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Period of Zuhd

H. I.-II. / VII.-VIII. Centuries

Period of Zuhd

H. I.-II. / VII.-VIII. Centuries

The concept of “zuhd”, which means not showing interest in the world, has been used to express all negative attitudes and behaviors towards the world, and those who adopt this attitude are called “zâhid”. The military, political, and social developments that emerged after the Prophet, the increase in the level of material welfare due to the rise in spoils, and the growing attachment to the world in society caused the tâbiîn elders to turn towards the life of zuhd by following the Messenger of Allah and the generation of the Companions. Sufis have defined asceticism, which is essential in religion, as removing worldly and material things from one’s heart, not from one’s hands.

Period of Zuhd
Period of Zuhd

Love

Zâhids and the first Sufis, towards the end of the 2nd (8th) century, emphasized love and hope; over time, love became the foundation of Sufism. The understanding of Sufism essentially rests on the foundation of both the love of Allah and the fear of Allah, but since the fear of Allah is also a reverence born from loving Allah, these two concepts complement each other. In the Qur’an, obedience to the Prophet is a condition for loving Allah and being loved by Him (Âl-i Imrân 3/31), and hadiths stating that a good believer should love the Prophet more than themselves deeply influenced the early Sufis to follow the Messenger with complete love; therefore, they saw continuing the spiritual and mystical life of the Prophet as their primary duty.
HUB (Ar. ḥubb) means Love, passion.
Period of Zuhd
Period of Zuhd

Divine Love

While the first Sufis generally preferred words like muhabbet, habîb, mahbûb to express the love of Allah, later Sufis began to widely use terms such as aşk, âşık, mâşuk, leading to the emergence of the concept of “divine love.” The first Sufi to distinguish the concept of love from muhabbet and address it comprehensively was Ahmed el-Gazzâlî. After his work Sevâniḥu’l-ʿuşşâḳ (Sevâniḥ fi’l-ʿışḳ) gained popularity, the concept of love was adopted in Sufi circles, and his student Aynülkudât el-Hemedânî followed in this path with his writings. In the same period, Senâî brought a lively style to love literature. Subsequently, the theme of divine love was continued through works written by great Sufis such as Rûzbihân-ı Baklî, Ferîdüddin Attâr, Ibn al-Farid, Fahreddîn-i Irâkî, Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî, and Abdurrahman-ı Câmî.

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