“When the path ignites a soul, there’s no remaining in place. The foot touches ground, but not for long.”- Hakim Sanai
Ahmad Ghazali composed a short book called the ‘Sawanih,’ which is a masterpiece of the path of radical love. Ahmad begins this book offering praise to God and the Prophet (PBUH) and then immediately moves to discussing the mysteries of radical love (Ishq). He states that the reality of love cannot be captured in words. For him, writing about love is akin to creating a private wedding chamber in which the ‘men of words’ can have union, with all the sensual and spiritual connotations of the word with the ‘virgin ideas’ of radical love. For Ghazali, the inner reality of this supreme and overflowing love had remained untouched until then, but there would be union. He says,
“We can achieve the inner secrets of supreme love, provided we do not bifurcate love into a duality of human love and divine love. For Ghazali and the mystics of the path of love, there is only one love.” He goes back to his favorite Qur’anic verse:- “God loves them; they love God.” (Surah Al -Maidah 5:54).
It is the seed in the fertile heart’s soil, blossoming into a flower of love in humanity.This love is of the same color and same essence as that of divine love. In a metaphor, it changes how we think about love and spirit.Ghazali talks about the Spirit crossing the realm of non-existence toward the realm of existenceand when it gets to the very threshold of existence, love is already there awaiting the Spirit. In other words, love is pre-existing and pre-eternal. This is consistent with the teachings of many mystics, who see love not as merely another divine quality, but the divine quality par excellence, flowing directly from the being of God.
Ahmed Ghazali says, “I can teach you about love as long as you do not distinguish between loving God and loving humanity. If you want to be clear and refreshing as the morning breeze or like the sun, having nothing,but warmth and light and love everyone.”
Attar takes the same love and tenderness and puts it in the context of service. He narrates the story of two brothers who have an elderly mother, who is bed ridden and is very sick. One brother takes care of her and the other spends most of his time in prayers.” One night the praying brother hears the voice of God, “For the sake of your brother, I have decided to grant both of you a place in heaven.” He says, “I am so grateful my Lord, but haven’t you got it wrong, for the sake of my prayers for you, You have decided to grant jannat(heavens) to my brother.”
He hears the voice of God again, “I know to whom I am talking. Your service to me is something for which I have no utility, but your mother needs looking after and it is the service, which your brother does even at the cost of neglecting his prayers and this matters to me the most.” The lesson of the story is one closet to God is closer to humanity. This radical love has to be lived, embodied, shared and refined not in the heavens, but right here in the earthly life. The path to God goes through the most difficult of God’s creatures, the human beings. Loving God is easy, but loving the humans is hard. In Sufi tradition, there is only one love, the cosmic divine current that originates from God, brings creation into existence, sustains and nourishes it through His Grace, love and mercy and then takes it back to its original source, reuniting with God. Ibn’Arabi says, “My entire journey was all within my own self, but when I came in the presence of my Lord, all I felt was servant hood with no trace of sovereignty left in me.”
The servant whose heart encompasses God has become the perfect man by actualizing the Divine Form, upon which he was created having comprehended/realized all the divine names in his own self and achieving highest moral excellence. This is the meaning of Ibn’Arabi famous verse:- “My heart has become a receptacle of every form, for gazelles a meadow, a cloister for monks, for the idols, sacred ground, Ka’aba for the circling pilgrim.
The tables of the Torah, The book of the Qur’an. I profess the religion of Love. Wherever its caravan turns, that is my belief and my faith.” Allah Subhanwa Tallah says, “I cannot fit into heavens and earth, but the heart of my loving servant suffices me.” Hadees Qudsi, how to have a vibrant heart? Khalil Jabran says, “Why don’t you plead to God, wake up in the middle of the night and prostrate twice. The heart is greater than the heavens and circling spheres. Why do you constrict it with thoughts and whispering doubts? Happy the ones whose eyes sleep and whose heart does not. Woe on the Ones whose eyes do not sleep, but heart does.”
Rumi says, “You created all this I, You, We, They, just to play the game of adoration with your own self.” The intensity of love between the Creator and His creation has no limits and is everlasting. Rumi says, “If you are in love join the congregation. If you still have a mind than stay away. If you are pressed for home and parched by fire, I will take you to a secret stream, I know. You can drink and satisfy your desire. And if your eyes can’t see what’s hidden there, just bring your thirst to serve your Messiah.” —To be continued.
—The writer is author of six books including “Islamic Spirituality and Mysticism, the Path and destination’ & ‘The Philosophy of Rumi and its relevance in the Present Times.
