, the Harlot

Why is it that although people say they hate seeing women prostitute themselves, the same people make life hard for a prostitute who wants to repent and start life anew? It is as if they are telling us they are sorry that we have fallen so low, but now that we are where we are, we should stay there forever. I don’t know why this is. All I know is, some people feed on the miseries of others and they don’t like it when there is one less miserable person on the face of the earth.

So on point! And it’s not true just for prostitutes but for almost all of us. When we fall, everyone tells us to get the hell up and accuses us for falling so low and they tell you to try and leave it. And then, when you finally convince yourself to get up, to rise above that, the same people taunt you and discourage you. Look who’s trying to be good!, they say. They don’t really believe you can do that. Just because one’s past wasn’t so free of sins, doesn’t mean their now and future have to be the same. Just because one once did wrong, doesn’t mean he can’t stop someone from doing the same.

I didn’t even want to think what could happen if they found out there was a woman amid them, let alone a harlot. Chasing off all dark thoughts, I gave my full attention to the sermon.

This I’ll never understand. Why is it wrong for a woman to come to a mosque to listen to a sermon? It really isn’t. But it’s a pity that most religious men think it wrong and punishable for a woman to be seen there. Shams asked them the right questions when he did and it couldn’t be better written. This chapter was simply beautiful and this is where my interest intensified.

“But how did you notice her in the first place? You go to a mosque but pay more attention to the people around you than to God? If you were the good believers you claim to be, you would not have noticed this woman even if she were naked. Now, go back to the sermon and do a better job this time.”

Beautiful.

Suleiman the Drunk:

Religious people are so confident of having God by their side that they think they are superior to everyone else

How can we judge someone else’s beliefs and purity and connection to Allah Almighty? The way they called her whore and the way they were disgusted to find such a woman among them, how can they be sure that they are better than her? Just because we think we are following our religion and abstaining from the bigger sins, we think ourselves destined for heaven and the others for hell? Who are we to judge others when we don’t even know our own fate? We are all sinners. Intentionally and purposely or unintentionally and by mistake, we all sin. We can’t fathom who is better and who is worse. But doesn’t mean drinking or whoring is right. Allah is Merciful, he forgives if you truly ask for his forgiveness.

Ella:

She was either too intrusive and pushy (with regard to Jeannette’s marriage plans) or too passive and docile (with regard to her husband’s flings). There was an Ellathe- control-freak and an Ella-the-hopelessly-meek. She could never tell which one was about to emerge, or when.

And then there was a third Ella, observing everything quietly, waiting for her time to come. It was this Ella who told her she was calm to the point of numbness but that underneath there was a strangled self, harboring a fast freshet of anger and rebellion. If she kept going like this, the third Ella warned, she was bound to explode someday. It was just a matter of time.

I agree with this one. Ella’s personality does seem to be switching among these 3 Ellas. I have this third personality in me and I feel like I’m gonna break right now! Sorry.

(hide spoiler)]

Part 3:

[

Sufis argue that ever since then the ego is the only adversary a Muslim should be warring against. Sounds nice, but how is that going to help to fight the enemies of Islam? I wonder.

Yes, I agree that one should have control over one’s nafs and that it has been regarded as Jihad-e-Akbar but doesn’t mean that one should forget all the other Jihads. We are continuously in war with our nafs and should not give in to it, but other Jihad’s are equally important.

What good could come out of a man who cannot settle down? If a man has no sense of belonging, he can drift in every direction, like a dry leaf in the wind.

I don’t know much about Sufis but I don’t think that one has to let go of everything to find Him. He, who is closer to us than ourselves. But I don’t object to going around the world and seeing His people and trying to find oneself. I get it. As Shams said, some people can find it all just staying in one place, others need to go and see for themselves. But we ought to live a life of simplicity which we often ignore.

So the Sufi thinks he sees, and the philosopher thinks he knows. In my opinion they see nothing and know nothing. Don’t they realize that as simple, limited, and ultimately mortal human beings, we are not expected to know more than we should? The most a human being is capable of attaining is a mere smattering of information about the Almighty. That’s all. Our task is not to interpret God’s teachings but to obey them.

I don’t doubt that people don’t see and know, but one cannot possibly see and know everything. How can even they be sure that they see everything? And more importantly, that they see right? I find myself agreeing with the zealot, not that I even like Baybars.

Aziz believed that all religious wars were in essence a “linguistic problem.” Language, he said, did

more to hide than reveal the Truth, and as a result people constantly misunderstood and misjudged one another. In a world beset with mistranslations, there was no use in being resolute about any topic, because it might as well be that even our strongest convictions were caused by a simple misunderstanding. In general, one shouldn’t be too rigid about anything because “to live meant to constantly shift colors.”

