What is Love? Reflections from the Islamic Tradition

Love has been at the center of Islamic literary, philosophical, and spiritual discourses since their inception, developing some of the most beautiful, influential, and profound accounts ever written. In these traditions, love is more than a feeling, but a cosmic force, the cause of creation, the power that attracts and compels everyone and everything in this world and beyond. Through close readings from selections of the Qur’an and Hadith, the legend of Layla and Majnun, the philosophical reflections of Ibn Hazm and Ibn Sina, the poetry of Ibn al-Farid and Rumi, the metaphysical expositions of Ibn al-‘Arabi and Aḥmad al-Ghazali, and more, this course will explore the nature, causes, purpose, and the many-splendored reality of love.

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