Allah says in the Holy Quran:

Meaning: And those who believe truly, love Allah intensely. (Al-Bakra-165)
Man loves his several relatives and things, for example, he loves Allah and the Holy Prophet
Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam, he loves his parents, wife, children, sisters and brothers,
friends, home, land, property, city, the tribe, kith and kin, business etc. The love which is so intense
and crazy that it dominates all the other loves is called Ishq (an ardent love). Ishq turns all other
loves into ashes and overpowers them. As the Holy Prophet says "Your faith is not complete until I
am not endear to you more than your lives, wives, children, house and business and everything
else" (Bukhari and Muslim). Allah considers this passionate love for Him an attribute of the true
believers and it is in the very nature of the human soul.
The Zaat (Essence) of Allah was secret and hidden, then an intense passion to be recognized
aroused in the Zaat (Essence), this desire was revealed with such severity that the respected sufies
(mystics) interpreted it, as Ishq. In the same passion of intense love, Allah created "Noor-eAhmadi" (Light of the Prophet) from His own Noor (Light). Then souls of the entire creation were
created from the Noor-e-Ahmadi, as, it is the sacred saying of the Holy Prophet Sall'Allahu Alayhi
Wa'alihi Wasallam that "I am from the Light of Allah and the entire creation is from mine".
Sultan-ul-Arifeen, Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo States:

Get to know, when Allah, the One, intended to manifest Himself in mult
This statement implies that when Ishq (Allah) adorned His court, first of all, He revealed Noor-eMohammadi from His own Zaat (Essence), then He created the souls of the whole creation and this
is the Haqeeqat-e-Mohammadiya (the Reality of the Holy Prophet Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi
Wasallam), for whose revelation this universe is created. As Iqbal says:

Meaning: Oh Beloved Mohammad Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam! the Creator of both the worlds is proud
Several Hadiths and traditions of the Holy Prophet re-inforce this reality.
Allah told the Holy Prophet Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam:

Meaning: I would never have created the universe if your (Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam) birth was not in
The Holy Prophet himself said:

Meaning: I was the prophet even at the time when Adam Alayh Salam was in the process of creation i.e. between

He also said:

Meaning: I am from Allah's Noor (Light) and the

Hazrat Ibn-e-Arabi beautifully illustrated his being the First and the Last by the following example:

A trader wraps a carpet over his treasure and layers it with several cloth
In his writing Shajrah-tul-Kaun, Ibn-e-Aarbi says, "same is the situation of the descent of the
Holy Prophet Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam that his sacred soul came into being first of all
but he was descended latest of all. That is why, he is called The First and The Last".

Meaning: In the eye of Divine Love and passion, he is the First and the Last. He is the Quran and Furqan and he
This is the same status where He Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam is the Totality.

Meaning: Everything is within him Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam, from him, was from him and will be fr

Meaning: You are the Lauh (Divine Tablet) and the Qalam (Supreme Pen) and you are the real Quran. The crysta

Since, everything is created from the Noor (Light) of Mohammad Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam it is just
The Noor-e-Mohammadiya Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam (Light of the Holy Prophet) descended in huma

Meaning: Allah chose one from His creatures. He appears to be one of them but in reality, he is not.
His manifestation took place with perfection in this world of matter. Here, humanism was applied on him.

Meaning: You (Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam) just tell them, I am also a human being like you. (surah K

His reality of Noor (Light) was perfectly there but his humanism became a veil for some beholders. They could n

Meaning: And you Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam watch, they look at you but see nothing. (surah Al-Ara

The lustrous and elegant Beauty of the manifestation of the Noor of Allah was molded in the incarnation of huma

