LETTER 48: THE COMMAND CONCERNING AFFECTIONATE LOVE AND PASSIONATE LOVE

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate!

Brother Shamsuddin may God grant you perfect love! The affection ate love of the Lord for His servant, and the affectionate love of the servant for the Lord, is the correct type of love. Both the Quran and the Traditions concur in this. Within the community of believers there is a consensus that God has a quality or attribute by which His friends love Him and He loves them. Affectionate love, as far as the dictionary meaning of the word goes, is derived from the root that means affection or friendship. It can also mean seeds which are sown in the soil of one's heart. This second root meaning can be considered insofar as the germ of life is contained in the seed in the same way that the life of a plant is contained in its seed. That seed. when it is sown in the soil, lies concealed; rain comes and waters it. the sun warms it; cold and heat pass over it, but it does not alter When its proper time arrives, however, it germinates and produces flowers and fruits. Likewise, when affectionate love dwells in some one's heart, it is not altered by what is in front of it, or by what is hid den; or by any calamity, effort, comfort, delight, absence, or even by union itself.

With regard to its method of operation, however, there is a difference of opinion among religious scholars. A group of theologians contends that affectionate love of the Lord is the sum total of attributes, since if the Quran and the Traditions had not been in agreement, its very existence with respect to God would be an impossible idea for the human intellect to grasp We confirm that position and put our faith in it, but we hesitate to state that any sort of control can be exercised over it.

Another group of religious scholars says that love is the inclination of the soul, tea desire and wish of the heart, and affection, all of which are bodily qualities. It is not fitting to attribute such qualities to God. In fact, they all pertain to creatures in their dealings with one another, according to their nature. This group explains the love of a servant as worship, while the love of the Lord is said to be grace and guidance. The Lord's love for a servant, in their opinion, means that He bestows many favors upon him and grants him merit both in this life and in the next, and keeps him safe from the punishments to come. He also keeps him opposed to sin. In his spiritual life God, be- stows upon him exalted states and high stages, causing his head to break from respect for any rival and making him adhere to the eternal divine favor, with the result that he becomes separated from all creatures and seeks the good pleasure of Him alone

A servant's love for the Lord is a quality found in the heart of the believer, meaning that he should honor and revere the Lord, seeking His good pleasure and showing impatience in his quest for His face. Without Him, he cannot rest content with anyone! He makes a habit of remembering Him. He shuns the remembrance of anything else He becomes cut off from all forms of desire and affection and accepts the King of love, he submits totally to the requirements of love. It would not be seemly that the love of God, for him, should be like the affectionate love shown by one creature toward another, namely a kind of possessing and apprehending of the beloved, for taking plea sure in one's friend is a bodily trait. But the Eternal Reality is all holy! He is exempt from all restriction and comprehension, touching and pleasure. Everyone who thoroughly investigates the reality of love will discover that no doubt at all remains in his mind, all his un- certainty will be removed.

Love can be considered to be of two types. One is the love of kind for kind. It is an inclination of the soul and consists in taking pleasure in a friend. The essence of the beloved is sought by way of bodily union. The second type of love is not between kind and kind. This seeking acquires a certain permanence through one of the qualities of the Beloved, and he finds rest in Him. He feels affection when he hears the speech of the Beloved, or when he sees Him in himself.

There are many sayings of the sheikhs concerning love. They can be discovered by perusing their writings. God willing, you will learn much about love from the sheikhs. One group of them holds that it is fitting to have love for God, but not that God should love a servant. Passionate love, they say, is a delimiting quality on the part of the Beloved himself, the servant is restrained by God, not God by a ser vent! Passionate love on the part of a servant for God would be fit- ting, but not on the part of God for a servant!

Another group maintains that it is not fitting even for a servant to have passionate love for God, since it exceeds limits. God, however, is in no way limited. They also say that passionate love can never arise without actually seeing the person loved, while affectionate love can also arise from hearing. But when it is a question of seeing, then it cannot be applied to God Almighty. No one has seen Him in this world! When there is talk of affectionate love, everyone lays claim to it since, as far as the appellation is concerned, all are the same (i.e., all are lovers). Some, however, hold it lawful to have passionate love for the Lord. They declare that there is a limit for everything, and when it attains that limit, it finds a new name that it did not have previously. Beyond that point, its perfection cannot rise any higher. There is a turning back from perfection toward what is harmful. Consider, for example, a plant. In the initial stages of its growth, it is geared to a process of increase, seeking its own perfection. This perfection con- sists in producing fruit. When it has done so, it begins to decline and dry up. Consider also the state of childhood in a man. From child- hood a man is oriented toward growing. When he reaches the prime of life and achieves his own perfection, however, he begins to tread the path of decline leading to old age. The life cycle of affectionate love is similar. There is that first glance which results in a person's falling in love. This love increases hourly, seeking its own perfection. When it reaches its very limit, it becomes incapable of receiving any further increase. Then it becomes free of all the impurities of passion and becomes separated from the attachments of the soul and, at the outermost limit of friendship, becomes free from union or departure. grief or comfort, nearness or distance. It turns its attention to the destruction of self, talks about the abandonment of all decrees, and remains firm and stable in the desire of passionate love. At this stage the name passionate love is acquired, and when it has received this name, it is beyond the domain of imagination and conjectures! It is by accepting the divine illuminations that one receives this name. The name passionate love indicates the outermost limit of friendship and

