The Forty Rules of Love

A distraught Rumi approaches Sultan Walad, reporting that Shams is gone and asking his son to find him. Sultan Walad agrees and spends the week searching the city for Shams, meeting many people whose lives have been touched by him. When Sultan Walad cannot find him, he returns home and speaks with Kerra, whom he tells he will be going to other cities in search of Shams. When she hears this, Kerra implies that Sultan Walad might need only pretend to search for Shams so that their lives can go back to normal. Unsure of what to do, Sultan Walad asks Kerra for advice but she has none for him. 

Heartbroken at the absence of his friend, Rumi reflects on his inability to focus on anything other than Shams. He thinks about how his friend helped tear down his reputation in order to build him into the man he is today—a burgeoning poet with a deeper understanding of spirituality. The chapter ends with Rumi pleading for Shams’s return.