Longing for the Transcendent: The Role of Love in Islamic Mysticism with special reference to al-Ghazālī and Ibn al-ʿArabī

Introduction

Human beings are by nature bound to the material realm. God, however, is ultimately transcendent and nonmaterial. And if one of the primary goals of the mystical branch of Islamic theology is to attain knowledge and intimacy with God, then this necessary separation appears to make such a task almost impossible to achieve. In what way can the finite relate to the infinite? By what means can humanity ever reach God?

The tension between the possibility of God’s immanence within creation and His simultaneous transcendence has traditionally been described by Islamic theology with the concepts of tashbīh and tanzīh. ¹ Tanzīh essentially describes God’s transcendence and incomparability in relation to all of creation, while tashbīh asserts God’s immanence and comparability to the created order. The Qur’ān seems to support both interpretations. God is illustrated as abiding closer than man’s jugular vein on one hand ² – implying His nearness – while on the other He is described as being like nothing else in all creation. ³ Even God’s 99 beautiful names can easily be divided between those that describe His nearness and distance. ⁴ How can these seemingly irreconcilable perspectives be satisfyingly harmonized? Is it even possible? The challenge is quite apparent. As one author exclaimed, ‘If we understand God to be both near and distant, both caring and unconcerned, both gentle and severe, we may soon find ourselves bewildered about God. Should humanity fear his wrath or hope for his mercy?’ ⁵ This tension has not gone unnoticed and many have pursued a variety of solutions to these seemingly irreconcilable contradictions. ⁶

Sufism has contributed greatly to the worldview of Islam, by emphasizing the inner aspects of the faith, thereby endowing them with great meaning and significance. Its perennial importance is succinctly stated by Nasr,

In the Islamic tradition, it is primarily Sufism that answers this basic existential question of who we are and through this answer provides guidance for a life full of spiritual felicity, marked by illumination and leading ultimately to deliverance from the bondage of all limitation. ⁷

Although there is some contrary evidence, ⁸ it does appear that that the topic of love is one of the most predominant foci in Sufi discourse. It is believed to have been the primary motivating factor for the creation of the Universe, and that it also serves as an important vehicle to transverse the vast distance between mankind and God. In the following section, these claims will be analysed in turn. The terminology of love will be further qualified, and its effectiveness as a means to come near to God assessed.

The Universe Was Created out of Love

According to the great medieval Islamic mystic Ibn al-ʿArabī, Allah’s motivation behind creation was in the first place love. For example, he states, ‘If there had not been this Divine Love the world would not have been manifested. The movement of the world from non-existence to existence is then (in reality) the movement of love manifesting itself.’ ⁹ He considers love to be the absolute center of everything, the very life force that holds all things together. ¹⁰ Human beings must see through the myriad of earthly deceptions and realize that love permeates everything. ¹¹ To him the matter was clear, ‘Under which ever face one considers it, the movement of the world from its state of permanent non-existence towards its existence would be a movement of love, from the Divine side as well as the worldly side.’ ¹²

Another giant in the mystical tradition, al-Ghazālī, agrees. Since it is the Creator’s will to create, and since things do not just spring into existence out of necessity of their own nature but from an intentional decision of the Almighty, then what could have been the motivation behind that decision? Therefore, since Allah is necessarily a perfect being, and since perfection requires ultimate goodness, creation is logically believed to have sprung into existence due to the generous and benevolent nature of its Maker. The following statement is a good example of al-Ghazālī’s reasoning, ‘God is benefactor to the totality of creatures. He lavishes loving-kindness on every class of created being. First, because He causes them to exist.’ ¹³ Chittick further affirms this point by elaborating on Ibn al-ʿArabī’s argument which claims that the manifestation of the infinite possibilities of nonexistence into real materialization is definitive proof that love is God’s essential attribute. ¹⁴ Such presuppositions by a number of other mystical theologians are further substantiated by verses from the Qur’ān and various hadith literature. Since love is suggested to have caused humanity to come into being, it also solicits the same in response. This is the reason why perfect love is considered to be the highest achievement of the soul and why mankind ought to diligently strive for it.