the perfection of the affectionate love of the pilgrim. As long as a person worships, he is called a devotee, as long as he knows God, he is called a wise man; as long as he perceives God, he is called a gnostic, as long as he turns away from all that is not God, he is called an ascetic, as long as he lives righteously, he is called a sincere one; as long as he treads the path of friendship, he is called an eager one; and when he throws away all created beings in order to accept Him, he is called a friend; and as long as he makes a gift of himself while witnessing Him, he is called a lover; and when he becomes such that both his annihilation and his permanence perish in His existence once and for all, he is called a passionate lover It is said that passionate love comes through divine illumination. The Eternal Friend generates it. It is somewhat like lightning, which comes flashing into our eyes and thundering upon our ears. Its rapidity of movement separates it from other accidental events of the world. A person does things because he is a lover that he would not do if he were a stranger, not even for his own well-being; but out of love for his friend, he simply cannot help himself!

This whole explanation pertains to passionate love, but it is not susceptible of being known merely because it has been described or even proven, for it is higher than words. It is not possible to move around the courtyard of His hidden glory by means of the power of one's intellect, or through a simple description! Nor can anyone glance at the revealed beauty of His Truth and contemplate it with the human eye, for it has been said:

1 am love, which appeared in neither world:

I am the Phoenix of the West, whose trace was nowhere found! My eyebrow and amorous glances have ensnared both worlds: Don't look for my bow and arrow they will not be found! I am as manifest as sunlight on the face of every particle, yet from the very intensity of my splendor, I cannot be seen!

I speak with every tongue and hear with every ear

But, being too swift for eye or ear, I do not appear!

Since I am every single thing that exists,

My equal cannot be found in either world!

As long as you live, be joyous and shout out! Do not tear your garments or throw dust upon your head, for from the time of the Prophet until now it has been said: In time of trouble, do not rend your garments! Still, the pain of those afflicted by passionate love is such that it cannot be understood and described by interpreters of the Law!

My heart said, It would be better to repent of love! It spoke out of turn, for my soul rejoices in love!

Then let this heart of mine no more exist between You and me!

Wrong again: 'twere better to be beyond the gaze of both worlds!

Peace!

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate!

Brother Shamsuddin may God grant you perfect love! The affection ate love of the Lord for His servant, and the affectionate love of the servant for the Lord, is the correct type of love. Both the Quran and the Traditions concur in this. Within the community of believers there is a consensus that God has a quality or attribute by which His friends love Him and He loves them. Affectionate love, as far as the dictionary meaning of the word goes, is derived from the root that means affection or friendship. It can also mean seeds which are sown in the soil of one's heart. This second root meaning can be considered insofar as the germ of life is contained in the seed in the same way that the life of a plant is contained in its seed. That seed. when it is sown in the soil, lies concealed; rain comes and waters it. the sun warms it; cold and heat pass over it, but it does not alter When its proper time arrives, however, it germinates and produces flowers and fruits. Likewise, when affectionate love dwells in some one's heart, it is not altered by what is in front of it, or by what is hid den; or by any calamity, effort, comfort, delight, absence, or even by union itself.

With regard to its method of operation, however, there is a difference of opinion among religious scholars. A group of theologians contends that affectionate love of the Lord is the sum total of attributes, since if the Quran and the Traditions had not been in agreement, its very existence with respect to God would be an impossible idea for the human intellect to grasp We confirm that position and put our faith in it, but we hesitate to state that any sort of control can be exercised over it.

Another group of religious scholars says that love is the inclination of the soul, tea desire and wish of the heart, and affection, all of which are bodily qualities. It is not fitting to attribute such qualities to God. In fact, they all pertain to creatures in their dealings with one another, according to their nature. This group explains the love of a servant as worship, while the love of the Lord is said to be grace and guidance. The Lord's love for a servant, in their opinion, means that He bestows many favors upon him and grants him merit both in this life and in the next, and keeps him safe from the punishments to come. He also keeps him opposed to sin. In his spiritual life God, be- stows upon him exalted states and high stages, causing his head to break from respect for any rival and making him adhere to the eternal divine favor, with the result that he becomes separated from all creatures and seeks the good pleasure of Him alone

A servant's love for the Lord is a quality found in the heart of the believer, meaning that he should honor and revere the Lord, seeking His good pleasure and showing impatience in his quest for His face. Without Him, he cannot rest content with anyone! He makes a habit of remembering Him. He shuns the remembrance of anything else He becomes cut off from all forms of desire and affection and accepts the King of love, he submits totally to the requirements of love. It would not be seemly that the love of God, for him, should be like the affectionate love shown by one creature toward another, namely a kind of possessing and apprehending of the beloved, for taking plea sure in one's friend is a bodily trait. But the Eternal Reality is all holy! He is exempt from all restriction and comprehension, touching and pleasure. Everyone who thoroughly investigates the reality of love will discover that no doubt at all remains in his mind, all his un- certainty will be removed.

