‘You cannot separate love from God any more than you can separate water from the Ocean.’
THIS is the tradition of Islamic mysticism more than 100 of years ago. The mystics who seek God as a Beloved speak to God in intimate whispers and prayers overflowing with radical love called Monajat. Love of God is above the love of Paradise or even salvation from hellfire and the relationship, which they seek with God does not await the judgment day. It is the relationship of love here and now, and they speak about it with tenderness and softness reminiscent of an intense relationship. We are told that we will meet God face to face in the Hereafter. These mystics are boldly impatient. They want to see the face of God Here and Now. One of the Mystic is asked, how you define this path of love. He says “Bakhuda Rahatbakum,’ to be at ease with God.” When you read their poetry, many times they refer to God as friend and talk to Him in intimate personal tones as you speak to your friend. Rumi says, “The lover visible, the beloved invisible, whose crazy idea was this.” “Who’s seen such a love? Anywhere in all the worlds. The Lovers plain to see. The Beloved Hidden.”
Abul Hasan Kharaqani is a simple Shepard and a lover of God. Attar writes about him and tells a wonderful story in which Kharaqani has a dream, in which God says to him, “I think people are getting very fond of you. Do you want me to tell people, what a hypocrite you are, every negative thought that has ever crossed your mind and the desires you still have and if I do, they will stone you to death. Kharaqani talks right back to God, “My Lord do you want me to go and tell people how passionately you love every single creature, that you have created. That you love humanity more than a mother loves her newborn child and that you will never throw any one of them in hell fire and if I do, lot of them will stop praying and fasting and doing the things that you want them to do.” Kharaqani says there was a long dramatic pause and he hears the voice of God, “How about this, you say nothing and I say nothing.”
Radical love or (Eshq) is the journey of Muslim sages, poets, dreamers, and lovers on this sacred path of love. It is this fierce love for the divine, mingling with the love of humanity, that has been a means of spiritual ascension for these seekers, who yearn to behold God here and now. It is a light-filled spark, arising from the very heart of Sufis, a poetic voice that looks to God through a love, that is at once transformative and redemptive, human and divine at the same time. This mystical path called Mazhab-e Ishq is often translated as the Path of Love. Rumi says, “At night, I open the window, And ask the moon to come, And press its face against mine, Breathe into me. Close the language door, And open the love window.” In this world, we have reduced love, this cosmic divine force, to a more commonly known romantic love, but for the mystics, love is light, it comes unabashedly, radiantly, in a thousand different shades and colors that still blend into One. For these mystics, love is a fire, a purifying fire that burns away selfishness, greed, anger, ego, and leaves behind nothing but God. Rumi takes the example of an onion in defining what Divine love is. He says,
“Think of love as an onion. Love like an onion has a multi-layer structure. In the inner most layer resides the love of one own self. This does not mean pride, but it can be termed as self-respect. The second layer is love of family members. We graduate from the first level of love self-respect to the second level i.e. love of immediate family members. The third level of love is love of neighbors, members of our community and ultimately the people of our own nation. Some people can experience even greater love. They can love all human beings, all humanity. Yet another layer is love of all creatures and love of nature. Take all these layers and put them together and this is divine love.” Rumi says, “An affection induced by disingenuous motives is not love.
It is a scandalous affair, that will end in disgrace. This is what happens when you invest all your affection in things, which do not endure, things which do not last, because these are transient and temporary in nature.” Rumi advises, “Choose the love of the Living one who is everlasting, who gives thee the drink of wine that increases life. Choose the love of Him from whose love all Prophets gained power and glory.” What is our love for God based on other than a series of words, a couple of images? We fall in love with that Beloved without seeing Him. One word one glance, makes you burn in love and what makes you feel better is another word, another glance and what happens after a second glance, you burn more. This is the path, which the Sufis take, burn, burn and burn more for the love of the One, who is everlasting. Rumi says, “I was raw, than I was cooked and then I was on fire.” —To be continue.
—The writer is author of various books based in Rawalpindi.
