it is not correct. (Tenvir, 8
Tawakkul (reliance upon God) ... is in contradiction (tenāquz) with the maqām (spiritual station) of maḥabba (love). For the one who loves is immersed in the love of the beloved and has become united in will with the beloved. Now, the beloved has become his very desire. There is no longer any point for the lover to take precautions against Allah. For his love for Allah occupies him sufficiently. For this reason, some have said: Whoever tastes the pleasure of something purely for the sake of Allah's riḍā (contentment with God's decree), Allah will keep him away from all besides Him. ... (Tenvir, 14
The sign of maḥabba (love) is not to prefer anything that can be loved over Him. The qalb (heart) of one who prefers something that can be loved over Him is sick—just like a stomach that prefers eating mud to eating bread. Such a stomach, due to illness, loses the desire to eat bread. (Qudāma, 159
The sign of maḥabba (love) is that intimacy through supplication to the Beloved, the enjoyment of seclusion, and the desire for solitude (waḥsha) that comes from avoiding anything that would disturb that seclusion, all reach perfection (kamāl). When maḥabba and intimacy (uns) prevail, seclusion and supplication become the pupil of the eye that removes all anxieties. The qalb (heart) becomes so filled with maḥabba and uns that, like a mad lover, he no longer understands worldly (dunyā) matters unless they are repeated to him many times. (Qudāma, 375
(According to one group) maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God) comes before maḥabba in essence. For it is inconceivable to love something without knowing it. In this ḥāl (spiritual state), loving or not loving something—unless it is an innate trait as in animals—arises from knowing that thing. Thus, maʿrifa is the cause of love.
Another group has said: Maḥabba comes before maʿrifa. For maʿrifa, as they say, is a distant goal, and there is nothing beyond knowing Allah. The fact that the ʿārif (gnostic) has surpassed stations (maqāmāt) and states (aḥwāl) is only due to will (irāda) and maḥabba. If will and maḥabba had not preceded, these stations would not have been surpassed nor these states attained. Therefore, the ḥaqīqa (inner reality) of maʿrifa and maḥabba are interconnected. (Rawḍa, 234
Maḥabba has many meanings. Generally, the word maḥabba is derived from the verb of the word ḥabba and its attributes. 'Ḥabba' is considered a special name for these parts. These attributes come from the word ḥabba and are connected to it. Ḥabba is the source of these attributes. The word ḥabba is the root of these words and the main part of its house.
Lexicographers have put forward different views regarding the meaning of the word ḥabba. According to some linguists, ḥabb means a vessel, like a barrel or cask, in which water is placed. The word maḥabba is derived from this, because when a vessel is filled with water, it cannot take anything else. The qalb (heart) is like a water vessel; when it is filled with love, the love of anything else cannot enter it. It is also said that the word maḥabba is derived from the phrase 'ahabba'l-baʿīru' (the camel sat down and could not rise). Similarly, the lover constantly remembers the beloved in his qalb and cannot be separated from him. As the poet says:
Your love has made me stop
wherever you are
I can neither go forward nor back
I find a sweet reproach in your love
I feel longing in remembering you
let the blamers blame me
It is said that the word maḥabba is derived from 'ḥabbat al-qalb', the place in the qalb (heart) where love originates. Maḥabba takes its name from that place, which is the essence of the qalb. It is also said that maḥabba is derived from the word 'ḥabba' (seed), because the seed is the essence of the plant. The seed is the essence of life. Just as seeds and kernels are the essential matter of the plant, so too is love the essential matter of virtues and angelic qualities.
It is also said that maḥabba is derived from 'ḥibb' (earring). One of the reasons love is called ḥibb is that, just as an earring does not leave the ear, so too does love not leave the qalb. For this reason, the ear is filled with supplication to the beloved and the secrets of inner conversations. Another possibility is that, just as the earring swings in the ear, so does the qalb beat and tremble with love. As the poet says:
My ear fell in love
it heard a melodious word
My qalb is even more in love with beauty and the beautiful
How can the beloved's word be forgotten
even if I lose her
her word is an earring in my ear
It is also said that maḥabba is derived from 'ibābu'l-māʾ', which refers to a large body of water. For most of the feelings in the qalb are occupied by love.
It is also said that maḥabba is derived from 'ḥabāb', which are the bubbles that form on water when it rains or boils. For the qalb boils and is agitated with longing for the beloved, just as bubbles boil on the surface of water. (Rawḍa, 334
In Arabic, maḥabba is a metaphor for intensified will (irāda). For example, you say: I intended to do this, and I wanted to do this. The difference is this: If you attach will to an attribute or action, such as saying, 'I intended his generosity, his knowledge, or his closeness,' you limit will to that attribute or action. But if you attach it to a person, you generally restrict it to maḥabba.
