Mahabbah

From The SpiritWiki

Mahabbah is an Islamic term that refers to an attitude which "implies devotion, sacrifice of self (Bodily Ego), and love of God. It is one of three "attitudes" which together constitute spiritual development.[1]

Islamic Terms

Islam > Absolute Essence, Al-Insan al-Kamil, Ascension, Dhat, Drug, Fana, Hadith, Ibn al-'Arabi, Infidelity, Infran, Jadhb, Last Days, Laylat al-Qadr, Mahabbah, Majdhub, Muhammad, Peace be upon them, Quran, Rapture, Right Path, Rtavan, Shariah, Subtle Centers, Sufism, Sulūk-i Ṭarīqa, Tahdhīb al-akhlāq, Taubah, Wajd, Yawm ad-Din

Notes

Mahabbah'; may predominate as an operational attitude, but it is always associated with makhāfah ("fear of God, but also purification and "contraction) and with ma'rifa (gnosis of knowledge of God). Any of the three may constitute the principal spiritual methodology but all three also are necessary elements of any spiritual development. Makhafah, as purification, precedes mahabbah as expansion. Ma'rifah, as union, is the culmination.[2]

TODO, Add Ma'rifah as syncretic for union, and Makhafah as syncretic with gnosis.

Footnotes

  1. Classe, Cyril. The New Encyclopedia of Islam. New York: Altamira Press, 2001.
  2. Classe, Cyril. The New Encyclopedia of Islam. New York: Altamira Press, 2001. p. 280.