She never confronted the death of anything, be it a habit, a phase, or a marriage, even when the end stood right in front of her, plain and inevitable.

Most of the problems of the world stem from linguistic mistakes and simple misunderstandings.Don't ever take words at face value. When you step into the zone of love, language as we know it becomes obselete.That which cannot be put into words can only be grasped through silence.

In this world take pity on three kinds of people.The rich man who has lost his fortune,The well-respected man who lost his respectability,And the wise man who is surrounded by ignorants.

You can study God through everything and everyone in the universe, because God is not confined in a mosque, synagogue, or church. But if you are still in need of knowing where exactly His abode is, there is only one place to look for Him: in the heart of a true lover.

Each reader comprehends the Holy Quran on a different level in tandem with the depth of his understanding.The 4 levels of insight.<ol><li>The 1st level is the outer meaning and it is the one that the majority of the people are content with. (Scholars who focus on the sharia know the outer meaning)</li><li>The 2nd level is Batini - the inner level. (Sufis know the inner meaning)</li><li>The 3rd level is the inner of the inner. (Saints know the inner of the inner)</li><li>The 4th level is so deep it cannot be put into words and is therefore bound to remain indescribable. (This is known by prophets and those closest to God)</li></ol>

Why worry 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?Motivated by neither the fear of punishment in hell nor the desire to be rewarded in heaven, Sufis love God simply because they love Him, pure and easy, untainted and unnegotiable.Love is the reason. Love is the goal.

What matters is to find the soul that will complete yours. All the Prophets have given the same advice: Find the one who will be your mirror!

Real filth is on the inside.The rest simply washes off. There is only one type of dirt that cannot be cleansed with pure waters, and that is the stain of hatred and bigotry contaminating the soul. You can purify your body through abstinence and fasting, but only love will purify your heart.

After a few drinks, I hear the same stories from them all.Men are the same everywhere. Same food, same water, same old crap.

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. The perfect victim for sheitan.

It was always like this.When you spoke the truth, they hated you.The more you talked about love, the more they hated you.

Did you know that Shams says the world is a huge cauldron and something big is cooking in it?We don't know what yet. Everything we do, feel, or think is an ingredient in that mixture.Weneed to ask ourselves what are we adding to the cauldron. Are we adding resentments, animosities, anger, and violence?Or are we adding love and harmony?

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.

How can love be worthy of its name if one selects solely the pretty things and leaves out the hardships?It is easy to enjoy the good and dislike the bad.Anybody can do that.The real challenge is to love the good and the bad together, not because you need to take the rough with the smooth but because you need to go beyond such descriptions and accept love in its entirety.

He had a remarkable curiosity about everything new and unusual and was a great observer of nature.Some days I found him in the garden admiring the symmetry of a spiderweb or the dewdrop glistening on a night blooming flower.Insects, plants, and animals seemed more interesting and inspiring to him than books and manuscripts.But just when I would start thinking he had no interest in reading, I would find him immersed in an age old book.Then, once again he would go for weeks on end without reading and studying anything.

About Shams

Fret not where the road will take you. Instead concentrate on the first step. Thats the hardest part and thats what you are responsible for. Once you take that step, let everything do what it naturally does and the rest will follow. Do not go with the flow. Be the flow.

In general one shouldn't be too rigid about anything because to live means to constantly shift colours.

It is easy to love God, But difficult to love fellow human beings with all their imperfections and defects. There is no wisdom without love. Unless we learn to love God's creation, we can neither truly love nor truly know God.

*The international bestseller* "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..." Ella Rubinstein has a husband, three teenage children, and a pleasant home. Everything that should make her confident and fulfilled. Yet there is an emptiness at the heart of Ella's life - an emptiness once filled by love. So when Ella reads a manuscript about the thirteenth-century Sufi poet Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, and his forty rules of life and love, her world is turned upside down. She embarks on a journey to meet the mysterious author of this work. It is a quest infused with Sufi mysticism and verse, taking Ella and us into an exotic world where faith and love are heartbreakingly explored. . . 'Enlightening, enthralling. An affecting paean to faith and love' Metro 'Colourfully woven and beguilingly intelligent' Daily Telegraph 'The past and present fit together beautifully in a passionate defence of passion itself' The Times

philosophy

Philosophy

religionandspirituality

Religion & Spirituality

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

loveandrelationships

Love & Relationships

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER *One of the BBC's '100 Novels that Shaped the World'* "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 . . ." Ella Rubinstein has a husband, three teenage children, and a pleasant home. Everything that should make her confident and fulfilled. Yet there is an emptiness at the heart of Ella's life - an emptiness once filled by love. So when Ella reads a manuscript about the thirteenth-century Sufi poet Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, and his forty rules of life and love, her world is turned upside down. She embarks on a journey to meet the mysterious author of this work. It is a quest infused with Sufi mysticism and verse, taking Ella and us into an exotic world where faith and love are heartbreakingly explored. . . 'Enlightening, enthralling. An affecting paean to faith and love' Metro 'Colourfully woven and beguilingly intelligent' Daily Telegraph 'The past and present fit together beautifully in a passionate defence of passion itself' The Times

Elif Shafak is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Elif Shafak has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Elif Shafak's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

SHAMS OF TABRIZ

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