I don’t really agree. If all religious wars are just “linguistic” problems, then it feels like he means that every religion is right. I respectfully disagree.

Rumi responded, “I understand, but please do not touch my books again. In fact, I’d rather you did not enter this room at all.”

What?? Oh Allah! I don’t get it. He knows so much and still won’t teach her? Won’t tell her when she really wants to know? Who said that a man has more right to books and knowledge than a woman? This is absurd! Or was it because she was a Christian? Still, this ain’t right. The knowledge of Islam is open to all.

“Your late wife is here. She is holding my hand and encouraging me to speak.

I don’t know about this. I do believe in djinns, but not in souls being seen. I believe they return to Allah and don’t roam the world. But I’ll have to research more.

But if you ask me, when it comes to the basics, ordinary Christians and ordinary Muslims have more in common with each other than with their own scholars.

Not always and not necessarily. Yes, there is a closeness, and basic rules and habits that both, Muslims and Christians, follow. Islam and Christianity are closer to each other than other religions but a lot different too.

Rumi used to be everything to me. Now he is a stranger. I never knew it was possible to live with someone under the same roof, sleep in the same bed, and still feel that he was not really there.

Every man is responsible for giving reasonable time to his wife and children. One understand another’s thirst for knowledge and leaving others behind for acquiring it, but it doesn’t mean separating yourself completely from them. One should take religion and the world together. There ought to be a balance. Don’t forget the world and only pursue religion. You ought to live, but don’t get too dissolved in this temporary world ad its charms that you forget your religion and your final destination.

Wherever there is an earthquake, drought, or any other calamity, they take it as a sign of Divine Wrath—as if God does not openly say, My compassion outweighs My wrath.

And

Why worry so much about the aftermath, an imaginary future, when this very moment is the only time we can truly and fully experience both the presence and the absence of God in our lives?

I disagree. Allah has punished people in the past. He has brought all these disasters on them. I agree that it doesn’t always has to be a punishment, sometimes it can be His test. This world is a test. Hell and Heaven are promised. They aren’t imaginary! We should worry about the afterworld and must remember our graves everyday as it remembers us. It’s good not to dwell on the past or the future too much and try to live in the moment, but it doesn’t mean that you ought to forget your final destination.

There was something else that occupied her mind: the very first, almost imperceptible signs of desire. It had been such a long time since she’d last felt it that it took her a few extra seconds to recognize the feeling. But it was there. Strong, prodding, and disobedient. She realized that she desired the man in the picture and wondered what it would be like to kiss him.

Ughh! As much as I wanted to fall I love with a love story in this book, I can’t. Not in this book with all this debate going on inside my head. I understand Ella right now, but I am at the same time disgusted!

At a time when the enemiesof Islam are looming large, what does Rumi preach?

Peace! Passivity! Submission!

Yes, one needs to have patience and submit at the right times, but Islam allows us to fight. To fight for Islam. To fight for our fellow Muslims and for humanity. Mind you, it doesn’t tell us to murder someone or hurt someone in any way, whether it be with our tongues or our hands; but it also tells us not to sit dumb and let injustice happen. If Shams was talking about zealots prioritizing the rules of Islam, this is similar. Sure, one should conquer one’s nafs first but not always.

Ali explained, “When you spit in my face, I got very angry. My ego was provoked, yearning for revenge. If I kill you now, I’ll be following my ego. And that would be a huge mistake.”

So Ali set the man free. The infidel was so touched that he became Ali’s friend and follower, and in time he converted to Islam of his own free will.

This, apparently, is the kind of story Shams of Tabriz likes to tell. And what is his message? Let the infidels spit in your face! I say, over my dead body!

Hazrat Ali (R.A.) said that he wanted to kill that man for revenge, for his pride, for his nafs when he spit on his face rather than for Jihad. So, he spared him because he was fighting against his nafs first. It doesn’t mean you ought to let others spit on you. It signifies the importance of Jihad-e-nafs. But Hazrat Ali (R.A.) was about to kill him in Jihad. Shams overlooked that point.

After a momentary silence, he broke into a soft smile and out of memory recited the verse.

“Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.”

When he finished, Shams closed his eyes and recited the same verse, this time in a different translation.

