#ishq

I'm non-Muslim, and I do not belong to any one religion; personally, I am a polytheist (Tuatha De Danann) who tries also to reconnect with Christ. Speaking the truth "in the face of a tyrant", meeting the oppressed where they're at, building right relationship to land, people, and the god(s) -- these are foundational to my spiritual development. Spirituality is inherently political, in my view. So, I've been doing what I can to learn & develop since I've begun, and though I'm still very early into this, I mean to continue my whole life. Here I've gathered a few excerpts from both of these writers: Simone Weil and Jalees Hyder (one from the beginning of the 20th century and one contemporary) I've been reading a lot from. Incidentally, they both kind of "showed up" at the same time in my life, and I believe, in a way, my prayers are being answered in my being exposed to them. I'm grateful to them. My heart seeks connection to god(s), to truth, to reality, to other people, to eternity. (all emphasis in italics or bold are added by myself):

"When pain and weariness reach the point of causing a sense of perpetuity to be born in the soul, through contemplating this perpetuity with ACCEPTANCE & LOVE, we are snatched away into eternity." - Simone Weil

I felt I knew immediately what she meant, but struggled to reflect with my own words. Then, almost instantly after I finished reading for the day, I saw the Muslim writer/activist Jalees Hyder posting on my timeline on instagram about the Shia Islamic concept of Ishq, writing for this time of year as people make the annual journey on the road to Arbaeen:

"There are stages of love that comfort and delight. Then there is Ishq. Ishq is not a 'safe' emotion. It is a fire that burns away everything within you that is unworthy of surviving. It is the threshold of complete surrender, where the ordinary self dies so that the heart can truly see." "[Ishq] overturns the illusion that the self is the measure of all things. In its place emerges a different way of seeing, where one's desires, ambitions, fears cease to occupy the center."

So, when we look at the endlessness of the universe thru the lens of love and acceptance, there is a kind of joy which comes -- and too a strange lack of fear, in my experience. Existential crises can be transitionary, in my experience. We forget our own selfishness and self-centered desires in those moments where we are clearly surrendering to the void. Simone Weil believed that this is a moment where people "touch the divine, unchanging nature of eternity" in the present moment. She believed this was really how we "touch god"/eternity, which is bigger than our individual selves. Jalees Hyder had written a point:

"Love is no longer a private emotion, but loyalty to truth even when truth demands sacrifice. ... [Ishq[ is not proved only by grief," he writes, "but by service. ... Love cooks, cleans, bandages, and carries." What I've learned about Simone herself so far, was that she believed in "walking the talk" -- in a deeply literal sense, in her case. To understand the working class, she gave up her math teaching career to go work in a factory. She put aside her own personal feelings on violence (she felt more like a pacifist) and joined the anti-fascist fighters in Spain. She was chronically ill and died at 34 from her symptoms, trying her entire life to meet the oppressed where they were at.

Simone Weil believed in the "decreation" of the self; a renouncment of all the trappings of our ego to "make room for God". She considered this an act of LOVE. "Gravity", for Weil, is what weighs us down into materialism, into imaginary illusions against reality (illusions of the self, of our desires and fears; of the past, present and future). "Grace" is her counterforce which pulls us toward reality & thus, to truth. Grace is that true connection to eternity, to the universe.

Hyder wrote:

"You do not go to Karbala to abandon the world forever. You go so that you may return to it differently -- clearer in sight, steadier in loyalty, and less available for the seductions of power."

"Modernity offers its own intoxications," Hyder writes. These intoxications are: comfort, spectacle, and "the self as the only project worth perfecting." For Shia Muslims, the martyrdom of Imam Husayn is "a symbol of selfless resistance to injustice."

Weil wrote:

-Utsav

Suna hai humne,

Tum ab kisi aur se ishq krne lage ho

Dheere dheere tum bhi ab,

Humse Bichadne lage ho

Dhoondhti thi jo aankhein aksar hume,

Unhi aankhon mein ab kisi aur ko basane lage ho

Jaana, hum mangte hai tumhare liye dua,

Aur tum ho ki, hume hi baddua kehne lage ho

Koi galti thi kya humari?