Meaning: Mustafa Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam is the mirror of the Face of Allah, The Essence and all th
Conclusion of the above discussion is that the origin of the Universe is Ishq (intense Love) and the
creation of man is for the sake of Ishq. When the souls were created from the Noor (light) of the
Holy Prophet Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam, the exclusive essence of the Divine Love was
inherited by the human souls from the Holy Prophet Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam. The
passion of Divine Love must arouse in the heart of the seeker for Deedar-e-Elahi (Vision of Allah).
In fact, the relation of the soul and Allah is that of Ishq. Without Ishq neither the soul is awaken nor
can it find "the Vision" of Allah. Ishq is present in the form of a seed within the human being.
Although, it is dormant but as soon as it starts to awake in the soul by the Zikr (invocation) and
Tasawur (contemplation) of Ism-e-Allah Zaat (the Personal Name of Allah) and by Mushq
Murqoom-e-Wajudia (the practice of inscribing the Name of Allah on body) and by the attention of
the Murshid (The spiritual guide), the pain, the craving and the attraction for Allah starts increasing.
Fuqara kamileen (The perfect mystics) stated that intense love is essential for the Vision of Allah,
the faith is imperfect without the Divine love.
Ishq-e-Haqeeqi (the Divine Love) like a leader helps a seeker to access the Court of Allah. Ishq
takes man ahead by adopting the spiritual path of his inner self. Only it makes the man intimate to
the Divine Self of Allah within his own being. Only it burns the flame of urge in the soul to meet
the Beloved Allah. Only it keeps the souls restless and anxious day and night for Deedar (Vision)
and Visal (Union). Only it intensifies the fire of separation and leads to the Vision of the Haq
(Divine Reality).

The most respected Lord of the Universe Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi W

"It is a hard luck for the lovers of Allah, if they have to live in Paradise
Allah's relation with the lovers is entirely different from all others. He deals with the so called
religious scholars differently while the lovers are dealt differently. Ishq leads to Mushahida (the
observation of Divinity) and possesses the essence of true mystic knowledge but the intellect has
superficial knowledge only.

Sultan-ul-Arifeen Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh ha

Afterwards the Ulama (scholars) asked, "did you see Allah"? Since, the
Mehboob-e-Subhani Qutab-e-Rabbani Syedna Ghaus-ul-Azam Razi All
"I saw Allah then I asked, oh Rub what is meant by Ishq (love)? He repl
Hazrat Rabia Basri says:

Meaning: To prostrate the Beloved madly, is the real prayer of the lover
According to Maulana Rome:

Meaning: Ishq (intense love) is such a flame when burns, it enflames ev

Khawaja Hafiz states:
"The person who does not possess the Divine Love, surely, all his praye

Baba Bulleh Shah says in his poem "Ne mein hun sunya"
:
"The religious scholars and theologians cannot even think about the spir
Mian Mohammad Bukhsh says:

Meaning: Those, who do not possess the Divine Love, their life is usele

Meaning: Dogs are better than the people who do not possess Ishq-e-Ela
Allama Iqbal, like other Arifeen (knowers of Allah), also thinks that the

Meaning: The first and the foremost guide and mentor of heart, wisdom
According to Iqbal, Ishq is the key to the path of Faqr, and only Ishq tak

Meaning: If the Muslim is not an ardent lover of Allah, he should not be

Meaning: One glance of Ishq can break even the rocks. The love of Haq
Ishq is the foundation and soul of Tauheed (belief in Oneness of Allah),

Meaning: what is Ishq? Ishq is to foster the Oneness of Allah in the hear
According to the philosophy of Faqr of Sultan-ul-Arifeen, Ishq is the key to eternal success and
only Ishq conveys one to the court of Allah.

Meaning: The poor lover is always dying for his Beloved. He always sings romantic songs of love. (Ain-ul-Faqr

Meaning: You know what is Ishq? It is to kill your "self". It is due to the intensity of Ishq that the heart of lover is

Meaning:
123The most precious asset of life of a Momin (true believer) is his "Faith" but for a lover it is only a
waystation, the true destination of the lover is "the Union with Haq" which is gained through the
Divine Love. When the fire of Love becomes severe, the lover painfully feels separated from the
Beloved Allah. The demand and craving for meeting the Beloved keeps on increasing. This fire of
separation keeps the lover anxious and restless day and night for Union with the Beloved. When the
fire of Ishq burns the nafs (the baser self), which is a veil between Allah and the soul of a Man, then
the destination of Deedar-e-Elahi is attained. Vision of The Majestic Beauty of Allah makes the
lover more passionate and his urge for Visal-e-Elahi (Union with Allah) increases. Fire of Ishq then
burns the 'self' of the lover, thus, he annihilates in the Noor (Light) of Allah, approaching the
destination of Fana-Fillah and then he is blessed with Visal (Union with Allah). Thus, he finds the
secret of Oneness and Tauheed.
Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh says:

