Shams of Tabriz's 40 Rules of Love
Rule 1
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.
Rule 2
The path to the Truth is a labour of
the heart, not of the head. Make your heart your primary guide! Not your mind.
Meet, challenge and ultimately prevail over your nafs with your heart. Knowing
your ego will lead you to the knowledge of God.
Rule 3
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.
Rule 4
Intellect and love are made of
different materials. 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!’ Intellect does not easily break down, whereas love can effortlessly
reduce itself to rubble. But treasures are hidden among ruins. A broken heart
hides treasures.
Rule 5
Most of problems of the world stem
from linguistic mistakes and simple misunderstanding. 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.
Rule 6
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.
Rule 7
Whatever happens in your life, no
matter how troubling things might seem, do not enter the neighbourhood 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. A Sufi is
thankful not only for what he has been given but also for all that he has been
denied.
Rule 8
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 short-sighted 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.
Rule 9
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.
Rule 10
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. Just as clay
needs to go through intense heat to become strong, Love can only be perfected
in pain.
Rule 11
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.
Rule 12
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. A genuine
spiritual master will not direct your attention to himself or herself and will
not expect absolute obedience or utter admiration from you, but instead will
help you to appreciate and admire your inner self. True mentors are as
transparent as glass. They let the light of God pass through them.
Rule 13
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?
Rule 14
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. We are each an unfinished work of art both waiting and striving to
be completed. God deals with each of us separately because humanity is fine art
of skilled penmanship where every single dot is equally important for the
entire picture.
Rule 15
It’s easy to love a perfect God,
unblemished and infallible that He is. What is far more difficult is to love
fellow human being with all their imperfections and defects. Remember, one can
only know 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.
Rule 16
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. You can purify your body through abstinence and fasting, but only love
will purify your heart.
Rule 17
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.
Rule 18
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.
Rule 19
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. Don’t go with the flow. Be the
flow.
Rule 20
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. Therefore, disrespecting differences and imposing your
thoughts on others is an amount to disrespecting God’s holy scheme.
Rule 21
When a true lover of God goes into a
tavern, the tavern becomes his chamber of prayer, but when a wine bibber goes
into the same chamber, it becomes his tavern. In everything we do, it is our
hearts that make the difference, not our outer appearance. Sufis do not judge
other people on how they look or who they are. When a Sufi stares at someone,
he keeps both eyes closed instead opens a third eye – the eye that sees the
inner realm.
Rule 22
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. And yet human beings either become infatuated
with the toy or disrespectfully break it and throw it aside. In this life stay
away from all kinds of extremities, for they will destroy your inner balance.
Sufis do not go to extremes. A Sufi always remains mild and moderate.
Rule 23
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.
Ask yourself, just how often do you behave like a delegate, if you ever do so?
Remember, it fells upon each of us to discover the divine spirit inside and
live by it.
Rule 24
Hell is in the here and now. 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 someone we tumble straight into the
fires of hell.
Rule 25
Each and every reader comprehends the
Holy Qur’an on a different level of tandem with the depth of his understanding.
There are four levels of insight. The first level is the outer meaning and it
is the one that the majority of the people are content with. Next is the Batin
– the inner level. Third, there is the inner of the inner. And the fourth level
is so deep it cannot be put into words and is therefore bound to remain
indescribable.
Rule 26
The universe is one being. Everything
and everyone is interconnected through an invisible web of stories. Whether we
are aware of it or not, we are all in a silent conversation. Do no harm.
Practice compassion. And do not gossip behind anyone’s back – not even a
seemingly innocent remark! 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. One man’s pain will hurt us all. One man’s joy will make everyone
smile.
Rule 27
Whatever you speak, good or evil,
will somehow come back to you. Therefore, if there is someone who harbours ill
thoughts about you, saying similarly bad things about him will only make
matters worse. You will be locked in a vicious circle of malevolent energy.
Instead for forty days and nights say and think nice things about that person.
Everything will be different at the end of 40 days, because you will be
different inside.
Rule 28
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.
Rule 29
Destiny doesn’t mean that your life
has been strictly predetermined. Therefore, to live everything to the fate and
to not actively contribute to the music of the universe is a sign of sheer
ignorance. The music of the universe is all pervading and it is composed on 40
different levels. Your destiny is the level where you play your tune. You might
not change your instrument but how well to play is entirely in your hands.
Rule 30
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. A Sufi never
apportions blame. How can there be opponents or rivals or even “others” when
there is no “self” in the first place? How can there be anyone to blame when
there is only One?
Rule 31
If you want to strengthen your faith,
you will need to soften inside. For your faith to be rock solid, your heart
needs to be as soft as a feather. Through an illness, accident, loss or fright,
one way or another, we are all faced with incidents that teach us how to become
less selfish and judgmental and more compassionate and generous. Yet some of us
learn the lesson and manage to become milder, while some others end up becoming
even harsher than before…
Rule 32
Nothing should stand between you and
God. No imams, priests, rabbits or any other custodians of moral or religious
leadership. Not spiritual masters and not even your faith. Believe in your
values and your rules, but never lord them over others. If you keep breaking
other people’s hearts, whatever religious duty you perform is no good. Stay
away from all sorts of idolatry, for they will blur your vision. Let God and only
God be your guide. Learn the Truth, my friend, but be careful not to make a
fetish out of your truths.
Rule 33
While everyone in this world strives
to get somewhere and become someone, only to leave it all behind after death,
you aim for the supreme stage of nothingness. Live this life as light and empty
as the number zero. We are no different from a pot. It is not the decorations
outside but the emptiness inside that holds us straight. Just like that, it is
not what we aspire to achieve but the consciousness of nothingness that keeps
us going.
Rule 34
Submission does not mean being weak
or passive. It leads to neither fatalism nor capitulation. Just the opposite.
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
the whole wide world goes through turbulence after turbulence.
Rule 35
In this world, it is not similarities
or regularities that take us a step forward, but blunt opposites. And all the opposites
in the universe are present within each and every one of us. Therefore the
believer needs to meet the unbeliever residing within. And the nonbeliever
should get to know the silent faithful in him. Until the day one reaches the
stage of Insane-I Kamil, the perfect human being, faith is a gradual process
and one that necessitates its seeming opposite: disbelief.
Rule 36
This world is erected upon the
principle of reciprocity. Neither a drop of kindness nor a speck of evil will
remain unreciprocated. For not the plots, deceptions, or tricks of other
people. If somebody is setting a trap, remember, so is God. He is the biggest
plotter. Not even a leaf stirs outside God’s knowledge. Simply and fully
believe in that. Whatever God does, He does it beautifully.
Rule 37
God is a meticulous dock maker. So
precise is His order that everything on earth happens in its own time. 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.
Rule 38
It is never too late to ask yourself,
“Am I ready to change the life I am living? Am I ready to change within?” Even
if a single day in your life is the same as the day before, it surely is a
pity. At every moment and with each new breath, one should be renewed and
renewed again. There is only one-way to be born into a new life: to die before
death.
Rule 39
While the part change, 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. In
this way not only does nothing remain the same but also nothing ever really
changes. For every Sufi who dies, another is born somewhere.
Rule 40
A life without love is of no account.
Don’t ask yourself what kind of love you should seek, spiritual or material,
divine or mundane, Eastern or Western. Divisions only lead to more divisions.
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.
