Mistyczna teoria miłości według Ibn'Arabiego

Damian Kokoć – IBN ‘ARABI’S MYSTICAL THEORY OF LOVE Love is a phenomenon which was an important element in mystical concepts formed on the ground of different cultures. It was perceived as a „pure” feeling which has its source in the transcen-dence. Emphasizing its spiritual dimension, mystics pointed out that it had to be the element which directs toward mystic to the Absolute and the Absolute to mystic. Love was an important and frequent subject undertaken by Sufi masters. This interest resulted in a creation of many of the treaties, which were dedicated to this issue. The Quran and the hadith were an inspiration for these considerations, as well as the motifs present in the Arabic culture, often derived from pre-Islamic era. Drawing on this rich legacy, Ibn ‘Arabi, one of the most outstanding representatives of Sufism, also created his own theory of love. Theoretical considerations of the issue he presented among others in Chapter 178 of „The Meccan Revelations”. In this chapter, he presents and characterizes three kinds of love: divine, spiritual and natural. Divine Love is a feeling which God give His creation and the love of creation to the God. Spiritual love is associated with dependence on the will of the loving to will of the beloved. However, natural love is based on satisfying our selfish desires. In addition to those three types of love, Ibn ‘Arabi also presents four states of love: al-hawa, al-hubba, al-‘iszq and al-wudd. Each of these states has its own spiritual status, specific only for itself