Divine Love (Ishq)

Divine love (ishq in Arabic) stands at the very heart of the Sufi path. It is not romantic love or sentimental attachment, but rather the burning longing of the soul to reunite with its source, to return to God from whom it came.

In Sufi understanding, divine love is the most powerful force in existence. It is the energy that moves the heavens and the earth, that binds all creation together in unity. The great Sufi poet Rumi expressed this when he wrote: "Love is the bridge between you and everything. If you desire to know God, know yourself through love."

Divine love begins as a yearning, an inexplicable pull toward something transcendent. As this love deepens through practice and devotion, it gradually transforms the lover (the human soul) into an expression of the Divine itself. The lover becomes less preoccupied with their own existence and increasingly aware of God's presence and reality.

One of the most profound teachings on divine love comes from the female saint Rabia al-Basri, who said: "O God, if I worship You for hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise. If I worship You for fear of Hell, exclude me from Hell. But if I worship You for Your Own sake, grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty."

This illustrates the Sufi ideal: to love God purely, not for reward or from fear, but for God's own sake. Such love is transformative. It purifies the heart, annihilates the ego's claims, and reunites the soul with its beloved.

The path of divine love requires devotion, sincerity, and surrender. Through love, the Sufi learns to see God in all creation, to serve others as an expression of love for the Divine, and ultimately to realize the profound unity of all existence in God.