“Men are the support of women as God gives some more means than others, and because they spend of their wealth (to provide for them). So women who are virtuous are obedient to God and guard the hidden as God has guarded it. As for women you feel are averse, talk to them suasively; then leave them alone in bed (without molesting them) and go to bed with them (when they are willing). If they open out to you, do not seek an excuse for blaming them. Surely God is sublime and great.“

Al-Nisa. I’m stunned. I could never have thought this. I am truly happy and truly pained right now. Happy to know this deeper meaning, and pained to realize yet again that I am not even close to the river. I need to know! I need to venture on this quest! I have wanted to for years now, but I’m scared. Scared to leave the world behind. Scared to start and not be able to change. Scared to know how deep in sins I truly am.

Still on top of me, he looked at my face with pure hatred, as if the body that had aroused him a moment ago now disgusted him.

I hate that kind of people. Didn’t he, himself, walk to the brothel? Was it not him to force himself on her? Did he not take part in it? How can he then think himself superior to her?

(hide spoiler)]

Part 4:

[

We have no right to impose our ways on others. There is no compulsion in religion.

I get it that we can’t force religion on anyone but aren’t parents encouraged to force their child to pray and to remember Him? I get it that one’s religion is between one’s self and Allah, but I wish this was more explained here.

The man has a Christian wife, for starters. I don’t care if she has converted to Islam. It is in her blood and in the blood of her child.

And he calls himself a scholar? Does he know not even the basics about Islam? I shouldn’t judge but he is a fictional character for me.

We want to introduce the dance of the whirling dervishes. It is called the sema. Whoever yearns for Divine Love is more than welcome to join us.

Dance is not allowed. This whole thing was something I didn’t get. And why done publicly? Rumi sure trusted and loved Shams but he didn’t question much. Why not? Shouldn’t we question for better understanding? And what Shams did with the ruler was right. The ruler should’ve known better than to toss money. And I think Alladin will be one of the boys and maybe his friend Irshad too, who hire Jackal Head for Shams. (hide spoiler)]

Part 5:

[

Feeling buoyant, almost protected, she snapped into a state of bliss. And just like that, she realized she could love this man. She could love him so much.

Just to clarify, Muslims are not allowed to have relations like that. Physical or mental. Yes, love but nothing intimate as if anything could be more intimate than love, but still we saw Baybars and others visiting brothels and everything and then this, even if Aziz didn’t go further. Just to clarify. I wouldn’t have pointed this out if this were another book without so much debate on Islam.

There I swam to my heart’s content, finally sensing that this must be what the deepest reading of the Qur’an feels like—a drop in infinity!

And it was flowing waters that carried me from life to death.

He ruined her… Did she die?

And I am so sorry for Aziz. But no matter what happens in this life or what doesn’t happen, we can always count on the afterlife. That’s the one hope we can truly have. I am glad Ella decided to abandon a sham life. I feel like I wanted more of Kimya but her end was abrupt without Shams' view on it.

(hide spoiler)]

Thank God, this review fit in the 20,000 limit. I thought it won't. Still close though. (less)

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Salman Tariq

Jan 10, 2017Salman Tariq rated it it was amazing

"Its not a review"

It came to my dream " make Rumi your teacher " which left me baffled how It can be possible in the present world.

The timing of this book could not have be more than perfect . After reading this book things are more clear to me in trouble times . A book close to my heart.

Once my friend told me if you can't find a teacher , Rumi masnavi is yours . (less)

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Bill

Nov 17, 2020Bill rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-star, historical-fiction, read-in-2020, religion, turkey, rtc-2020

Ella Rubenstein keeps busy enough cooking and caring for her husband and children and their big Victorian house in Northampton, Massachusetts, that she can mostly ignore her anger at her husband's infidelities and her sense of loss at the children's lessening need for her as they focus on high school and college. Chance provides her an opportunity to rekindle her own college-age passion for literature as a reader for a Boston publishing house.

We read her first assignment, Sweet Blasphemy, by A. Z. Zahara of Holland, along with her, and learn the story of the intense friendship of the Sufi dervish Shams of Tabriz and the Islamic scholar Rumi, in thirteenth-century Turkey. Reading the manuscript inspires Ella to connect with its author via the Internet, a step that takes her life into a whole new direction, just as Rumi's experience with Shams transforms him into a great mystic and poet.

The fictionalized account of the real-life Rumi and Shams is stronger than the contemporary branch of this dual timeline novel, and I would have liked a more interesting denouement, but I enjoyed the novel and learned a lot about a place and time with which I was unfamiliar. (less)

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Elsa Rajan Pradhananga

Jan 14, 2020Elsa Rajan Pradhananga rated it liked it

I’m used to love that’s patient and kind and believe that love should be accommodative and flexible. So I found it hard to comprehend Rumi’s love for Shams of Tabriz and Ella’s love for Aziz that shut out everyone and everything else that meant the world to them up until then.

