The Meaningfulness of Love for God in Ruzbihan Baqli’s Works and* its Theological and Mystical Contexts

Document Type : Scientific-research

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Islamic Theology, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran.

2 M.A of Philosophy of Religion, Faculty of Islamic Theology, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract

The concept of love for God in the works of Ruzbihan Baqli is not a merely conceptual or abstract expression. Rather, it is the result of encountering and experiencing God in beautiful imagery and accompanied by ecstatic states. Although he always emphasizes the transcendence and purity of God's essence and rejects anthropomorphism (tashbih) and corporealism (tajsim), from a structuralist perspective on religious experiences, the realization of this experience is compatible with contexts such as aestheticism, the Ashʿari belief in divine vision (ruʾya), and the Sufi concept of iltibas. Ruzbihan considers beauty to be the object of love, and in divine love, beauty in its sensory sense takes precedence and is not interpreted in other terms such as goodness or perfection. As an Ashʿari, he believes in the possibility of seeing God. The Ashʿari God, transcendent of logical laws, is capable of any action and thus, while being transcendent in existence, can descend to the realm of human perception and knowledge. According to the Sufi theory of iltibas, divine lordship can manifest in objects and visible forms, although this manifestation is epistemological rather than ontological. From the totality of these contexts, love for God is interpreted in its conventional, interpersonal sense and the result of a personal experience. The analysis of the meaningfulness of love for God, considering its experiential nature and its contexts, is one of the findings of the present paper

Keywords


Holly Quran.
Alizamani, A. (2008) Speaking of God. Tehran: Research Institute of Islamic Culture and Thought. (In Persian)
Aristotle. (2021), Nicomachean Ethics (R. Mashayekhi, Trans.). Tehran: Negah. (In Persian)
Avicenna. (1983). Al-Taliqat (A. Badawi, Ed.). Beirut: School of Islamic Studies. (In Arabic)
Baqli, Rouzbihan. (1995). Commentaries on the Paradoxes of the Sufis (Sharh-i Shathiyyat) (H. Corbin, Ed.; M. A. Amirmuʿezzi, Trans.). Tehran: Tahouri Library. (In Persian)
Baqli, Rouzbihan. (2004). ʿAbhar al-ʿAshiqin (H. Corbin and M. Moʿein, Trans.). Tehran: Manuchehri. (In Persian)
Baqli, Rouzbihan. (2014). The Unveiling of Secrets (Kashf al-Asrar) (M. Hosseini, Trans.). Tehran: Sokhan. (In Persian)
Berchman, R. (2008). Friendship. In Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions (Y. K. Greenberg, Ed.). California: ABC Clio.
Brady, I. C. 1967. Bonaventure. New Catholic Encyclopedia (J. P. Whallen and others, eds.). Washington.
Brümmer, V. (1993). The Model of Love: A Study in Philosophical Theology. Cambridge University Press.
Buber, M. (1958). I and Thou (R. G. Smith, Trans.). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Chairman, R. (2007). Agape. The New Encyclopedia Britannica.
Corbin, H. (2015). Spiritual and Philosophical Perspectives of Iranian Islam (vol. 3; E. Rahmati, Trans.). Tehran: Sofia. (In Persian)
Famouri, M. (2000). An Observation on the Concept of Iltibas by Sheikh Ruzbihan Baqli. Mystical Studies: Kashan University, 12. (In Persian)
Fromm, E. (1956). The Art of Being. Harper & Row.
Hopkins, S. (2008). Eros. In Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions (Y. K. Greenberg, Ed.). California: ABC Clio.
Hosseini, S. Z., & Qaramalki, A. (2017). God, from Concept to Models. Philosophy of Religion, 14(1). (In Persian) doi:10.22059/JPHT.2017.62417
Hosseini, Z. (2023). The Possibility and Significance of Love for Transcendence Existence in Avicenna’s Perspective. Islamic Philosophy and Theology, 57(1). (In Persian) doi:10.22059/JITP.2024.369024.523456
Hojviri, Ali ibn (2004), Othman, Kash al-Mahjoub, Tehran, Tahouri Publication.
Ibn-Arabi, M. (1997). The Meccan Illuminations (Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya). Dar Sadir. (In Arabic)
James, W. (2012). Diversity of Religious Experience (H. Kiani, Trans.). Hekmat. (In Persian)
Katz, S. (2004). Constructivism, Tradition, and Mysticism (A. Anzali, Trans.). Ayat-e Eshgh. (In Persian)
Katz, S. (2020). Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis (A. Anzali, Trans.). Taha. (In Persian)
Levine, M. (1992). Transcendence in Theism and Pantheism. Sophia, 31(3).
Moseley, A. (2001). Philosophy of Love. In J. Fieser (Ed.), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Otto, R. (2001). The Idea of the Holy (H. Hemmati, Trans.). Naqsh Jahan. (In Persian)
Peterson, M., & others. (2011). Reason & Religious Belief: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (A. Naraqi & E. Soltani, Trans.). Tarh-i Now. (In Persian)
Plotinus. (1987). The Collected Writings (M.H. Lotfi, Trans.). Khwarazmi. (In Persian)
Pourjavadi, N. (1996). Observing the Moon in the Sky. Academic Publishing Center. (In Persian)
Proudfoot, W. (2014). Religious Experience (A. Yazdani, Trans.). Taha. (In Persian)
Rahimian, S. (1997). Manifestation and Emersion in Theoretical Mysticism. Bustan Ketab. (In Persian)
Sattari, J. (1995). On the Sufi Love. Markaz. (In Persian)
Schoun, F. (1975). Logic & Transcendence. Harper Row.
Tahanavi, A. (1967). Kashshaf Istilahat al-Funun wal-ʿUlum. Khayyam. (In Persian)
Vincelette, A. (2008). Unconditional Love. In Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions (Y. K. Greenberg, Ed.). California: ABC Clio.