The Reality of Ishq-e-Majazi (Romantic Love)
Someone from Abbottabad, Pakistan asks:
'I request you to please discuss Ishq-e-Mijazi some day.'
'People say that to love another human being is wrong and it is false love.'
'If this is wrong and if it is a lie, then why do we fall in love in the first place?'
'Why do we feel love?'
'Kindly give a detailed reply on this, God bless you.'
Love is a topic that has always been inaccurately understood in the world.
What is love? What type of love is permissible? What type of love is not allowed? This is what we will have to look into.
One time, His Divine Eminence Imam Mehdi Gohar Shahi said:
'If someone has money and [he says] he does not love his money, he is lying.'
'If someone has children and [claims] not to love their children, it is a lie.'
'If someone has been granted the Personal Name of God and they [say that they] do not love it, they are lying.'
The love of God's Personal Name is beneficial for one's faith.
Whereas the love for one's children is not beneficial to one's faith.
Similarly, love for money is not beneficial to one's faith.
Love, in reality, is attraction.
Attraction.
Now, whatever a person is attracted to -
- it can be for any reason -
it can be due to beauty, wealth or a quest for God
There are many types of love.
One day, when Imam Hassan was a child,
he asked his father, Moula Ali, 'Father, tell me: do you love me?'
Moula Ali said, 'Yes, of course.' Imam Hassan asked, 'Do you love Hussain too?' Moula Ali replied, 'Yes, him too.'
Then Imam Hassan said, 'You must also love Mother.' Moula Ali replied, 'Yes, her too.'
He further asked, 'Do you love Grandfather?' Moula Ali replied, 'Yes.'
He asked, 'Do you love God?' Moula Ali said, 'Yes.'
He was a child and he said to Moula Ali, 'Father, is that a heart in your chest or a hotel? You love everyone?'
Whether the love is lawful or unlawful depends on the source of that attraction.
There are some things our Lower Selves like.
If the love involves something which the Lower Self enjoys, then it is known as Carnal Love.
Carnal Love does happen, absolutely.
Ishq-e-Mijazi (Romantic Love) does occur too.
And our history, our culture is full of examples of Ishq-e-Mijazi.
For example, the famous couple Sassi-Pannu in Sindh, Pakistan.
When we went to the shrine of Shah Noorani in Baluchistan in 1987,
there at some point we saw the shrine of Sassi-Pannu.
And we were told that when the couple couldn't find a place [to be together], they commanded the ground to open up and it did. That is where there shrine was built.
Then there is another famous couple from the area where our brother, Ikhlaq, hails [Punjab]: Sohni-Mahiwal. That was another example of Ishq-e-Mijazi.
The story of Qais-Laila is famous in the Arab world.
Laila had dark skin. People asked Qais, 'Why do you love her when there are so many women more beautiful than her?'
Qais replied, 'I have fallen in love with her, now I don't see the colour of her skin.'
Then in Iran, we have the story of Shirin-Farhad.
So there have been incidents of Ishq-e-Majazi.
And then, in the past, some saints - not all - have used Ishq-e-Majazi as a tool to take disciples to Ishq-e-Haqiqi (Rapturous Love of God).
Waris Shah's Spiritual Guide said to him, 'I will connect you to God later. First, go love a woman.'
Now, these are methods of these spiritual dignitaries.
They know how to direct the love you develop in Ishq-e-Majazi towards God.
So Waris Shah fell in love with a woman. When he completed the stage of Ishq-e-Majazi, his Spiritual Guide turned his love towards God.
If the disciple had fallen in love and, due to that love, his subtleties were filled with negative energy, then it would be impossible to direct that love towards God.
Since Ishq-e-Majazi could be turned towards God, it means that this type of love was pure. It is only in these circumstances that it could be turned towards God.
If Ishq-e-Majazi was impure and unlawful, then how could it be directed towards God?
Ishq-e-Majazi occurs between people whose souls lived together in the Realm of Souls.
They are those whose relationship of love formed in the Realm of Souls.
When those souls came down on Earth at the same time, they fell in love with one another all over again.
It is only with such people that Ishq-e-Majazi occurs - it does not happen with anyone else.
When people fall in love with a man or woman [besides Ishq-e-Majazi], immediately they begin thinking lustful thoughts.
If you feel lust for the one you love, then understand that it means this type of love is Carnal Love.
Because all these famous couples who had Ishq-e-Majazi -
- Sassi-Pannu, Shirin-Farhad, Sohni-Mahiwal, Qais-Laila -
their relationships were based on intense love.
They did not have a single trace of lust in their hearts [for one another].
They would spend time together as if they were brothers and sisters.
If someone falls in love with another in this manner today, then it is okay.
It is not a bad thing to love a human being.
It becomes an issue when the love is Carnal Love.
If you fall in love and it is Carnal Love that you have, then both of you exchange negative energy.
All your subtleties become subject to it. The negative energy enters your bloodstream.
And then you are stopped on the path towards God.
So if there is no trace of lust in [the love you have for another human being], then it is fine.
However if there is an aspect of lust in the love you have for another human being, it is not Ishq-e-Majazi. It is Carnal Love.
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