The Forty Rules of Love

Rumi awakes from the dream he always has—the same one that matches Shams’s visions. He is comforted by his wife, Kerra, before he decides to take a walk to clear his mind. He thinks about his two grown sons and adopted daughter and notes that in spite of this, he feels a void deep inside.

Shams arrives on the outskirts of Konya, where he meets a cattle driver. The two have a conversation about Rumi and the cattle driver explains how Rumi’s sermons bring joy to his life after hardship. He invites Shams to go to one of Rumi’s sermons but Shams decides that he wants to explore the city before he sees Rumi.

Hasan relays the intricacies of life as a leper—the constant pain and disintegrating body as well as the culture of begging. He discusses how alms are given so that he might pray for other people, especially during Ramadan. On this particular day, Hasan intends to attend a sermon by Rumi but quickly finds himself disillusioned by the scholar; his opulent dress and speaking of suffering (when Hasan supposes Rumi has never really suffered like he has) turns Hasan off and he leaves the sermon early.