The Predominance of Love in Islamic Mysticism

Love is believed to be the natural fruit of all inner spirituality and contemplation. Burckhardt explains, ‘As for love, love is born spontaneously wherever the Divine Reality is felt or contemplated. This brings us back to the opinion that only those Sufis who manifest an attitude of love truly represent the mystical aspect of Islam.’ ¹⁵ Love, however, is important in yet another way. It is directly dependent on achieved virtue, which Sufis try to perfect throughout their whole lives. In other words, it is impossible to really love God unless it is preceded by ever-increasing moral excellence. To the degree that virtue grows, spiritual insight is gained. ¹⁶ The logical conclusion is that only those who have perfected their morality have realized that love permeates everything and have consequently achieved the highest station on the mystical path. But there are several problems that emerge in this pursuit.

First, it is difficult for human beings to direct their love towards a deity that is ultimately unknowable and abstract. Schimmel expresses this quandary in the following words:

The phenomenon of mystical love that underlies this development is one of the most fascinating aspects of Sufism: a transcendent and absolute object is made the goal of every thought and feeling, so that love gains absolute primacy in the soul and mind of the lover. ¹⁷

In spite of such difficulties, knowledge about those aspects that can be understood about God still needs to be pursued if love is to be properly actualized. Nevertheless, God’s essence remains beyond human definitions and rationally contrived conclusions. Full knowledge of God is unattainable by the human mind. ¹⁸ Some negative knowing may indeed be possible, which would accurately describe who God is not, but this does not provide enough information of what He actually is. Certain things about God are revealed through the created order, and yet His essence seems to remain permanently veiled from full human comprehension.

Al-Ghazālī describes the difficulty of this endeavor in the following words, ‘And how should’st thou be able to comprehend God, who in his nature cannot be comprehended, and of whose absolute essence it is not possible to give thee any explanation.’ ¹⁹ Al-Ghazālī furthermore admitted that God was completely different from human beings and therefore beyond all rational knowledge. ²⁰ There were certain things that He revealed to mankind, but reason, he concluded, was a faulty vehicle in trying to achieve a deeper understanding of God’s true essence and incapable of penetrating the deep mysteries of God. ²¹ This conclusion is further complicated by the fact that some positive knowledge about God is a necessary prerequisite for love to occur in the first place. If humanity was to succeed in loving God, al-Ghazālī suggests, first attaining knowledge about Him seemed indispensable. He claimed the following, ‘But we ought to know that the love of God will never reign in the heart of a man until first the knowledge of God reigns there, and until the remembrance of God becomes unceasing.’ ²²

The analogy that he uses follows a clear line of logic. Anything that human beings know more about, they also have a greater level of affection towards. And since God is ultimately the most beautiful entity imaginable, love for Him will grow directly proportional to the level of understanding as it relates to His being. Hence, such knowledge is then believed to necessitate the growth of love, and ought to therefore be intentionally pursued. He explained, ‘For love is the fruit of knowledge: it is extinguished when knowledge is extinguished; it redoubles when knowledge redoubles; it grows mighty in the strength of knowledge.’ ²³ Al-Ghazālī basically concluded with the argument that it was practically impossible for human beings to love something that they did not know. ²⁴ In light of this tension that reason is principally limited in its ability to comprehend God, while some degree of knowledge remains indispensable for love to take place, how then can mankind achieve such cognition?

God is in fact knowable on the level of His divine names and attributes, while His essence ought to remain permanently transcendent across all categories and beyond mankind’s ability of comprehension. This distinction between essence and attributes is described as follows:

The Hidden Treasure is the Names and possibilities of existence in their undifferentiated state; Allah is the prime motive of all creation, and out of Love for these possibilities of self-expression He created the world, the ‘stage’, so that He may be known in all these different modalities. Creation is, for Ibn ʿArabī, no more or less than the rendering visible of the invisible. ²⁵

In other words, humanity has the unique noetic capacity to recognize God to the degree that He manifests himself through the created order. Since this order reflects the attributes and characteristics of Allah, knowledge thereof also implies a deeper understanding of the fundamental nature of Allah – His oneness – and by that the ability of knowing Him directly. ²⁶ One can quickly recognize that Ibn al-ʿArabī blurs the line between the category of essence and attributes, making knowledge, albeit spiritual knowledge, of God’s actual essence a possibility. ²⁷