The Forty Rules of Love is a novel within a novel; the first of which is Sweet Blasphemy, a novel about the companionship between Rumi and Shams written by Aziz Zahara - a self-proclaimed follower of Sufism and the second story line is that of Ella - a reader reviewing this work and corresponding with the author. As mentioned in the book, an important aspect of Sufism is understanding everyone’s perspectives and I loved that in The Forty Rules of Love, the narrative shifts from the lead characters to a beggar, an innkeeper, a novice in the inn, a prostitute, a guard, Rumi’s wife, his children…

But by the end of the book I was baffled (like most in Konya – Rumi’s hometown, and Ella’s twins) by how love could be so selfish. Many of the rules felt forced into the plot but fortunately, most of them are about loving God. Three stars for the rules I loved.

•Make every journey a journey within. If you travel within, you’ll travel the whole wide world and beyond.

•God is fully occupied with the completion of your work. Every human being is a work in progress that is moving toward perfection and each unfinished work of art is waiting to be completed. God deals with each of us separately because every single dot is equally important for the entire picture.

•The past is an interpretation. The future is an illusion. The world moves through and within us, in endless spirals. If you want to experience eternal illumination, put the past and the future out of your mind and remain within the present moment.

•How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves.

•Nothing should stand between you and God. No imams, priests, rabbis or any other custodians of moral or religious leadership.

•Do not look for the devil outside yourself. It is not an extraordinary force that attacks from outside. It is an ordinary voice within.

•If God had wanted everyone to be the same, He would have made it so. Therefore, disrespecting differences and imposing your thoughts on others is an amount to disrespecting God’s holy scheme.

•Don’t ever take words at face value because most problems are a result of simple misunderstanding.

•Hardship is necessary for a new self to be born. Just as clay needs to go through intense heat to become strong, love can only be perfected in pain.

•Intellect ties people in knots and risks nothing, but love dissolves all tangles and risks everything. Intellect does not break down easily, whereas love can effortlessly reduce itself to rubble. But just as treasures are hidden among ruins, a broken heart hides treasures. (less)

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Karen

Jun 22, 2011Karen rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I wanted to like this book, but couldn't, as hard as I tried. The writing felt forced, almost like a translation, but there was no mention of a translator, so I am guessing it was written in English. On a structural level, I felt the novel was disjointed - going back and forth in time between too many superficially developed characters. I was confused by the use of informal, modern-day colloquialisms in the 13th century voices - these expressions were so well-integrated into the novel that it seems to have been a deliberate choice on the part of the writer, but it made the narration seem very unrealistic.

On a deeper level, knowing nothing about Sufism, I finished the book feeling at best ambivalent and at worst antagonistic toward the Sufi characters and those influenced by Sufism. I tried to be open-minded, but Shams of Tabriz seemed arrogant, self-righteous, and self-absorbed (insufferable comes to mind)rather than ego-less and selfless, and Rumi's absolute indifference toward his younger son seemed to have contributed to the heartless choices Aladdin ended up making at the end. Additionally, I could not forgive Ella for abandoning her children, particularly her adolescent daughter with bulimia. What bothered me is that the writer seemed to be condoning and even glorifying these choices as being spiritually enlightened, in the name of love.

In general, the book felt too weighted and serious, and needed more lightness and humor to be enjoyable.

Also, it was just bizarre that the author suddenly injected information about Ella's father's suicide into the narrative, and only referred to it once more in the entire book. This kind of seems like an important part of the story, which deserves further exploration.

However, there were some moments of compelling writing, and the book did get me interested in learning more about Sufism in particular and mysticism in general - as well as being more open to spirituality in everyday life. (less)

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Emma

Jan 01, 2017Emma rated it liked it · review of another edition

I've been reading this book for a long time, only managing it in fits and starts. Partly this was because I found the ancient sections about Rumi and Shams much more interesting than the existential crisis of a modern housewife, but also because this book made me thoughtful and contemplative. The discussions based around the Forty Rules are the kind that necessitate stepping outside the framework of the novel and applying the concept to you own life, to see how it fits with what you already believe. The smaller tales/aphorisms within the novel, told mostly by Shams, offer as many questions as answers, but always make you think.

Yet I was far from convinced that words equated with actions within the novel. (view spoiler)

In any case, one good thing to come out of reading this is a desire to find out more about Rumi, to read his works, and see for myself what kind of lessons he has to teach. (less)

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Faroukh Naseem

Jan 16, 2016Faroukh Naseem rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I didn't like this book, at all. Not really, I did enjoy the first 70 odd pages and actually thought it could be one of my favorites.

