KIK 35 HISKI The transformation of the meaning of human love into divine love in Nizami Ganjavi’s novel Layla Majnun
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Laila Majnun is a symbol of human love that teaches absolute devotion that transcends physical boundaries and logic. However, Laila Majnun also serves as a symbol of pure, selfless divine love. From a Sufi perspective, the story of Laila Majnun is not merely a tale of ordinary love, but rather an allegory of humanity’s journey in seeking true love for Allah SWT. Building upon this allegory, this study focuses on an analysis aimed at revealing the transformation of love for humanityinto love for God. The benefit of this studyis to introduce readers of world literature to true love for God. The theories used in this study are Rabiah al-Adawiyah’s theory of the transformation of love into love for God—known as the concept of pure Mahabbah—and the concept found in the Quran, Surah Al-Imran, verse 33. These two concepts align in achieving the objectives of this study. Rabiah al-Adawiyah shifts the orientation of human worship from a transactional relationship—where people worship out of fear of hell or hope for paradise—to a sincere, selfless love driven solely by the longing to draw closer to Allah SWT. The method employed is a qualitative approach using descriptive analysis. The results of this study indicate that the transformation of the meaning of love in the novel Laila Majnun consists of two forms: love for His Self and love for His Majesty. Love for His Self (Hubb al-Hawa) is the love that arises when humans experience God’s blessings, bounties, and kindness in fulfilling all their life’s needs. This love is represented by the love of parents for their children, the love of friends, and love for nature. Meanwhile, love for God’s majesty (Hubb Li-Khafri) is the highest form of a servant’s love for Allah due to His beauty and His Perfect Essence, transcending all forms of worldly or otherworldly self-interest. In the novel Layla Majnun, there arefour stages of love in the Sufi tradition: fana and baqa, suffering, devotion, and union with the attributes of Allah.
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