8/8/13 Of Love and Lovers in Islamic Culture | Space Writing

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Of Love and Lovers in Islamic Culture
By Ziad Aazam / Tuesday, 15th February 2011 / Space Writing / Leave a comment /
I was asked: why isnt the concept of male and female Romantic Love featured strongly in
Islamic culture?
To answer the question, I recommend reading the following text first:
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OF HINTING WITH THE EYES: After verbal allusion, when once the lovers advance has been
accepted and an accord established, the next following step consists in hinting with the
glances of the eyes. Glances play an honourable part in this phase, and achieve remarkable
results. By means of a glance the lover can be dismissed, admitted, promised, threatened,
upbraided, cheered, commanded, forbidden; a glance will lash the ignoble, and give warning
of the presence of spies; a glance may convey laughter and sorrow, ask a question and make a
response, refuse and give-in short, each, one of these various moods and intentions has its
own particular kind of glance, which cannot be precisely realized except by ocular
demonstration. Only a small fraction of the entire repertory is capable of being sketched out
and described, and I will therefore attempt to describe here no more than the most elementary
of these forms of expression.
To make a signal with the corner of the eye is to, forbid the lover something; to droop the eye
is an indication of consent; to prolong the gaze is a sign of suffering and distress; to break off
the gaze is a mark of relief; to make signs of closing the eyes is an indicated threat. To turn the
pupil of the eye in a certain direction and then to turn it back swiftly, calls attention to the
presence of a person so indicated. A clandestine signal with the corner of both eyes is a
question; to turn the pupil rapidly from the middle of the eye to the interior angle is a
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demonstration of refusal; to flutter the pupils of both eyes this way and that is a general
prohibition. The rest of these signals can only be understood by actually seeing them
demonstrated.
It may be surprising to know that this sophisticated description of forms of expressions
between lovers was written in the 11th century (1022) by Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi in the Ring of
the Dove !, -sl! _s -.I.l J. In addition to news, stories and poems of lovers, the book
discusses passion of love based on psychological analysis. This is just one survived work of
our past that reflects not only a live concept of female and male romantic love featured
strongly in Islamic culture, but also a live practice of romantic love, as this book was based
on experience and observation.
The question is not whether or not romantic love featured strongly in Islamic culture; it is
how distant we are from Islamic culture with regard to knowledge of love and lovers.
You can enjoy the rest of the book in English:
http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/hazm/dove/index.html
(http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/hazm/dove/index.html)
You can download a PDF and the script Makhtootah in Arabic:
http://www.ibnhazm.net/books/details/6 (http://www.ibnhazm.net/books/details/6)
To know about Ibn Hazm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Hazm
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Hazm)
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