When Sufis talk about ascertaining knowledge about God, however, their primary focus is not a rational assent, but rather an inward focus. Since they are primarily striving to attain a spiritual reality, reason alone is by its nature limited to grasp its truths. The only faculty within human beings that is designed to attain true spiritual knowledge is therefore the heart. ²⁸ In order to know, mankind needs to turn towards the heart which is the seat of the spirit, and begin penetrating the deep mysteries of God. Al-Ghazālī suggested, ‘If you then would know God, you must look into your own heart.’ ²⁹ He goes on to describe his personal journey of how he attained revelation in the following words:

This did not come about by systematic demonstration or marshalled argument, but by a light which God most high cast into my breast. That light is the key to the greater part of knowledge. Whoever thinks that the understanding of things Divine rests upon strict proofs has in his thought narrowed down the wideness of God’s mercy. ³⁰

In other words, true spiritual insight must go beyond the confines of rationality through an internal journey that takes place within the heart and seeks to discover the knowable elements about God. ³¹ And the vehicle for reaching that goal is love. As one mystic suggested, ‘Sufis attempt to soar to the Highest on the wings of love and devotion.’ ³²

Love Qualified

The concept of love in Islamic mystical theology has several distinct characteristics. It is important to analyse some of these in order to understand how they influence the interior pursuit of attaining nearness to God. First, love appears to be predominantly portrayed as conditional in nature. According to one theologian,

Allah says that a man seeks to draw near to Him through supererogatory acts of obedience so that He will love him. Then He says, ‘If I love him I will be such and such.’ Thus, it is clear that Allah’s love comes after the person’s performance of deeds that call forth His love. ³³

Love may indeed constitute one of God’s attributes, but just like all other attributes, love is a voluntary attribute – or an independent decision – chosen by God’s sovereign will for a particular purpose. ³⁴ Due to its essentially contingent nature, Allah can freely give this love to those human beings conditional upon their obedience to His revealed will. ³⁵

Furthermore, a significant number of Qur’ānic references confirm this point and portray Allah as exclusively loving specific kinds of human beings. The text gives the impression that God only loves individuals according to their performance and character traits and not a priori because they are His creation. For example, the Qur’ān states that God only loves if mankind follows the Prophet Muhammad, ³⁶ trusts in Him ³⁷ and does good. ³⁸ Humanity’s positive attitude towards divine law is met with an immediate response from God in the form of His approval or disapproval. Love is thereby explicitly introduced as being conditional. Obedience appears to make human beings worthy of love, while the reciprocity of mankind’s action and God’s reaction is emphasized. God does not seem to take pleasure in humanity’s intrinsic nature, but rather in the quality of performing His will.

Instead it appears that the greatest amount of attention throughout the Qur’ān has been given to the idea of God’s power and sovereignty. This is by no means an exclusive doctrine; sovereignty does play, however, a most prominent role. Love, on the other hand, tends to be a relatively underdeveloped concept in mainstream Islamic theology. This is partially the case due to the infrequency of the term in the Qur’ān itself. And when discussed, it is never used to define God’s essential nature, but rather as a descriptive of human beings, and what they are obliged to do in order to receive it. Even one of the most frequently quoted verses by many mystical scholars – in the already scarce Qur’ānic account – where God apparently initiates love for a people who will also love Him in return, can imply a certain degree of reciprocity. The text says the following, ‘Soon will Allah produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him.’ ³⁹

While there is arguably no definitive passage in Islam’s sacred Scripture where love is offered unconditionally, at the same time the inauguration of love does require God’s initiative. This is believed to have been part of the reason why the Qur’ān had to be revealed, and why throughout the ages prophets were sent into the world. Chittick writes, ‘The Qur’an is God’s self-revelation with the specific goal of guiding human beings to knowledge of reality.’ ⁴⁰ Al-Ghazālī confirms that it is imperative for God to enable humanity to love Him in the first place,

The interpretation of the utterances transmitted about God’s love for His servants refers to the removal of a veil from the heart, so that one sees with his heart, and to God’s enabling a person to draw near to Him, and to God’s willing that for him from eternity. ⁴¹

But it is equally true that in order for love to reach its fulfillment, humanity must strive to do its part.