Ya, bewajah tadpane lage ho

Shayad ab meri kami mehsoos nahi hoti tumhe,

Tabhi toh bina bataye door jane lage ho

Jo kehte the kabhi, “Tumhare bina adhuri hu mai”

Aaj wahi kisi aur ke saath,

Nazar aane lage ho Hai bhi kya galti tumhari,

Jo, tum kisi aur ko bahon mein bharne lage ho

Mai aaj bhi sambhal kar rakhta hoon tumhari har ek chhoti baat ko,

Aur tum ho ki, meri yaadon ko bhi mitane lage ho

Na jaane kis baat ki nafrat hai tumhe,

Jo har mulaqat mein nazrein churane lage ho

Kabhi meri khamoshi bhi samajh jaate the tum,

Ab lafzon ko bhi galat batane lage ho

Hum toh aaj bhi wahi thehre hue hain,

Lekin tum waqt ke saath badalne lage ho

Naam mera sun kar ab,

Tum chup se rehne lage ho

Jo thaama tha haath mera kabhi,

Aaj wahi tum chhudane lage ho

Hum raat bhar jagte rahe tumhare liye,

Aur tum chain se sone lage ho

Jo kehte the kabhi “Door mat jaana”,

Aaj wahi tum door hone lage ho

Humne toh dil ka har kona tumhare naam kiya tha,

Aur tum kisi aur ke liye dhadakne lage ho

Kabhi meri ek udaasi se pareshan ho jaate the,

Ab aansuon par bhi mere hasne lage ho

Hum aaj bhi tumhari raah dekha karte hai,

Aur tum ab kisi aur ke raahon mein jaane lage ho

Jo zikr karte the mera naam apni har ek baaton mein,

Aaj wahi naam kisi aur se chhupane lage ho

Humne toh sirf tumse mohabbat ki thi,

Aur tum use galti batane lage ho

Kabhi saath jeene ki baatein karte the hum,

Aaj wohi tum ajnabi banne lage ho

Hum aaj bhi sirf tumhare hi rahe,

Aur tum ab kisi aur ke hone lage ho

Humne toh tumhe kabhi khone ka socha bhi nahi,

Aur tum hume nasamajh kehne lage ho

Humne toh dil ki har dhadkan tumhare naam ki thi,

Aur tum use sirf ek kahaani samajhne lage ho

Kabhi meri khamoshi mein bhi shor dhoondh lete the tum,

Ab meri awaaz se bhi door bhaagne lage ho

Hum toot kar bhi tumhara intezaar karte rahe,

Aur tum kisi aur ke saath chalne lage ho

Hume samajh toh sab aaya magar,

Bahana hi tum humse banane lage ho

Humne toh tumhe khuda sa maana tha,

Aur tum hume hi gair batane lage ho

Kabhi mere bina ek pal bhi adhura lagta tha tumhe,

Ab poori mehfil mein muskuraane lage ho

Hum har dard chupakar bhi tumhare rahe,

Aur tum har baat par hume rulane lage ho

Jo vaade kiye the saath na chhodne ke kabhi,

Aaj wahi haath kisi aur par rakhne lage ho

Pehle hasa karte the meri baaton par tum,

Ab gairon ki mehfil mein muskurane lage ho

Hum toot kar bhi tumhara bura na soch sake,

Aur tum ho ki, ab hume hi bewafa kehne lage ho

Na jaane kiske liye tum,

Ab thoda zyaada badalne lage ho

Kahi Suna tha humne,

Tum ab kisi aur se, ishq karne lage ho…

I found an interesting blog post. It relates into Sufism and how the Sufi poetry is being portrayed by the new age spiritual people today. It makes some good points:

Now, I am not a Sufi, but I do resonate with Sufi's a lot, for their Love of The Divine, but I do not know all about Sufism, due to not being a Sufi. However, one of the points it makes in this post, is that today in modern new age spirituality, it is all about worshipping the "Self". But, Sufism is about losing the "Self" in The Beloved. Annihilation of the Self, the Extinction of the Self into The Beloved. I agree, FULLY, that new agers have taken Sufi poetry such as Rumi's or Hafiz's poetry, and used it for their own agenda, such as with twin flames, physical, separate people to themselves, or, to just another person they love, and they sometimes use this poetry as a defence for Self-worship, becoming a "God" or a "Goddess" themselves through Self-worship, or, as well, becoming a "God" or a "Goddess" through another separate Self to you. 