‎

Something in the book was fundamentally wrong. What troubled me most was that on hand there are religious‎ statements and on the other hand obscenely descriptive 'adult' scenes. It's how it's become ok to curse using Jesus Christ's name. (if you know what I'm saying) There is something ethically wrong in that and you just can't do that.

Having said that, it's fiction so we need to 'judge' it accordingly. The writing was very bland and somewhere these 'rules' became almost a burden, maybe even for Elif Shafak to incorporate in the story.

You see references to each and every rule almost forced into the story. Some thing will be going on and suddenly Shams of Tabriz or some other character will say "it is on of the rules" "rule number 32 say" "that is one of the rules" I wish that we would be treated smart enough to know we would understand that the reference is made to the rules.

You flow across 10+ characters and each time it's a first person account which was very smart but at the same time, in my opinion, there should be a distinct change in the writing so you don't have to 'think' that it's The Killer, or 'Suleiman the drunk' or 'Rumi' or 'Aladdin' or 'Desert Rose'. It seemed like every character had the same lexicon and same way of talking thinking/dreaming.

***Spoiler Alert***‎

Why Ella does what she does is absolutely impractical. I'm not talking about Morals. I'm talking about it being so strange and unbelievable that a woman would fall in love and decide to leave her family (her husband may have deserved it,but her children didn't) And what really pissed me off, is the root cause of all this was someone who believed in 'Love' and the power and Importance of Love. A person who is out there to spread love in the world without prejudice and all that jazz is the root cause of a broken family? He has an affair with a married woman? When at a point he had the chance to let her go and leave, he still choses her and makes her believe that she is the one who is chosing him. There are a lot of things I can't fathom about this book and it's characters.

In the end I'm left thinking only one thing? How can someone wanting to spread so much love, leave so many broken hearts? (less)

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Tanya

Apr 04, 2020Tanya rated it liked it · review of another edition

is there no meaning to the existence of a twisted vine clustered in the uninhibited woods? perhaps in addition to pollinating its posterity, fulfilling its destiny might be common knowledge, but for that vine, bearing the best grapes to its capacity is enough for its own life to have a meaning.

if you're like me, you must have spent copious time questioning your existence. In my early formative stage, others have well attempted to elucidate those questions for me. I fed on what my sources had been fed all throughout their lives by their own sources. Those became agreeable notions as i grew, or at least initially and my life was inordinately influenced by these procured beliefs.

Now, if i bear in mind myself against the vastness of time and universe, i am as insignificant as that small microbe on the speck of a surface. my question here remains why would any god even want to micromanage a tentative speck on Earth?

yet each of us has ”faith” in something, even if it is only in the power of nature to respond to our actions. We, as individuals, soon start to learn that we are a part of something bigger and more powerful. The problem is that our ultimate relationship with our universe eludes us. in order to immediately answer many questions, some went on filling the gaps with the verifiable knowledge from the historical religious answers and events or creating their own “right”, therefore preaching and defending them throughout the ages in their reach.

i consider myself a humanist. humanism, the rational stance for being certain or coming to terms by individual experience before accepting any immutable “truth”. thus the purpose for me lies in achieving our fulfillment, which varies on each need level, by remaining primarily on the highest level we are each capable of attaining.

i don’t know if the Forty Rules of Love are as virtuous as they’re mentioned to be, but they indeed add magnanimity to the world which it indubitably needs. The story of spiritual love between Shams of Tabriz and Rumi, yielding a mystic poet in the latter will always stay close to my heart. (less)

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Lisa

Jun 06, 2021Lisa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

I am divided about this novel, which is divided between contemporary Massachusetts and 13th century Baghdad. I like Shafak's writing and was absorbed by Ella's story. But the storyline about Rumi and the dervish, Shams of Tabriz, left me impatient. I would have preferred to focus on Ella and Aziz. I did not become inspired by the abundance of spiritual revelations or the Forty Rules of Love. I can see why this novel would appeal to readers more spiritual than me - so don't let my review deter you. (less)

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Zsa Zsa

Jan 01, 2017Zsa Zsa rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Finding words to say how uninteresting and disappointing this book was is hard, this is my first and last elif shafak novel.the story didn't have anything to offer nor her style of writing (less)

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Annette

May 24, 2021Annette rated it it was amazing

Shelves: novel-of-religious-leader, setting-turkey, historical-fiction-1300s

Ella is unhappily married when she obtains a position as a reader for a literary agency. Her first assignment is to read and report on a manuscript titled Sweet Blasphemy by an amateur writer. It is about Rumi, a poet and a spiritual leader in the history of Islam, who is also an unconventional dervish full of scandals and surprises. As she reads about his transformation, it sets her on her own revolution.

