FOURTH CHAPTER · SECOND SECTION · Thirteenth Article
Thirteenth Article
It explains love pertaining to acts.
O dear one! It should be known that the friends of Allah (awliyāʾ) have said: To love acts is a matter for those who, veiled by the curtain of the exalted artistry manifest in created things, are deprived of loving the Absolute Creator, and those who are deprived of union due to the veil (ḥijāb) arising from existence (wujūd) find this kind of love. Their obstacle is that they see some existence in themselves. For this reason, they remain preoccupied with their own nafs (lower self), and have spent the night in the darkness of nature.
They have abandoned themselves to the lower degrees of their deficiencies. However, they have come to realize the change in affairs and the alteration of states. Thus, by rational proofs, they have found the true disposer who, in reality, effects all affairs. Their intellects, which are the source of their love, have remained behind the veil of egotism (anāniyya). They are those who live between fear and hope (the people of khawf and rajāʾ), and have seen that their own love changes in times of ease and in moments of hardship. Their deeds are behind veils, and their efforts vary according to the promised punishment and reward for what they do. They do not seek the pleasure (riḍā) of the Worshipped One (al-Maʿbūd), which is the essential aim in worship. For this reason, they cannot attain the station of witnessing (mushāhada) that is only obtained by loving the Divine Essence (dhāt).
As Allah, exalted is He, has said in a qudsī hadith: "The most beloved of My friends to Me are those who worship Me not because I provide for them, but in order to fulfill the right of My lordship. Who can be more unjust than the one who worships Me out of hope for Paradise or fear of Hell?"
Thus, they have become slaves to benefit. For this reason, they have remained deprived of the reality of truly knowing Allah and of the delight of loving Him. However, they love one another with a love pertaining to acts. For them, separation and union are of varying degrees. The love of such people increases with the abundance of gifts and favors, and decreases when these are withheld. For their perspectives and efforts are confined within the narrow window of benefit. Naturally, their love is only attached to benefit. Even when one of them worships his Lord, he thinks of obtaining some benefit and advantage from Him. If he does not obtain what he wants, he immediately begins to complain, and his love diminishes and starts to change. He quickly forgets the rights of his beloved, neglects to show respect, and perhaps even becomes his greatest enemy. Indeed, if the beloved remains in his state due to the perfection of his attributes and acts, that love still varies in relation to benefit. Thus, in reality, he is never truly a lover. For in the state of being deprived (of benefit-seeking), he cannot remain as a lover. Undoubtedly, this kind of love is directed towards obtaining desires and wishes. Therefore, it is not the Essence that is loved, but benefit; and it is a severe illness of the nafs al-ammāra (the commanding self). No good ever comes from such love. Among the people of this kind of love, there is neither loyalty nor purity. For love attached to acts quickly vanishes. When the causes to which it is attached disappear, that love also disappears. However, compared to this kind of love, love pertaining to attributes is much more noble and esteemed. As for love pertaining to the Essence, it is certainly superior to all. For it is purified from all causes and bonds; it is firmly established and continuous, and does not change with changing circumstances.
Poem
1. My verses are an exposition of the love of God; understand them without ambiguity.
For when spiritual love is unveiled, it guides and instructs.
2. The people of whisperings and malice call love a "fault" and a "disease."
Brides and bridegrooms make it a remedy through passion.
3. Spiritual love is pure; nothing material mixes with it.
Passionate love is but the capital of embraces and kisses.
4. Whatever passionate love is, we are compelled to conceal it.
Spiritual love beats the drum and kettledrum above the heavens.
5. From all else, the light of God is witnessed, and love becomes pure.
Though the beloved is among the people of India, Turkey, Rome, or Russia.
6. Whoever seeks other than the Beloved is deprived of the Beloved.
He who seeks Him alone finds only wool from a camel, or coins from a fish.
7. The reality of love is the inclination toward union.
The fortunate are inclined to happiness, the unfortunate to misfortune.
8. The union of intellect and the intelligible is known by proof.
Whoever partakes of the wisdom of Galen knows this.
9. The knowledge of the people of the heart is the nature of created things.
O Hakkı! Thus, the science of Ptolemy is the science of astronomy.
In contemporary Turkish:
1. My poems explain the love of God; do not hesitate to reflect.
Let spiritual love be unveiled to you, guidance and lessons.
2. The whispering, malicious one calls love a "fault," a "disease."
Brides and bridegrooms make it a remedy through passion.
3. Spiritual love is pure; things do not mix with it.
The capital of passionate love is embraces and kisses.
4. Whatever passionate love is, we are compelled to conceal it.
We listen to spiritual love beating the drum and kettledrum in the heavens.
5. From all else, the light of God is seen; love becomes pure.
Whether Indian, Greek, Turk, or Russian, all are in love with this light.
6. Whoever seeks other than Him is deprived of the Beloved.
Whoever seeks Him alone profits as much as getting wool from a camel or money from a fish.
7. The meaning of the reality of love is to incline toward union.
The fortunate come to happiness, the unfortunate to evil.
8. The union of intellect and the intelligible is found by proofs.
Whoever partakes of Galen's wisdom knows this.
9. The knowledge of the people of the heart is the nature of created things.
O Hakkı! For this reason, Ptolemy's science is the science of astronomy.