While, yes, we all have God in us, Sufi poetry is about losing your sense of Self in God, it is lost in the Sea, instead of being perceived as a separate river, and you realise that lover and Beloved are one, there is no separation. The separate Self is no more. I do have a problem with Self-worship, slightly, just as a personal doctrine for me, as, while there is nothing wrong with recognising your True Self, Self-worship perpetuates that the concepts we perceive and think us, are actually us, which is not what I have come to understand, as concepts actually limit us, God is not limited, so concepts are not us. Also, what I have come to understand, is that your True Self is actually One with "God", and there is no clear distinction between the two as separate Beings, and, just to point out, God, is "Nothingness", God Transcends Beyond even the concept of "Nothingness", as do we all, we just don't realise it, we create a false sense of self, adding things onto us, building ourselves up, when instead, seeing your True Self, means to take things away, it is negation of all that you are not, until you come to this "Nothingness" which is still a concept, so you understand you cannot go beyond any concept while using the mind, however, you still know in yourself, you Transcend Beyond all things, all concepts, you have to go Beyond the mind. 

You do NOT need anyone but yourself, to find God in you, and to become One with God. And, yes, God is a huge part in your own Awakening, without God, there would be no Awakening to God within. In a huge way, if you use Sufi poetry in this way, such as twin flames/a partner who is outside of yourself, it is taking out the actual meaning and context of what that poetry was and is about and the meanings behind that poetry, and twisting it to fit your own narrative and agenda, discarding the actual meanings the Sufi's intended behind such poetry, it then twists the narrative to such a degree, that falsities start to become perpetuated, and all you then can find while researching, are these falsities that are not taken in the context of what the Sufi's intended it to be taken as, it twists real experiential knowledge of Sufism, and places it into other types of beliefs and ways of Being, when Sufi's are about Transcending the Self in a certain sense, the Self becomes no more, all dissolves into The Beloved, "Allah", and then there is no distinction between lover and Beloved, so in a way, it is really Transcendence of the concept of "Self".

I just.. have some beef with what people are doing to the poems of such Sufi's, like Rumi's poems, it takes out all the actual meanings Rumi had behind such poems, and twists it to fit whatever narrative these new age spiritualists want. It perpetuates a sort of... counterproductive intention, as Sufism is about losing the Self in The Divine. It just doesn't sit right with me, as my slight beef is centered around trying to find more info of modern examples of Annihilation into God, yet coming across only twin flame ideologies...

Ishq Is the Only Language the Divine Understands — Bahu’s Language of the Heart

Human beings live inside languages. We speak with words, gestures, symbols, scriptures, and rituals. Yet Sultan Bahu insisted that beyond all these expressions there exists only one language the Divine truly hears: Ishq — love that is lived, not merely spoken.

This statement is not poetic exaggeration. It is Bahu’s way of dismantling the illusion that spirituality is about correct formulas, perfect prayers, or intellectual understanding. According to him, the Divine does not respond to eloquence or scholarship; the Divine responds to vibration — the silent language of the heart.

When Words Reach Their Limit

Words are powerful, but they are also limited. They can describe devotion, but they cannot contain it. They can express belief, but they cannot embody surrender.

Bahu observed that many people speak beautifully about faith while their hearts remain untouched. The tongue can memorize scripture, the mind can debate theology, yet the inner being may remain distant.

Ishq changes that.

Love does not speak first through language. It speaks through presence.

A mother holding a child does not need explanation. A friend standing beside another in grief does not need doctrine. In such moments, something deeper than speech communicates itself.

