is a novel written by the Turkish author Elif Shafak,[1][2][3] Her interest in writing this book was influenced by the degree she received in Gender and Women’s Studies.[4] The book was published in March 2009.[5] It is about the Persian mystic poet Maulana Jalal-Ud-Din, known as Rumi and his companion Shams Tabrizi.[6][7] This book explains how Shams transformed a scholar into a Sufi (mystic) through love.[8] More than 750,000 copies of this book were sold in Turkey and France