habib allah pt 1

Huwa al-Habib alladhi turja shafa`atuhu
Min kulli hawlin min al-ahwali muqtahimi

" He is the Beloved whose intercession is hoped for
From every onrushing terror [that assails us]. "

There are so many mysteries and subtle points of spirituality locked into the Arabic language, it's awe-inspiring. I was talking today with Sidi Aftab Malik (director of Amal Press) about one of the titles of Sayyidina Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him): Habib Allah (the beloved of God). I'll cover it in parts, otherwise it'll get too long.

Part 1 - Lover and Beloved

Firstly, the form of the word: habib is on the scale of fa`il, which conveys two meanings in Arabic. The first is of ism al-maf`ul - the passive participle. On this scale, the meaning of habib is 'beloved.' The second is that of ism al-mubalagha - the intensive noun. On this scale, the meaning of habib is 'the intensely loving.' (from the Zurqani's commentary of al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyya). Thus this single word speaks volumes to the discerning viewer about the reciprocal nature of the loving relationship that exists between Creator and His most perfect Creation.

For the habib can be one who nutures an unrequited love for something, which is both a marker of humiliation and neediness; and which will eventually render the lover a weak and desperate former shadow of himself. On the other hand, the habib can be the object of affection: cold, distant and untouchable, filled with a self-regarding pride and arrogance.

It reminds me of a bedtime story I told my daughters, of Narcissus and Echo. Narcissus was a youth of surpassing beauty; Echo a wood nymph who was cursed by the 'demi-gods' for the usual Greek female crime (considering herself to be more beautiful than the goddesses). Echo fell in love with Narcissus, but could never reveal herself to him. He - with the pride and arrogance that comes with external beauty - repelled all advances as being unworthy of his beauty. Echo - the first habib - lingered on, tortured by her unrequited love until she eventually wore herself out and became no more than an echoing voice. Narcissus - the second habib - eventually met a sticky end: he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool and died of grief for not being able to be with his 'beloved.' [don't you just love those happy clappy Greek myths?]

But Rasulullah (s) is both lover and beloved - a perfect union of celestial bliss and perfection. In his oceanic love for his Creator, he sets up a paradigmic example to us for exactly what should be the nature of man's relationship to the divine. He used to pray in communion with his Lord until his blessed feet swelled because of the length of his standing, and when asked why he even needed to - since Allah had already forgiven him any possible slip - he replied merely, 'should I not be a thankful servant?' Though he - of all creation - who passed through the veils of light to approach ultimate knowledge of his Creator (al-ma`rifa billah), attained the rank where he was blessed with, 'a time with my Lord, upon which neither Prophet-Messenger nor Angel-brought-near may encroach,' still he cried, 'Oh Lord, forgive! I cannot praise you as you deserve to be praised!'

In his love for his Lord, Muhammad Habib Allah is never content or complacent, ever restless, always yearning to be yet closer, yet more intimate. He is in his love like a flowing spring that leaps down the mountain-side, ever yearning for 'the Sea, and Unity.'

Yet so too is he Beloved of Allah, receiving His Lord's unceasing, uncountable salawat - which is love conjoined with mercy, magnification and intimacy; and the salawat of His angelic hosts, so numerous that, 'there is not a point in all the seven heavens that is not occupied by a glorifying angel.' And in this, too, is a clarion sign for us, that - if he is deserving of the love of His Infinite Lord, how much more so is he deserving of our love and salawat - which is veneration, respect and an appeal to Allah to raise him yet closer to His ineffable presence. What kind of being is he that - yet a man born of woman, he commands such a position in the eyes of the Lord of Might and Glory?

Allah says with his Divine speech (a hadith qudsi): "when I love someone, I call Gibril and say, 'oh Gibril, I love this person, so you too must love him.' Then He orders Gibril to travel throughout the heavens and the earth, proclaiming, 'oh creation! This person is beloved of Allah, so you too must love him/her.' "

If this is the case for a mere 'ordinary' beloved of Allah [if there can be such a thing], then how could we possibly conceive the rank of the one whom Allah has loved from pre-eternity, whose love was inscribed before there was Pen, or Tablet, or earth or heaven?

In fact, it is my firm belief that love for Sayyidina Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) is hard-wired into the very ground of existence; it is the substance of creation itself. Every particle in creation contains within it the love of Rasulullah (s). This can be inferred from the hadith quoted above, for if the beloveds of Allah become beloved of creation, then surely the Beloved of Allah from Pre-Eternity must have been beloved to creation even before their existence.

It can also be known from simple common sense. Every characteristic and quality that the human soul inclines towards, yearns for and is nourished by - compassion, wisdom, truth, justice, humility, kindness, love, tranquility - are embodied completely, perfectly and paradigmically in the most Blessed Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him. All that we find appealing, beautiful or attractive - to the soul, not merely the nafs - find their ultimate manifestation in him (s). As Allah says, 'verily, I swear that you are indeed upon the absolutely supreme paradigm of created character' (wa innaka la `ala khuluqin `azim - which contains no less than six particles of emphasis (ta'kid) in Arabic.

May Allah give us love for Him, love for His Beloved and for his (s) beloveds. May He make us lovers and beloved of Him. Peace and Blessings upon him, without number nor end, as many as the raindrops that fall from heaven, reviving the dead earth and bringing forth from it plants and fruits to nourish mankind. May his love (s) rain upon our dead hearts, revivifying them with the perfumed flowers of remembrance, the nourishing plants of obedience and the delicious fruits of wisdom.