Turkey, 13th century. Following God’s guidance, Shams of Tabriz, a wandering dervish, embarks on an inner journey of Love by traveling to Baghdad to fulfill his destiny to pass on his knowledge to another person. His journey takes him farther to Konya where he meets a respected scholar named Rumi. Shams sees the suffering of ordinary people and questions if Rumi sees them or if he is one of those scholars who fail to see those suffering “while sitting in their ivory towers.”

Shams puts Rumi through “trial and tests, states and stages, each of which make Rumi look more deranged in the eyes of even his most loyal followers.” But Rumi understands a purpose of all that and it’s a purpose to serve him to become a better person. “Shams deliberately fanned the flames of gossip, touched raw nerves, and spoke words that sounded like blasphemy to ordinary ears, shocking and provoking people, even those who loved him.”

Their story is intertwined with secondary characters whose sufferings enforce the powerful message of the story which is loving oneself first, to be connected with the One, to mirror what we expect in return. Everything serves a purpose. Behind all hardships there is a larger scheme. There is a group of loving supporters of Rumi and there are those who despise him. A leper questions “Why was God so unfair? To me He had given poverty, sickness, and misery. To Rumi, riches, success, and wisdom.” Why?

The 13th century story is a testament to author’s incredible knowledge to weave such story with so much wisdom, wisdom you can reflect on. And it also proves the author’s incredible talent for writing, weaving seamlessly the knowledge with all the characters. Touching story, engrossingly imagined and beautifully written.

P.S. I’m one of those readers for whom modern timeline doesn’t work within historical fiction; however, most of this story is set in the 13th century.

(less)

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Nazifa Muntaha

May 06, 2021Nazifa Muntaha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourite

Unimaginable depth in simple words.Loved this book so much.

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Avani ✨

Feb 04, 2022Avani ✨ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak, a book which is known worldwide, translated in many languages and loved by millions across the globe. I've been meaning to read this book since a really long time now and I am so glad I picked this up.

For the month of February, being valentine's month what can be a better book than this who explains us meaning of Love in terms of Sufi culture. The book has many layers to it where at one side we see 13th century Turkey and on the other side we get to see 21st century USA.

I loved how we have the plot of an author and Ella going on one side and through them we get to hear the philosophy of Love. The writing is very mystical as well as poetic. I liked how we have different parts of the book explaining different elements and stages according to Sufi literature.

This is a book which every time we read, we will be able to gain a new perspective, a new thought process and a new feeling towards the characters, the plot and also the concept of Love. (less)

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Geoffrey Fox

Nov 19, 2011Geoffrey Fox rated it liked it

The encounter and transforming love between Rumi and the wandering dervish Shams i-Tabriz in the 1240s is background, context and explanation of the transformation in 2008 and 2009 of Ella Rubinstein, Jewish American housewife in Northampton MA, through contact with their story. Shams turns the respected and sedate scholar Rumi into a poet and co-founder (along with Shams) of the whirling dervishes; their story turns Ella from a self-repressed, resigned wife in a loveless marriage into a free and adventurous woman. Alternating chapters are told from the points of view of Ella or Shams and the many people who come in contact directly with him in Konya, Damascus or Tabriz. His stern but gentle manner and his preachings of love arouse strong reactions, ranging from murderous hostility on the part of Islamic zealots to almost total identification by Rumi, from respect and devotion by outcastes whom he has consoled and aided to the one kind of love he cannot allow himself, the passionate, carnal kind. Which may be what you thought this book was going to be about, but no, Shams' 40 Rules of Love are Sufi rules, of accepting one's fate but aiding and preventing harm to others and trusting in God's overall just design of all things. The book is a welcome introduction to this moment in Sufism and the origins of the Mahlevi whirling dervishes ("Mahlev" or master was what Rumi was called), and the twin stories — of the 13th and of the 21st centuries — come to a satisfying conclusion.

