‘ASHQ - عشق

 

Literally: A being or becoming passionately enamoured. Love. Passion. The intensity of the passion and a blindness to the failings of the object loved.

As an Islamic term: Ecstatic love for Allah. Ilahî love.

 

Mawlana Jâmî, who was intoxicated with the cup of ‘ashq like his fitrah kneaded with ‘ashq, see how beautiful he has said in order to toward the faces from the multiplicity to wahdah:

يَكِى خَواهْ يَكِى خَوانْ يَكِى جُوىْ يَكِى بِينْ يَكِى دَانْ يَكِى گُوىْ   (Only this line is Mawlana Jâmî's)

That is,

1. Want only The One; others are not worthy of being wanted.

2. Call The One; the others do not come to succour.

3. Seek for The One; the others are not worthy.

4. See The One; the others are not seen all the time; they hide in the veil of fading.

5. Know The One; any other knowledge, which does not assist His ma’rifat, is without benefit.

6. Say The One; words not belonging to Him may be considered meaningless and useless.

نَعَمْ صَدَقْتَ اَىْ جَامِى ٭ هُوَ الْمَطْلُوبُ ٭ هُوَ الْمَحْبُوبُ ٭ هُوَ الْمَقْصُودُ ٭ هُوَ الْمَعْبُودُ

Yes, Jâmî, you said so right. The true beloved (mahbûb), the true desired one (matlûb), the true object (maqsûd), the true ma’bûd is He alone.

The Second Station of the Seventeenth Word

 

I see that the most fortunate person in the life of this world is one who accepts the world as a military guesthouse and has idh‘ân in that way and acts accordingly. And through that acceptance, he can swiftly gain the rank of acceptance and pleasure of Allah, the greatest rank; he would not give the price of a perpetual diamond to a thing with the price of a piece of glass that will break; he passes his life within istiqâmah and with pleasure. Yes, the matters belonging to the world are glasses doomed to be broken, while the eternal matters belonging to the âkhirah possess the value of extremely solid diamonds. The intense feelings in man's fitrah, such as intense curiosity, fervent love, terrible ambition, obstinately desiring, and so on, have been given to him to gain the matters belonging to the âkhirah. To turn those feelings intensely towards transitory matters of the world is giving the price of eternal diamonds to transient glasses that will break. A point occurred to the mind in connection with this; I shall tell it. It is as follows:

‘Ashq is an intense love. When it turns towards transitory beloveds, it either causes its owner to suffer perpetual torment and pain or, since the metaphorical beloved is not worth the price of such intense love, it causes its owner to search for an eternal beloved; the metaphorical ‘ashq transforms into true (Haqîqî) ‘ashq.

Thus, there are thousands of feelings in man. Like ‘ashq, each of them has two degrees. One is metaphorical, the other is true (Haqîqî).

For example, the feeling of anxiety about the future is present in everyone. When one suffers intense anxiety, he looks and sees that he does not have a certain proof in his hand to reach the future he is anxious about. Furthermore, a future that is brief and guaranteed with respect to rizq is not worth such intense anxiety. So, he turns his face away from it and turns towards a true and long future beyond the grave that has not been guaranteed for the ghâfils.

He also displays intense ambition for possessions and rank, and then he looks and sees that the transient possession that has been put temporarily under his supervision and the calamitous fame and perilous rank that are the sources of riyâ are not worth such intense ambition. From it, he turns towards ma’nawî ranks and degrees of closeness to Allah that are true ranks and towards the stock of provisions for the âkhirah and ‘amal as-sâlih that are true possessions. The metaphorical ambition that is a bad trait transforms into true ambition, which is an elevated trait.

Furthermore, for example, with intense obstinacy, he spends his feelings on insignificant, fading, transient matters; he sees that he has been obstinate for a year over something not worth even a minute of obstinacy. He also persists in a poisonous and harmful thing out of obstinacy. Then he sees that this powerful feeling was not given to him for such things. Spending it on them is contrary to hikmah and haqiqah. Then he spends that intense obstinacy not on those useless transitory matters, but on the elevated and eternal haqiqahs of îmân, principles of Islam and services for the âkhirah; such metaphorical obstinacy that is a contemptible trait transforms into true obstinacy that is ardent steadfastness on haqq, a beautiful and elevated trait.

Thus, like these three examples, if man uses the ma’nawî faculties given to him on account of the nafs and the world and acts with ghaflah as though he will eternally remain in the world, they become sources of contemptible morality, wastefulness and futility. But if he spends ma’nawî faculties that are not severe on the matters of the world and the intense ones on ma’nawî duties and the duties belonging to the âkhirah, they become the sources of praiseworthy morality and the means to happiness in both worlds in a way conforming to hikmah and haqiqah.

Thus, I guess that one reason for the advice of those who give advice remaining ineffective at this time is they say to the people who possess bad moral: "Don't be envious! Don't display ambition! Don't hate! Don't be obstinate! Don't love the world!" That is, like changing their fitrah, they propose something which they deem impossible. If they say: "Turn the face of these feelings toward things which are khayr; change their channel!" both the advice would be effective and it would be an order proposed within the sphere of their will.

The Ninth Letter