Shams of Tabriz: 40 rules of love

Shams of Tabriz: 40 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.

The path to the Truth is a labour of the heart, not of the head. Make your heart your primary guide, not your mind. Knowing your ego will lead you to the knowledge of God.

You can study God through everything and everyone in the universe, 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.

Intellect ties people in knots and risks nothing, but love dissolves all tangles and risks everything. Intellect is always cautious and advices, ‘Beware too much ecstasy’, whereas love says, ‘Oh, never mind! Take the plunge!’

Don’t ever take words at face value. When you step into the zone of love, language, as we know it becomes obsolete. That which cannot be put into words can only be grasped through silence.

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.

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!

Patience means to look at the end of a process. It means 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.

East, west, south, or north makes little difference. No matter what your destination, just be sure to make every journey a journey within. If you travel within, you’ll travel the whole wide world and beyond.

The midwife knows that when there is no pain, the way for the baby cannot be opened and the mother cannot give birth. Likewise, for a new self to be born, hardship is necessary. Love can only be perfected in pain.

The quest for love changes user. There is no seeker among those who search for love who has not matured on the way. The moment you start looking for love, you start to change within and without.

There are more fake gurus and false teachers in this world than the number of stars in the visible universe. Don’t confuse power-driven, self-centered people with true mentors. They are as transparent as glass and let God’s Light pass through them.

Try not to resist the changes, which 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?

God is busy with the completion of your work, both outwardly and inwardly. He is fully occupied with you. Every human being is a work in progress that is slowly but inexorably moving toward perfection.

It’s easy to love a perfect God but more difficult to love fellow human beings with all their imperfections. One can only know what one is capable of loving, wisdom requires love. Without loving God’s creation, we cannot love and know God.

Real faith is the one inside. The rest simply washes off. There is only one type of dirt that cannot be cleansed with pure water, and that is the stain of hatred and bigotry contaminating the soul. Only love will purify your heart.

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.

If you want to change the ways others treat you, you should first change the way you treat yourself. Once you achieve that stage, be thankful for every thorn that others might throw at you. It is a sign that you will soon be showered in roses.

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

We were all created in His image, and yet we were each created different and unique. No two people are alike. No hearts beat to the same rhythm. If God had wanted everyone to be the same, He would have made it so. Respect diversity!

When a true lover of God goes into a tavern, the tavern becomes his chamber of prayer. In everything we do, it is our hearts that make the difference, not our outer appearance. Sufis do not judge other people. The third eye sees the inner realm.

Life is a temporary loan and this world is nothing but a sketchy imitation of Reality. Only children would mistake a toy for the real thing. In this life stay away from all kinds of extremities, for they will destroy your inner balance.

The human being has a unique place among God’s creation. “I breathed into him of My Spirit,” God says. Each and every one of us without exception is designed to be God’s delegate on earth.

Hell is in the here and now and so is heaven. Quit worrying about hell or dreaming about heaven, as they are both present inside this very moment. Every time we fall in love, we ascend to heaven. Every time we hate, envy or fight we fall into hell.

Each and every reader comprehends the Word of God differently. There are four levels of insight, the outer meaning, the inner level. Third, there is the inner of the inner. And the fourth level is so deep it cannot be put into words.

The universe is one being. Everything and everyone is interconnected. Do no harm, be compassionate and don’t gossip. Words and actions are stored and come back to us. One man’s pain will hurt us all. One woman’s joy will make everyone smile.

Whatever you speak, good or evil, will somehow come back to you. Therefore, if there is someone who harbors ill thoughts about you, don’t retaliate. Instead for forty days and nights say and think nice things about that person.

The past is an interpretation. The future is on illusion. The world does not more through time as if it were a straight line, but moves instead in spirals. If you want to experience eternal illumination, remain within the present moment.

Destiny doesn’t mean that your life has been strictly predetermined. You have to contribute to the music of the universe which is composed on 40 different levels. Your destiny is the level where you play your tune and how well you play.

The true Sufi is such that even when he is unjustly accused, attacked and condemned from all sides, he patiently endures, uttering not a sing bad word about any of his critics. How can there be anyone to blame when there is only One?

Strengthen your faith by softening inside. For faith to be rock solid, your heart needs to be as soft as a feather. Through illness, accidents and losses we are taught to become less selfish and judgmental and more compassionate and generous.

Nothing should stand between you and God. No spiritual masters and not even your faith. Believe in your values but never lord over others. Stay away from all sorts of idolatry. Learn the Truth but don’ make a fetish out of your truth.

While everyone in this world strives to get somewhere and become someone, you aim for the supreme stage of nothingness. Live this life as light and empty as the number zero. It is the consciousness of ‘no-thing’ that keeps us going.

Submission does not equal weakness. To the contrary, true power resides in submission a power that comes within. Those who submit to the divine essence of life will live in unperturbed tranquillity and peace even in turbulent times.

It is not similarities that take us a step forward, but blunt opposites. And all the opposites in the universe are present within all of us. The believer needs to meet the unbeliever within and the nonbeliever should meet the silent faithful in him.

Neither a drop of kindness nor a speck of evil will remain unreciprocated. If somebody is setting a trap, so is God. He is the biggest plotter. Not even a leaf stirs outside God’s knowledge. Whatever God does, He does it beautifully.

God is a meticulous and precise. Neither a minute late nor a minute early. And for everyone without exception, the clock works accurately. For each there is a time to love and a time to die.

It is never too late to ask, “Am I ready to change the life I am living? Even if a single day is the same as the day before, it’s a waste. Every moment we should be renewed again. There is only one-way to be re-born, to die before death.

While the part changes, the whole always remains the same. For every thief who departs this world, a new one is born. And every descent person who passes away is replaced by a new one. Nothing ever really changes.

A life without love is of no account. Don’t ask yourself what kind of love, spiritual or material, divine or mundane, Eastern or Western. Love has no labels, no definitions. It is what it is, pure and simple. Love is the water of life. And a lover is a soul of fire! The universe turns differently when fire loves water."
(The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak)