The 40 rules of love

Book Review

'The 40 Rules of Love' by

Elif Shafak

Genre: Historical, Novel

.

'The 40 Rules of Love' is a wonderful Historical Novel published in 2010 by Turkish authoress Elif Shafak. The story is about famous islamic poet Maolana Jalaluddin Rumi and his companion as well as his spiritual teacher Shams of Tabriz. A book of almost 250 pages but I can assure that you'd not take time to plunge in the book as soon as you will start reading.

Shams of Tabriz was a Wandering Dervish. He followes 40 rules in the every steps of his life. Once he was feeling like he had to teach all his learnings and wisdom of his life to someone, who has so many knowledge and able to carry those lesson. Shams had a vision of someone he never knew and never met before.

Maulana Rumi was an Islamic scholar at that time. He had many followers and his knowledge was abundant. In the course of events they meet each other and become an integral part of each other. But many people did not like Shams because of some events. They thought he knew black magic by which he could easily influence others and mislead people. Apparently so it seems natural, because of his close proximity, the hospitality of Maulana Rumi changed. He had previously used the Khutba of Zuma, which all the people of the city were fascinated to hear, distribute the knowledge of his disciples, and lived an admirable life as an ideal father and husband. But everything turned upside down after meeting Shams Tabrizi, as he did not go to khutbah in Zuma, nor did he meet the disciples and the visitors, once everyone saw him buying liquor from the liquor store or begging in the street. All of this sows the seeds of resentment towards the Shams among the general public, which is fast becoming a huge tree. In this way the phenomenon gradually moves towards a foregone conclusion.

Forty Rules of Love basically teaches the rules of learning to love and draw close to the Creator. What Shams Tabrizi looks like from the outside, in fact, is the complete opposite. Maulana Rumi said at one point, "Shams is basically a 'Faqih'(man of wisdom), but he moves like a 'fakir'(gypsy begger)". Moreover, he was a great 'Mufassir' (interpreter of Quran's verse). He could expalin the Quran's verse so comprehensibly that, it was easily understandable by everyone. Shams Tabrizi teaches Maulana Rumi to Sufism to draw closer to the Creator. However, Shams has secretly explained that this teaching does not apply to everyone. To understand the hidden meaning of his activities, the Shariah(basic regulations of islam) has to know and understand much. That is, ordinary Muslims are more likely to go astray when they walk in that way (personal opinion).

This is my first book by Elif Shafak. In fact, she has taken two stories together very efficiently. And from the point of view of different people, the flow of events is so beautifully captured that at the same time, the views and judgments of all the characters become clear before the eyes. After starting reading, I was woven into the book the whole time, well-read enough. So start reading, hopefully you will not be disappointed. If you have any questions about this book you can ask me. If someone has already read, you can respond some comments.

Thanks.

( I am not a book critic but an ordinary reader, come here to share my repercussions about the books I read. I hope you'll excuse my fumbles by your kind heart.)