However, Shafak's narrative structure and voice here are so limited that one longs for a little break now and then. Each chapter tells us the thoughts and observations of just one character at a time, often telling us things that they would be unlikely to say even to themselves, and everybody sounds alike, whether a drunk or a prostitute or enlightened one in Konya in 1246 or Ella Rubinstein in 2008. The drunk tells us he is drunk but he doesn't sound drunk, the angry zealot tells us he is an angry zealot but doesn't sound very excited about it, and so on. “"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Shams kept saying.” (p. 268) He sounds just like Ella. These limitations are quite unlike Elif Shafak's approach in her earlier novel, The Bastard of Istanbul (see my review), where there are different voices and narrative points of view, including a genie and an Internet forum. But "40 Rules" comes to a good, perfectly Sufi ending, which goes far to compensate for other weaknesses, and in the course of reading it we learn much about why Sufism is so appealing to so many. (less)

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Tisha

Apr 22, 2018Tisha rated it liked it

I should define this book as a spiritual journey actually. I won’t say it was astounding, but I also won’t be saying it was something petty!

As a lover of words, I loved the book. On the contrary, as a reader, I didn’t enjoy it to that extent. It bored me a bit as all the talking on Sufism was getting really intense.

I face problem in reading books like this where each chapter starts with different characters. I feel the flow of my reading somehow breaks there.

Besides, in this Sufism theme, the character Ella felt a little inappropriate to me. Whenever I was trying to concentrate on the spiritual facts, Ella appeared with her family problems! It was annoying.

I knew Rumi. I read Rumi. His words content my soul. But Shams of Tabriz was a new name to me. His forty rules of love amazed me. I would be preserving this book for the quotes for sure.

Let me finish the review with one of the forty rules which I loved the most-

“Loneliness and solitude are two different things. When you are lonely, it is easy to delude yourself into believing that you are on the right path. Solitude is better for us, as it means being alone without feeling lonely. But eventually it is the best to find a person who will be your mirror. Remember only in another person’s heart can you truly see yourself and the presence of God within you.” (less)

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Prashasti

Dec 17, 2018Prashasti rated it liked it · review of another edition

"Whatever you see as profitable, flee from it!

Drink poison and pour away the water of life!

Abandon security and stay in frightful places!

Throw away reputation, become disgraced and shameless"

As a child, I recall being fascinated with Sufism, the twirling dervishes, spinning their bodies with their skirts and dishdashas flying in repetitive circles listening to the music and focusing on Allah, completely lost and devoted in Sema.

With that image in my mind also accompanied with the fact of myself being an ardent follower of Rumi's poetry...I wanted to read this book since a while but it's only now when I caught hold of it and set up my mind for this journey.

There are two stories of relationships, one that takes place in the present between Ella and Aziz, and one that takes places in the past between Shams and Rumi. The problem with this book isn't that two different storylines are interlaced; it's that the present-day narrative is horrendously clunky in its execution that it jars against the rest of the book.

Ignoring the modern part of the story which plainly feels contrived into the book, the parts that take place in Konya are intriguing through the first half of the book but then the author gets sloppy, and Shams, loses all credibility as to the fault of the author, whom likely lost track of the numerous rules and lessons of love that Shams preaches. Throughout the last half of the book Shams’ character is breaking many of the rules the author places earlier in the book and the whole “Forty Rules of Love” becomes a severely disjointed and amateur effort.

Honestly, it seems like the author failed to stick to the principal theme of this book in the latter half of the book and even the characters felt slipping from their original intent whatsoever and in the end the book is just all about American Jewish housewife who finds love with a bohemian Sufi mystic ...tells intertwined stories separated by centuries... Nor does she convey any sense of religious profundity or transcendence.

As per all the "Forty Rules of Love" are another set of another quotidian highlight-worthy rules.

Another thing apart from the all the good quotes is that I got to know the reason behind Rumi turning into this legendary poet, which was because of Shams of Tabriz, his lover ( spiritual lover ).

I had really high expectations but it all fell flat just like this book. (less)

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40가지 사랑의 법칙 1

엘리프 샤팍 (지은이),한은경 (옮긴이)생각의나무2010-08-20

원제 : The Forty Rules of Love (2010년)

===

- 품절 확인일 : 2017-03-15

새상품 eBook 중고상품 (46)

판매알림 신청 출간알림 신청 500원

기본정보

312쪽139*200mm406gISBN : 9788964600634

2022 이 분야 최고의 책! 투표하면 1천원 적립금

이 달의 적립금 혜택

이 시간, 알라딘 사은품 총집합!

책소개터키 정부로부터 기소를 당하고도 터키를 대표하는 메블라나 문학상과 터키 소설상을 수상한, 엘리프 샤팍의 2010년 작. 터키어와 영어로 동시 출간된 이 책은 나오자마자 미국과 터키에서 동시에 베스트셀러에 오르는 이색적인 상황을 연출하며 세계적인 화제가 되었다. 특히 터키에서는 출간된 지 8개월 만에 백만 부를 돌파하는 초대형 베스트셀러가 되었다.