Ishq is a subtle passion which is born invisibly in the heart and finds sat
Get to know that the Zikr (invocation) is infact Ishq and Ishq takes a hig
Get to know that the lesson of love is not taught by teacher of any schoo
Know, that an ardent lover remains the seeker of death because his desti
Get to know that there are two types of Faqeers (mystics), the first one i
Ishq is like a goldsmith who testifies the purity of gold and separates the

Oh devout! The labourer of the paradise (who toils hard to get paradise)
He explains the identity of the lover as:

Meaning: Oh Bahoo! The secret of the lovers of Allah is that they are ev

Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo states about the Divine lover in his book No

Faqeer-e-Kamil Mukamal (the Perfect and accomplished mystic) is a lov

search of the beauties of the world, and do not obey him, whose heart, I

Meaning: Whoever seeks Me, undoubtedly, he finds Me, who finds Me

Meaning: The status of the Lovers is stated in this way that their beginn
As it is mentioned by Allah:

Meaning: Noor has enhanced Noor (light), Allah blesses, whom He wish
Get to know, there are two stages of the Lover, at the start he is an Ashiq

The seekers of the path of Divine Truth know it very well that to sacrific
Ishq:

Meaning: Oh Bahoo! The roof of Ishq is very high, just use the ladder o
Now the question arises, how the hidden passion of Divine love be awaken in our selves, as our
love is for the things and the people whom we see, while Allah is incorporeal. How can we love
Him? According to Fuqara Kamileen (the perfect mystics) we can reach Ishq-e-Haqeeqi (the Divine
Love) by means of Ishq-e-Majazi, i.e. Ishq-e-Murshid (the metaphorical love). Usually, the
metaphorical love is thought to be for a man by a woman and for a woman by a man which is
actually lust and a devilish game, the Islamic law does not allow it. On the path of Faqr Ishq-eMajazi (the metaphorical love) means Ishq-e-Murshid (love of the spiritual mentor).
Now the problem is how this metaphorical love is acquired?
For Ishq-e-Murshid the method adopted in all the spiritual chains and paths is that the seeker is
advised to contemplate image of his Murshid. Now a days, in some of the chains, even the pictures
of the mentors are actually provided for this purpose. The seeker remains absorbed in imagining and

thinking about his Murshid. This method is deceptive, as, today's age is full of deception. This
method is a form of idol worship and shirk (polytheism or making partner with Allah). As, it is the
human nature to develop love for the one in whose imaginations or thoughts he ever remains
absorbed and lost, then this love turns into Ishq (intense love). In Sarwari Qadri way, this method is
never adopted. In it, the metaphorical love (Ishq-e-Murshid) grows through the contemplation of
Ism-e-Allah Zaat. It means, when the seeker starts contemplation of Ism-e-Allah Zaat, he gets the
image of the Murshid first, and in this way the passionate love, Ishq of Murshid begins. This
method has two advantages, first one is that in it, there is no deception because it has been gained
through Ism-e-Allah Zaat and whatever is gained through the Name of Allah can never be
deceptive. When this image is gained through the contemplation of Ism-e-Allah Zaat, then it is
confirmed to the disciple that his Murshid is the Perfect one and he is on Sirat-e-Mustqeem (the
straight path). Then, this Ishq turns into the Ishq of Holy Lord Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi Wasallam
and after that transforms into Ishq-e-Haqeeqi (the Divine Love) and the seeker climbs up the
destination of Fana Fillah Baqa Billah (annihilation in Allah and be perpetual with Allah).
In the other spiritual chains, firstly, the muraqbah (meditation) of Fana-Fi-Shaikh (annihilation in
the self of the mentor) is done and then the muraqbah of Fana-Fi-Rasool (annihilation in the
Prophet) is practiced and in the end the muraqbah of Fana-Fillah (annihilation in Allah) by means of
Ism-e-Allah Zaat is acted upon (every chain has its own way). This process demands a long time,
but in the Sarwari Qadri way, the spiritual Mentor grants Tasawur of Ism-e-Allah Zaat (the
contemplation of the Personal Name of Allah) on the very first day. That is why, it is said that the
extreme point of the other chains is just the beginning of the Sarwari Qadri way.