Ibn al-ʿArabī suggested that perfection and ultimate reality already existed and was contained within the essence of every human being, merely awaiting discovery. One author concurs, saying that:

God is present, but individuals cannot see the Almighty because curtains of ignorance veil their eyes and rust encases their hearts. The average person is ego centered. Only after he or she has polished the heart and purified the self will the curtains lift, the rust fall away, and the eyes become able to see God. ⁴²

The journey of realizing this reality becomes the ‘way of knowledge’ which largely characterizes the mystic endeavor. ⁴³ It is this type of knowledge that takes the true meaning of love to a new level which then grows in direct proportion to one’s awareness of God’s immanence and manifestation in all creation.

But in order for such knowledge to be ascertained, moral excellence and virtue, which define one of the essential principles of Islam, ⁴⁴ are a necessary prerequisite. Humanity must first understand the will of Allah, and proportional to the degree that their own will exists in harmony with God’s, nearness is realized. ⁴⁵ This divine will is encapsulated in the Qur’ān and obeying all its precepts is rather significant:

Through constant remembrance of Allah, through Man’s love of God and the Prophet, through obedience to the commandments of Allah and His Prophet (peace be on him), and through constant struggle to promote good and forbid evil Man may attain nearness to Allah. ⁴⁶

Therefore, living an upright and ethically superior life in submission vis-à-vis Allah’s commandments seems to be a nonnegotiable precondition to attain closeness with God. Only after faith and obedience exist can the attainment of knowledge about Allah begin. The conditional nature of both love’s initiation and love’s realization becomes perhaps even more apparent when examining the ostensibly conditional reason for God’s motivation to create in the first place.

It has been previously indicated that creation came into being out of love. But upon further examination of this statement, it becomes noticeable that, according to Ibn al-ʿArabī, God created principally out of a longing to actualize His names and attributes in creation. He backs this claim by quoting the famous hadith qudsi where God is believed to be speaking in the first person saying, ‘I was a hidden treasure and I loved to be known, and I created the creation so that I would be known.’ ⁴⁷ But this divine yearning to be known by actualizing His attributes in the material realm is not to be understood first and foremost as a loving concern toward creation which would be blessed to enjoy the unconditional love of its Maker, but rather as a divinely initiated self-satisfaction of the desire to experience manifestation. ⁴⁸ It appears that this definition describes a God who essentially loves Himself. Creation’s main purpose seems to enable God to fulfill His primordial desire. Existence might be the result of an act of mercy, and mankind might even be the climax of the created order, but Ibn al-ʿArabī’s suggestion that God created the world out of love is only accurate to the degree that the motivation behind that love, as well as the object thereof, is in the first place God Himself. Al-Ghazālī corroborates this apparent self-love stating, ‘It is in this way therefore that He loves only Himself.’ ⁴⁹ Having demonstrated that a strong conditional element is present in the concept of love in mystical theology, we will now examine another important qualification.

Much of mystical theology speculates that in order for human beings to achieve perfect love, no essential transformation of their being is necessary, but rather a realization of an already existing, albeit dormant reality. In other words, actualizing love becomes an inner journey, which liberates mankind from the state of forgetfulness and helps them to escape from all natural confinements, reach ultimate reality and have an encounter with God Himself. ⁵⁰ This process is less of an ontological change regarding one’s being, but is rather associated with an epiphany, or an awakening to an already present reality. Such a distinction is important, for it determines both the focus and goal of the individual worshiper. And as will be later on demonstrated, since the culmination and perfection of love is closely related to the idea of union, it can be alleged that human beings do not become one with God – they already are. ⁵¹

Ibn al-ʿArabī upholds this notion when referring to the individual claiming that, ‘His being is Allah’s being; his word is Allah’s word; his action is Allah’s action; his knowledge of himself is Allah’s knowledge of Himself.’ ⁵² Ibn al-ʿArabī’s theological work often addresses mankind’s need to wake up from this state of forgetfulness and realize their true nature. This reality supposedly lies deep within each person’s soul, eagerly awaiting illumination by the sincere seeker of truth. All that is necessary for such truth to be reached is already present, albeit in a dormant state, merely awaiting the decision of the individual to actualize this internal reality into existence. The culmination of this pursuit results in the breakdown of any barrier that lies between mankind and God,

