Interpretation of the Sixteenth Rule of Love

Rule Number 16 — 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.

– Shams, to Self

Context - This rule arises just before Shams meets Rumi at the mosque, when he chooses to wander through the city of Konya to understand its people, their lives, and their perceptions of Rumi. As he observes the suffering and struggles of people, this rule comes to his mind.

Interpretation within the Story - As Shams witnesses the hardships and pain people endure while managing their lives in Konya, a deep surge of love, compassion, and empathy arises within him.

There is a well-known spiritual idea that all of us are nothing but reflections of the Divine. This thought appears in different forms across many religious scriptures.

If we truly accept that we are all reflections or parts of the same Divine, then how can we love the Divine while hating one another? This contradiction simply shows our lack of awareness. It also reveals that we find it easier to love an invisible God who does not directly interfere in our lives, rather than loving another human being who can exercise free will and challenge our desires at any moment.

This rule suggests that loving people around us is often far more challenging than loving the Divine.

Deeper Interpretation Beyond the Story - At its core, this rule teaches compassion and empathy. We tend to hold a perfectionist image of God as someone who is infallible. Naturally, it is easy to love such a flawless Divine.

However, the real challenge lies in loving a human being who, although a part of the same Divine, is still capable of making mistakes. A human being is a work in progress, evolving step by step. On this journey, one is bound to stumble, make errors, and perform both good and bad actions.

In such situations, we are called to be empathetic. The mistakes of others should remind us of our own past errors. If we have faltered in similar ways, it is only natural that others will too, as they walk the same path of growth. This is why loving God’s creation is a greater challenge than loving God Himself.

Shams then offers another profound insight: “Remember, one can only know what one is capable of loving.”

True knowing happens through love. When we love someone, we open ourselves and share our inner world. Without love, genuine understanding is not possible. We cannot truly know another person unless there is love between us.

If we resist love, as many people unconsciously do, we cannot expect to truly know anyone. In this context, Shams further says, “There is no wisdom without love.” It is in moments of love that true wisdom flows from the Divine into us, once again linking love with the Divine.

Therefore, Shams concludes that to love or know God, we must first learn to love God’s creation. It is contradictory to claim that we love God while hating His creation, that is, other human beings. It is like saying, “I admire Picasso, but I cannot stand his paintings.” Yet Picasso is known through his paintings alone.

In the same way, to love the Divine, we must first learn to love every living being.

Gratitude!!!