Shah Shams Tabraiz Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh tells about the Ishq of Mur

Meaning: Only Ishq-e-Haqeeqi (Divine Love) can provide access to the

Maulana Jami Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh says:

Meaning: If you are destined to be granted the love of the mentor, consi
According to Baba Bulleh Shah Ishq-e-Majazi (the metaphorical love of

Meaning: A person can never ascend to the love of Allah without the lov
Hazrat Mian Mohammad Bakhsh Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh expounds:

Meaning: I am a very humble and a common man but I am proud that m

Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh also considers the Is

He says, when the reality and the secret of "Ism-e-Allah Zaat" (the Perso

Sultan-ul-Arifeen Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh ex

Murshid (mentor), "oh my perfect mentor! Please save my Ishq and gran

Only those are blessed with the Divine Love who sacrifice all their poss
limited to the prayers of Shariat only and never move ahead to the true a

The passionate lovers of Allah have taken their ablution with the love of

Although, the Ghaus and Qutbs hold high ranks but they can never reac
According to the teachings of Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh, Ishq is that
spiritual passion which unites the creation with the Creator. Only due to Ishq a seeker annihilates
himself into the Essence of Allah by renouncing pleasures of his Nafs (lower self), devilish
perceptions and all the minor and major sins. The seekers of Ishq-e-Haqeeqi (Divine Love) must
know that it initiates from Ishq-e-Majazi (metaphorical love, love of the Murshid).

The extreme level of a lover is that when he reaches the highest point of Ishq and proves his
sincerity completely, he becomes the beloved and then Beloved (Allah) becomes his Lover. About
it, Sultan-ul-Arifeen Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo expresses in "Noor-ul-Huda" that:

The completion of Ishq is that the ashiq turns into Mashooq (beloved) b
Allama Iqbal says about this status of belovedness that:

Meaning: You must elevate your inner self to such a Divine closeness by loving Allah ardently that He may alwa

Meaning: When love reaches its perfection, it transforms into the belovedness, hence, Qais is called Laila in the d
As the words of Baba Bulleh Shah express:

Meaning: Invoking Ranjha's name continuously, I have annihilated in Ranjha and has become Ranjha myself. Oh
In this verse Heer is a symbolic character referring to the seeker and Ranjha symbolically refers to Murshid Kam
The source of wisdom is brain while the center of love is heart. In the heart is the manifestation of
Allah. The base of all the worldly knowledge is intellect and wisdom. All the material knowledge is
gained through wisdom and in return it increases the intellect and wisdom as well. Human intellect
and its knowledge are limited as they are based on the information received within the dimensions
of time and space, so they keep the man bounded within the limitations of time and space. Human
brain does not have the capability of thinking beyond these dimensions, while Allah is beyond these

limitations so man cannot get the recognition of Allah on the basis of intellect and knowledge. But,
when a man enters the realm of Ishq after crossing the boundaries of his knowledge and intellect,
then, the power of Ishq takes him to La-Makan (the station beyond all stations) by crossing all the
boundaries of time and space where he meets and sees his Beloved Allah.

Maulana Rome says "we can never describe Ishq of Allah by intellect an
He further states:

Meaning: When the passion of Ishq aroused in my being, the poor intell

Meaning: The path of intellect is very complicated, so the path of the lo

Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo states:
Knowledge and intellect are regarded as a great hurdle in the path of Ish
He says in his Punjabi couplets:

The river of passionate love of Allah has taken us to the fathomless ocean of Divine Oneness. Faqr
is simply the path of Ishq, intellect has none of its business with it. Therefore, by drowning the
useless boat of wisdom and intellect, save yourself from it on the very first day of your Ishq. When
the seeker enters the ocean of Unity, he has to encounter many dangers, troubles, and calamities.
The masses are frightened of these troubles and death but the passionate lover of allah is destined to
be eternally alive after his physical death.
The game of Ishq (intense love) is such a unique one, which is played by the restless, anxious and
true hearted seekers, in the love of Allah by getting out of the boundaries of wisdom and intellect,
keeping their lives and wealth at stake. If they prove the truth and sincerity of their passion, then the
presence in the Majlis-e-Mohammadi (Assembly of the Holy Prophet Sall'Allahu Alayhi Wa'alihi
Wasallam) and Deedar-e-Elahi (the Vision of Allah) are granted to him, as Allah Almighty does not
let anybody's struggle go in vain. It must be understood that only the Divine Love opens the door to
the Vision of Allah. Otherwise, thousands of caravans of wisdom are ruined in trying to understand
the secret of Allah but could not get to it. Although Fuqara (saints) got the blessing of Deedar-eElahi (the Vision of Allah), and found the secrets of Allah through the path of the Ishq (love).