The word hawā is derived from the word for falling (sukūṭ). As Allah the Exalted says: "By the star when it descends" (al-Najm 53:1), that is, when it begins to fall. Thus, the meaning of hawā is that, just as air changes rapidly due to its clarity and subtlety, so too does the qalb incline and change rapidly due to love.
In the lexicon Tāj, hawā is explained as follows: When a man rolls downwards, it is said 'hawā'r-rajulu'. 'Huwwa' means a deep abyss. When a group falls into an abyss, it is said 'hawā'l-qawmu fi'l-huwwa'. The verb hawā in the sense of falling is derived from the word hawā. For example, when a wall collapses, it is said 'hawā'l-ḥāʾiṭu'. Thus, the lover falls into the abyss of passion. (Rawḍa, 338
Maḥabba is a term that encompasses all aspects of love and passion. However, there is a difference between them. Either the muḥibb (lover) uses maḥabba, or maḥabba uses him. If he uses maḥabba and does so by his own will and choice, he is called a muḥibb. If maḥabba uses him, that is, if he has no will or choice in maḥabba, this kind of maḥabba is called ʿishq (passionate love). Thus, the muḥibb is the murīd (aspirant), while the ʿāshiq (passionate lover) is the murād (the one sought). It is said that ʿishq is used for pleasures, while maḥabba is used for itself. Scholars have said that the concept of ʿishq cannot be used for Allah the Exalted. This removes confusion and much leniency is shown in this matter. (Rawḍa, 350
When Abū Saʿīd Ḥarrāz was asked which is superior, maḥabba or maʿrifa, he replied: Maʿrifa is one of the moral qualities of maḥabba.
Some have said: Ḥarrāz's statement that 'maʿrifa is one of the moral qualities of maḥabba' is an allusion to the ecstatic utterance (shaṭḥ) attributed to Abū Yazīd, as follows: Allah the Exalted said to me: 'O Abū Yazīd! All these things except you are My property. You are Me, and I am you.' Nevertheless, such ecstatic utterances are not relied upon or trusted. (Rawḍa, 353
Maḥabba is an intimacy (uns) that rises degree by degree. Then comes longing (shawq), which is restrained and saddled. After that comes fanāʾ (annihilation in God), which compels existence and removes it. Determination (ʿazīma) comes according to the worth of those who possess it. (Rawḍa, 372
Maḥabba is subtlety. Then comes reflection. After that comes longing (shawq) winged by longing. After that comes ʿishq (passionate love), which leaves no endurance. After that, there is neither above nor below. (Rawḍa, 373
Maḥabba means the annihilation of the attributes of the lover and the affirmation of the essence of the beloved.
Maḥabba has also been defined as follows: The reality of maḥabba is the annihilation of everything in the qalb except the beloved.
Maḥabba is a fire in the qalb that burns everything except the beloved.
Maḥabba is to give yourself completely to the beloved, so that nothing remains of you.
The reality of maḥabba is that it leads you from seeing love to seeing the beloved.
Maḥabba is a meaning from the beloved that overpowers qalbs.
Maḥabba is a tree that grows in the qalb and bears fruit according to the intellect.
Shiblī said: Maḥabba is awe (dahsha) in pleasure and wonder (ḥayra) in wakefulness.
When someone was asked, 'What is maḥabba?' he replied: It is to speak of secrets by the grace of goodness.
Ibn al-ʿĀrif said: Maḥabba is seen in the lover not by his words, but by his form and appearance.
It has also been defined as: Maḥabba is to incline with your whole being toward something, then to prefer it over yourself, your spirit (rūḥ), and your wealth, to agree with it both secretly and openly, and to be aware of your shortcomings in your love for it.
(Other definitions:) Maḥabba is to remember the Beloved constantly, even if the beloved's states change.
Maḥabba is to melt in pleasure and to witness in absence.
Maḥabba is when the remembrance of the beloved fills the entire qalb of the lover.
Maḥabba is constant remembrance.
Maḥabba is not wanting to remain in the world (dunyā). This is shawq (longing).
Maḥabba is to efface your traces so that nothing remains of you. Maḥabba is the annihilation of will and the burning of all attributes. (Rawḍa, 379
Maḥabba is both the origin and the element, and it is a gate that unites all Sufi stations (maqāmāt) and states of taste (dhawq). All stations are contained within that origin. Abū'l-Qāsim al-Ḥalsūn said: Every station is either a preparation for the next station or a branch of the previous one, and every station is sought for the sake of maḥabba. The station of maḥabba, however, is sought only for itself. With the help of Allah, from Whom alone comes aid, we have indicated this to some extent. (Rawḍa, 409
Maḥabba is a general genus under which all types of love are subsumed, such as the love of a servant for another servant, or especially the servant's love for Allah. Maḥabba is elevated or diminished according to the nobility of its object. Shawq (longing), hiyām (ecstatic love), ʿishq (passionate love), ghayra (protective jealousy), and