OUR PROPHET'S UNDERSTANDING OF LOVE

Loving Allah comes first of all (Al-Baqarah, 2:165). As a matter of fact, the Prophet made it very clear that what is most desirable is His love, the love of people that He loves and the love of things that will take us closer to His love. The simplest and most direct sign of this is commitment to the Prophet and following his path. (Al-i Imran, 3:165) Our prophet is our foremost guide and teacher. If he presents to us as the prerequisite/condition of faith the will to want for others what is good and nice as much as one wants for himself, and if he proclaims that believers are mirrors of each other, this means that he wishes us to establish our interpersonal relationships on love and respect.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of The Little Prince, explains love with the symbol of a "mirror" very aptly and succinctly: "Love is an action of mine to guide you/lead you towards yourself." Love that is thus fostered and shared will let the selves of both people mature.  We need to stress the importance of the fact that love should guide "me towards myself". The first phase of love that will guide me will help me know myself. And knowing myself is knowing and loving my Lord and all that He created.

When we regard human beings as the nucleus of all worlds and the most cherished member of all creation, it becomes easier not to hurt anyone, for no one wants to be hurt in the first place. To put it in the words of Yunus Emre:

I am not here for dispute, I am here for love

The name of the Eternal Friend is in hearts, I am here to reach out to hearts.

If we can do this,

We do not hold grudges against anyone, even enemies are friends to us,

We do not shelter bitterness, all worlds are friends to us.

If we can materialize these words of Yunus Emre, love will be the most integral part of our social fabric and of the solidarity amongst us.