잘랄 앗 딘 루미. 이슬람의 위대한 신비주의자로 통하는 13세기 페르시아의 천재 시인이자 철학자인 루미는 '신비주의의 바이블', '페르시아어로 된 쿠란'이라 불리는 <정신적인 마스나위>, 시집 <타브리즈의 태양시집>의 저자로 전 세계적으로 널리 알려진 역사적 인물이다.

<40가지 사랑의 법칙>은 천재시인 루미와 그의 친구이자 스승인 샴스 간의 운명적인 만남을 다룬 13세기 역사소설 <달콤한 신성모독>과 이 소설 원고를 검토하는 미국의 평범한 가정주부 엘라와 소설의 작가 아지즈 간의 정신적인 사랑을 다룬 두 편의 이야기로 이루어진다.

현대를 배경으로 한 소설 속 허구의 인물(엘라와 아지즈) 이야기와 과거를 배경으로 한 역사적 실존 인물(루미와 샴스)의 이야기가 액자 소설 형태로 동시에 전개되는 셈이다. 계속 화자가 바뀌면서 두 이야기 사이를 종횡무진 오가며 벌어지는 신비로운 사건 속에 40가지 사랑의 법칙과 인간의 사랑을 뛰어넘는 영혼의 사랑 이야기가 흥미진진하게 펼쳐진다.

1권

달콤한 신성모독

흙의 장 - 단단하고 흡수되고 정적인 것들

물의 장 - 유동적이며 변화하고 예측할 수 없는 것들

바람의 장(1) - 움직이고 진화하고 도전하는 것들

출전

2권

바람의 장(2) - 움직이고 진화하고 도전하는 것들

불의 장 - 피해를 주고 황폐케 하고 파멸시키는 것들

공(空)의 장 - 부재(不在)로 존재하는 것들

작가의 말

역자 후기

출전

책속에서

지능과 사랑은 각기 다른 재료로 만들어졌다. 지능은 사람들을 묶고 그 어떤 것도 위험에 빠트리지 않는다. 한편 사랑은 엉켜 있는 것을 모두 풀고 모든 것을 위험에 빠트린다. 지능은 언제나 조심스러우며 ‘지나친 환희를 경계하라’고 충고한다. 반면 사랑은 ‘아, 신경 쓰지 마! 뛰어들어 봐!’라고 말한다. 지능은 쉽게 와해되지 않지만 사랑은 어느새 산산조각이 난다. 그러나 보물은 폐허 안에 숨겨져 있다. 상심한 마음은 보물을 숨기고 있다. 접기

그는 말 자체를 불신했기 때문에 며칠 동안 아무 말도 하지 않는 경우도 있었다. 이 역시 그의 법칙 가운데 하나였다. 이 세계 존재하는 대부분의 문제는 언어학적 실수와 단순한 오해에서 시작된다. 말을 액면 그대로 받아들이지 마라. 사랑의 지대에 들어서면 우리가 아는 언어는 무용지물이 된다. 말로 표현될 수 없는 것은 오로지 침묵을 통해서만 이해될 수 있다. 접기

인내란 수동적으로 참는다는 의미가 아니다. 그것은 어떤 과정의 결과를 신뢰할 정도로 멀리 본다는 것을 의미한다. 인내가 무엇을 의미하는가? 가시를 보면서 장미를 볼 줄 알고 밤을 보면서 새벽을 볼 줄 아는 것이다. 인내심이 없다는 것은 결과를 보지 못할 정도로 근시안이라는 뜻이다.

방랑생활에 익숙한 나는 한 도시에 정착해야만 한다는 생각에 약간 침울해졌으나 근본적인 법칙을 하나 떠올렸다. 자신의 길에 찾아오는 변화에 저항하지 않도록 노력하라. 그보다는 삶이 자신을 관통해서 살도록 허용하라. 또한 자신의 삶이 뒤집혀진다고 걱정하지 마라. 앞으로 다가올 것에 비해 자신에게 익숙한 것이 더 낫다고 어떻게 장담할 수 있는가? 접기

인생은 일시적인 부채이며, 이 세계는 실재의 대략적인 모방에 불과하다. 어린이만이 장난감과 실제의 물건을 혼동한다. 그런데도 인간은 장난감에 몰두하거나 장난감을 마구 부숴버린다. 극단(極端)이 우리의 내부적 균형을 깨트릴 것이니, 이 삶에서 모든 극단을 멀리하라.

2022/04/26