Then when you see what is around you as not other than you, and all and everything as the existence of the One—when you do not see anything else with Him or in Him, but see Him in everything as yourself and at the same time as the nonexistence of yourself—then what you see is the truth. ⁵³

Although the theological language of union has encountered severe polemic attacks within Islamic discourse, ⁵⁴ it is important to qualify that when Sufis refer to the idea of union, it is not on the level of God’s essence, but only on the level of divine names and attributes. This is an important distinction, which assures that mystical theology remains in the folds of accepted orthodox theology. Union, or realization of its already present reality, does not mean complete human identification with the absolute God. Mankind only becomes one with God to the degree of divine manifestations in the created order. In other words, absolute identity with God remains limited by the necessary separation between Creator and creation, assuring that no multiplication is introduced into the divine oneness. ⁵⁵ What human beings are able to realize, however, is that they already encapsulate the complete fullness of all the existing manifestations, and are therefore uniquely capable of achieving full consciousness of God as He reveals Himself in the Universe. This concept is summed up in the following words:

It is true that both Sufism and pantheism say that the world is God, but Sufism adds immediately that God is absolutely other than the world, while classical pantheists say that the world is God with the implication that God is nothing but the sum total of the elements of the universe. ⁵⁶

Sufism embraced a type of synthesis which allowed for Allah to both manifest Himself through His creation, but also at the same time retain His total otherness. And yet, if union does indeed become the prescribed end goal of the Sufi pursuit of love, particular tensions remain.

To begin with, the kind of love that mystics strive for is not what might be thought of at first with the normal usage of the English word ‘love’. It is not primarily understood as a feeling or even a relational expression of affection that is commonly shared between human beings. Rather it is a direct consequence of the fact that humanity alone has been fashioned capable to manifest all of the attributes of God in their inner being. Consequently, object and subject of love eventually become interchangeable, they become one – and in the end all that remains is love. ⁵⁷ In other words, if mankind successfully overcomes their state of forgetfulness and begins to reflect God in all of His names and attributes, then human beings simultaneously become both lovers and the object of love. The logical outworking of humanity fulfilling its purpose through the actualization of love appears to therefore culminate in their union with God. Not only does union thereby appear to nullify the notion of love, as it is understood to require both a subject and object, but it also reveals other points of tension.

If it is true that ultimately anything that can be considered as truly human is nothing more than a mere reflection, or actualization of the transcendent elements of God, then this appears to abrogate the value of any essential human individuality once union has been achieved. It is impossible for humanity to enjoy its humanness while at the same time benefit from the achievement of perfect love, because it essentially culminates in union with God. While this line of reasoning once again appears to equate humanity with their Creator, claiming that man in a sense is like God, ⁵⁸ this is not wholly true for God always continues to be infinitely more in His essence than mankind could ever be. ⁵⁹ It merely recognizes mankind’s ability, or moreover the proposed goal that ought to be reached of reflecting all the revealed aspects of God. How any substantial distinction between mankind and God is to be understood, lies ultimately beyond rational comprehension. What is clear, however, is that once realization of absolute reality does indeed take place, the need for individuality ceases. ⁶⁰ Not only is there no need for individuality, but it is moreover a hindrance for perfect union to take place.

If it is true that the presence of individuality ultimately hinders humanity to attain union with God, then love’s usual meaning can no longer describe mutual affection or enjoyment between two distinct parties. Therefore, it would be less accurate to say that one is enjoying the Lover, as is often suggested by Sufi poetry, but rather that ultimate consciousness of Allah necessarily results in the individual’s dissolution in Him. Consequently, the degree of nearness also implies the degree of obliteration of the self. As nearness to God increases it causes destruction of the illusion of the ego. Such a radical redefinition of love challenges the meaning of the concept itself. Can love retain its significance if ultimate realization removes the very qualities that define it in human experience? Chittick illustrates how the logical outworking of love within Sufi theology appears to alter its inherent significance, ‘Having forgotten its own self, the entity knows nothing of itself, so it knows nothing of its own love. In fact, what occurs is that God loves Himself through the locus of manifestation that is the existent entity.’ ⁶¹ But regardless of the logical difficulties, Sufi mystics continue to maintain that actualizing love, regardless of its problematic redefinition, remains the single most important goal of every true believer.

