Understanding Holy Scriptures
Shams of Tabriz explains in The Forty Rules of Love that sacred scripture is like a flowing river with many currents. On the surface, one sees only the visible stream, but beneath it lie hidden undercurrents, whirlpools, and deeper movements. In the same way, Qur'anic verses contain literal, symbolic, spiritual, and mystical meanings.
When certain verses appear to speak negatively about women, Shams says many readers remain trapped in the outer current of interpretation. They read only with the intellect and ego, not with the awakened spiritual heart. In Sufi symbolism, references to "woman" may point not to actual women, but to the weakness of the lower mind or the nafs within mankind. Likewise, "man" may symbolise discipline or outward intellect. These are spiritual metaphors, not declarations of superiority inferiority. or
For Shams, Divine revelation is a deep river whose true meaning can only be understood by moving beyond surface appearances into inner spiritual understanding.
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