The Truth of Love and Its Superiority to Reason
Love is the ultimate goal and driving force of the Sufi path. Great lovers of God, such as Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî and Yunus Emre, emphasize that human purpose can only be understood through a divine love burning in the heart, not merely with reason 10, 11. While reason takes one to a certain point, love alone is the vehicle that leads to the station of union with God. As Yunus Emre says, “Love is our Imam,” indicating that love guides this path. When divine love descends upon the servant’s heart, it blinds him to everything transient; there remains no place in that heart for anything other than God (masiva). Love does not allow sadness and grief to settle in a heart that lacks the vision of the beloved.
Abandonment of the Transitory and Longing for Union
The true sign of affection is when the servant abandons his own will, his personal desires, and vanishes completely within the will of the Beloved (God). Abdülkadir Geylânî (q.s.) defines love as “sacrifice and selflessness.” This sacrifice involves the servant’s heart constantly being in remembrance (dhikr) and detaching from worldly engagements, solely turning towards God. For a servant consumed by love, worries about this world and the hereafter disappear; he only desires his beloved, namely his Lord. In accordance with the secret that “‘Mahabbat’ is named so because it destroys everything found in the heart except for the Beloved,” the true lover completely detaches from worldly desires.
Loving for the Creator
The earthly reflection of divine love is being able to look upon every particle created by God with mercy and affection. The knower 13, who says, “I know who dressed the rose in red robes,” perceives the Absolute Beauty behind every beauty. As the servant loves God, he begins to love His creations as well. However, this love is not a false or transient attachment but an exalted admiration that comes from seeing the Divine Artisan in everything. To love and hate for God’s sake is the most mature fruit of faith 17, 18. True lovers aspire not to the fleeting pleasures of this world, but to God’s boundless beauty, and spend their lives yearning for such union.