Humanity has to wake up from their forgetful state and the false illusion that creation is somehow separate from God, and pursue the rending of the veil of separation in order for truth and intimacy to be realized. This allegorical concept of the veil continues to appear throughout mystical writings and it often describes the very self of each individual. This is what quintessentially separates humanity from their true being, and holds them captive in the prison of forgetfulness. It also prevents them from realizing God’s true essence which lies dormant within themselves, keeping the eternal chasm between humanity and God ever present. Is the veil which enables separation, tanzīh, to exist, although everything inside of human beings longs for nearness, or tashbīh. ⁶² Mankind’s greatest test is to transcend this veil and recognize what or who the truth really is. ⁶³ Overcoming these layers of separation and arriving at a state where one is fully aware of the reality of his own nature becomes the primary aim:

Therefore the attainment of metaphysical knowledge in its true sense, or ‘spiritual realization,’ is the removal of the veils which separate man from God and from the full reality of his own true nature. It is the means of actualizing the full potentialities of the human state. ⁶⁴

But in order to wake up from this illusion and realize the truth which corresponds to absolute reality, the veil, which in essence can be equated with the self, must first be abolished. ⁶⁵

This concept of the veil appears to reaffirm the earlier notion that loving God ultimately requires the dissolution of individuality. But one of the difficulties with this concept is the seemingly irreconcilable problem of mankind’s ability to know the exact moment when complete annihilation has taken place, for at the moment that it occurs, it would necessarily also have to include mankind’s consciousness. But if that is the case, then how can an individual be certain that he had reached such a state since his faculty of reasoning was not present at the time? Moreover, if the body is no longer necessary once perfect union is realized, and the ‘soul becomes indistinguishable from the universal Deity,’ ⁶⁶ which part of mankind’s being knows how to distinguish reality from illusion, now that all distinctions have disappeared? It appears that this difficulty cannot be satisfyingly resolved. ⁶⁷ One possible way to overcome this conundrum is to place its solution in the Hereafter. In other words, it seems logical that a permanent passing away is not possible in this life and that human beings are necessarily bound by their bodies to this worldly reality. But they are able to achieve various degrees of realization that these temporary boundaries are an illusion behind which absolute reality rests. Real and permanent union, however, must await its ultimate fulfillment after death when humanity finally escapes the bondage of all form. ⁶⁸ In conclusion, it appears that due to the irresolvable proposition which equates the culmination of love with mankind’s union with God, the Sufi path of ultimately reaching the transcendent through the vehicle of love remains insufficient.

Conclusion

Mystical Islamic theology ascribes an important role to the concept of love. It is believed to have been the prime motivating factor for the creation of the universe, while at the same time comprising the essential means by which humanity can transcend the vast chasm that separates them from God. Sufism furthermore points out that God is already immanent in His creation by means of His divine names and attributes, which are only manifested in their fullness through human beings. This endows humanity with great significance and value. Perfect knowledge of these attributes is attained through the heart in direct proportion to the degree of an individual attaining virtue and overcoming his state of forgetfulness. Love energizes the whole process. And when it reaches its consummation, it simultaneously results in mankind’s unification with God – not directly with God’s ontological essence, but merely His transcendent manifestation.

Several qualifying elements are helpful in understanding how Sufis employ the terminology of love in their theology. First it was demonstrated that love seems to have a strong conditional quality, which is evidenced both by the Qur’ānic account and mainstream Islamic teaching. Although God is believed to initiate love in the believer’s heart, much of the subsequent effort is up to the individual. Furthermore, attaining nearness, or realization of already existing nearness does not in the first order require personal transformation or an outside agent, but rather an overcoming of humanity’s present state of forgetfulness. Once that is achieved and an individual realizes through illumination within the heart that nothing separates him from God, oneness is attained. Such union with God, however, ultimately results in the loss of individuality. This in turn results in the logical problem that the loss of individuality necessarily includes the loss of rationality, which then precludes the person from knowing if and when union with God indeed occurred. In the end, love does help the worshiper to acquire greater degrees of intimacy, energizing him to desire ever increasing levels of moral excellence, but God essentially always retains His absolute otherness, which permanently remains unknowable. This does not completely remove love’s power as an effective vehicle for attaining nearness with God, but it does point out its limitations.