Bahu believed that this silent communication is what the Divine hears most clearly.

Why Love Is a Universal Language

Unlike human languages, Ishq requires no translation.

It crosses culture, religion, education, and time. The simplest person and the greatest mystic can both express it. Even silence can carry it.

This universality reveals something important about the Divine: God is not listening for correct pronunciation; God is listening for authentic resonance.

When the heart moves with sincerity, the message arrives intact.

This is why a single tear of compassion may reach further than a thousand recited phrases.

The Grammar of Ishq

If Ishq is a language, it has its own grammar.

But this grammar is not built from nouns and verbs. It is built from qualities of being.

Its alphabet includes:

sincerity

humility

kindness

courage

presence

When these qualities shape our actions, the heart begins to “speak” Ishq naturally.

Bahu’s teaching suggests that every gesture can become communication with the Divine. Feeding someone, listening deeply, forgiving quietly — these are sentences written in the language of love.

When Religion Becomes Translation

Bahu never rejected religious traditions. Instead, he saw them as translations of Ishq.

Scriptures attempt to explain love. Rituals attempt to embody love. Communities attempt to organize love.

But when the translation replaces the original, confusion begins. People start protecting the form instead of nurturing the essence.

Bahu’s reminder is gentle but firm: the Divine does not respond to the translation alone. The Divine responds to the love that inspired it.

Without Ishq, religion becomes grammar without meaning.

Why Ishq Feels Risky

Speaking the language of Ishq requires vulnerability. It asks the seeker to show sincerity rather than performance, compassion rather than superiority.

Words can hide the heart. Love reveals it.

That is why many people prefer intellectual spirituality. It feels safer to debate truth than to embody it.

But Bahu believed that the Divine does not require perfection — only honesty.

Even imperfect love, when genuine, speaks more clearly than polished devotion without feeling.

Listening in the Same Language

The language of Ishq is not only about speaking; it is also about listening.

When the heart becomes sensitive, it begins to recognize love everywhere:

in acts of quiet service

in moments of forgiveness

in the courage of someone choosing kindness

These moments become messages from the Divine as well.

The seeker learns that Ishq is not only what we offer upward; it is also what we recognize all around us.

The Modern Challenge

Today communication has multiplied — messages, posts, conversations everywhere — yet genuine connection often feels scarce.

Bahu’s teaching reveals why.

Most communication happens at the level of information. Ishq communicates at the level of being.

Information informs the mind. Love transforms the heart.

Until our words are supported by presence, the deeper language remains unheard.

When the Language Becomes Life

Eventually, the seeker realizes something beautiful: Ishq is not something we speak occasionally. It is something we become.

At that stage, life itself becomes conversation with the Divine.

Not through perfect words, but through authentic living.

And when love becomes the language of our actions, the Divine does not need translation anymore.

Spiritual & Practical Toolkit for Modern Souls

1. Speak Less, Mean More

Practice expressing love through small actions rather than repeated statements. Let sincerity carry the message.

2. The Heart Check

Before speaking about spirituality, pause and ask: “Am I living what I am about to say?”

3. The Listening Practice

When someone speaks, listen fully without preparing your reply. This cultivates presence — a key element of Ishq.

4. One Quiet Act of Love

Each day, perform a small act of kindness without announcing it. This strengthens the language of love internally.

5. Evening Reflection

Ask yourself: “Where did my actions today speak love?” Recognizing these moments deepens awareness.

Closing Reflection

Sultan Bahu’s teaching is simple yet transformative: the Divine does not require elaborate explanations.

The Divine listens for the language that existed before words were invented — the language of love lived honestly.

इश्क़ _ आचार्य प्रशांत

🎬 Title: Gustaakh Ishq / गुस्ताख इश्क़ Kuch pehle jaisa… Story: In a bid to rescue his father’s printing business nestled in the bustling streets of Purani Delhi, a young man becomes a devoted student of a distinguished poet and finds himself falling for the poet’s daughter. As he grapples with his affection and loyalty to his mentor, he faces a pivotal decision that may alter the course of his…