Love can be considered to be of two types. One is the love of kind for kind. It is an inclination of the soul and consists in taking pleasure in a friend. The essence of the beloved is sought by way of bodily union. The second type of love is not between kind and kind. This seeking acquires a certain permanence through one of the qualities of the Beloved, and he finds rest in Him. He feels affection when he hears the speech of the Beloved, or when he sees Him in himself.

There are many sayings of the sheikhs concerning love. They can be discovered by perusing their writings. God willing, you will learn much about love from the sheikhs. One group of them holds that it is fitting to have love for God, but not that God should love a servant. Passionate love, they say, is a delimiting quality on the part of the Beloved himself, the servant is restrained by God, not God by a ser vent! Passionate love on the part of a servant for God would be fit- ting, but not on the part of God for a servant!

Another group maintains that it is not fitting even for a servant to have passionate love for God, since it exceeds limits. God, however, is in no way limited. They also say that passionate love can never arise without actually seeing the person loved, while affectionate love can also arise from hearing. But when it is a question of seeing, then it cannot be applied to God Almighty. No one has seen Him in this world! When there is talk of affectionate love, everyone lays claim to it since, as far as the appellation is concerned, all are the same (i.e., all are lovers). Some, however, hold it lawful to have passionate love for the Lord. They declare that there is a limit for everything, and when it attains that limit, it finds a new name that it did not have previously. Beyond that point, its perfection cannot rise any higher. There is a turning back from perfection toward what is harmful. Consider, for example, a plant. In the initial stages of its growth, it is geared to a process of increase, seeking its own perfection. This perfection con- sists in producing fruit. When it has done so, it begins to decline and dry up. Consider also the state of childhood in a man. From child- hood a man is oriented toward growing. When he reaches the prime of life and achieves his own perfection, however, he begins to tread the path of decline leading to old age. The life cycle of affectionate love is similar. There is that first glance which results in a person's falling in love. This love increases hourly, seeking its own perfection. When it reaches its very limit, it becomes incapable of receiving any further increase. Then it becomes free of all the impurities of passion and becomes separated from the attachments of the soul and, at the outermost limit of friendship, becomes free from union or departure. grief or comfort, nearness or distance. It turns its attention to the destruction of self, talks about the abandonment of all decrees, and remains firm and stable in the desire of passionate love. At this stage the name passionate love is acquired, and when it has received this name, it is beyond the domain of imagination and conjectures! It is by accepting the divine illuminations that one receives this name. The name passionate love indicates the outermost limit of friendship and

the perfection of the affectionate love of the pilgrim. As long as a person worships, he is called a devotee, as long as he knows God, he is called a wise man; as long as he perceives God, he is called a gnostic, as long as he turns away from all that is not God, he is called an ascetic, as long as he lives righteously, he is called a sincere one; as long as he treads the path of friendship, he is called an eager one; and when he throws away all created beings in order to accept Him, he is called a friend; and as long as he makes a gift of himself while witnessing Him, he is called a lover; and when he becomes such that both his annihilation and his permanence perish in His existence once and for all, he is called a passionate lover It is said that passionate love comes through divine illumination. The Eternal Friend generates it. It is somewhat like lightning, which comes flashing into our eyes and thundering upon our ears. Its rapidity of movement separates it from other accidental events of the world. A person does things because he is a lover that he would not do if he were a stranger, not even for his own well-being; but out of love for his friend, he simply cannot help himself!

This whole explanation pertains to passionate love, but it is not susceptible of being known merely because it has been described or even proven, for it is higher than words. It is not possible to move around the courtyard of His hidden glory by means of the power of one's intellect, or through a simple description! Nor can anyone glance at the revealed beauty of His Truth and contemplate it with the human eye, for it has been said:

1 am love, which appeared in neither world:

I am the Phoenix of the West, whose trace was nowhere found! My eyebrow and amorous glances have ensnared both worlds: Don't look for my bow and arrow they will not be found! I am as manifest as sunlight on the face of every particle, yet from the very intensity of my splendor, I cannot be seen!

I speak with every tongue and hear with every ear

But, being too swift for eye or ear, I do not appear!

Since I am every single thing that exists,

My equal cannot be found in either world!

As long as you live, be joyous and shout out! Do not tear your garments or throw dust upon your head, for from the time of the Prophet until now it has been said: In time of trouble, do not rend your garments! Still, the pain of those afflicted by passionate love is such that it cannot be understood and described by interpreters of the Law!

My heart said, It would be better to repent of love! It spoke out of turn, for my soul rejoices in love!

Then let this heart of mine no more exist between You and me!

Wrong again: 'twere better to be beyond the gaze of both worlds!

Peace!