Lock-down Stories Part 4

The Forty Rules of Love [Elif Shafak]

KONYA, AUGUST 17, 1245

Late in the afternoon, I took out the Qur'an hanging on the wall, determined to study it on my own. In the past, Rumi and I had always followed the order in which the verses were handed down to us, but now that there was nobody guiding me and our live had been turned topsy-turvy, I saw no harm in reading without an order. So I haphazardly opened a page and put my finger on the first verse that came up. It turned out to be al-Nisa, the one verse in the whole book that has troubled me the most. With its unpromising teachings on women, I found the Nisa hard to understand and harder to accept. As I stood there reading the verse one more time, it occurred to me to ask for help. Rumi might be skipping our lessons, but there was no reason I couldn't ask him questions. So I grabbed my Qur'an and went to his room.

To my surprise, instead of Rumi I found Shams there, sitting by the window with a rosary in his hand, the dying light of the setting sun caressing his face. He looked so handsome I had to avert my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "I was looking for Mawlana. I'll come later"

"Why the rush? Stay," Shams said. "You seem to have come here to ask something. Perhaps I could be of help."

I saw no reason no to share it with him. "Well, there's this verse in the Qur'an that I find a bit hard to understand," I said tentatively.

Shams murmured, as if talking to himself, "The Qur'an is like a shy bride. She'll open her veil only if she sees that the onlooker is soft and compassionate at heart." Then he squared his shoulders and asked, "Which verse is it?"

"Al-Nisa," I said. "There are some parts in it where men are said to be superior to women. It even says men can beat their wives..."

"Is that so?" Shams asked with such exaggerated interest that I couldn't be sure whether he was serious or teasing me. After a momentary silence, be 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 the 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 ad 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.

"Do you see any difference between the two?" Shams asked.

"Yes I do," I said. "Their whole texture is different. The former sounds as if it gives consent to married men to beat their wives, whereas the latter advises them to simply walk away. I think that is a big difference. Why is that?"

"Why is that? Why is that?" Shams echoed several times, as if enjoying the question. "Tell me something, Kimya. Have you ever gone swimming in a river?"

I nodded as a childhood memory returned to me. The cold, thirst-quenching streams of Taurus Mountains crossed my mind. Of the younger girl who had spent many happy afternoons in those streams with her sister and her friends, there was now little left behind. I turned my face away as I didn't want Shams to see the tears in my eyes.

"When you look at a river from a distance, Kimya, you might think there's only one watercourse. But if you dive into the water, you'll realize that there's more than one river. The river conceals various currents, all of then flowing in harmony and yet completely separate from one another."

Upon saying that , Shams of Tabriz approached me and held my chin between his two fingers, forcing me to look directly into his deep, dark, soulful eye. My heart skipped a beat. I couldn't even breathe.

"The Qur'an is a gushing river," he said. "Those who look at it from a distance see only one river. But for those swimming in it, there are four currents. Like different types of fish, some of us swim closer to the surface while others swim in deep waters down below."