Love literally means fond affection and devotion. The renowned traditionalist Muhaddith Qummi says, “Love is an excess of affection.”1
After gaining knowledge and enlightenment, it is beyond doubt that crying or shedding tears is one of the best tools or means required for man to bond with true love—which is devotion to the Beloved of the Worlds, Allah the Most High.
It is for this reason that no matter how eager a person might be to reach out and find reality and truth, he will never bring about a successful and effective spiritual transformation within himself unless he seeks help from tears.
The tongue expresses wisdom and intellect while the eyes express the love that is felt in the heart and dwells in the soul. Love is always present where tears, arising from feelings of pain and heartache, are shed whereas the mind is the active agent wherever the tongue searches for orderly and logical sentences to express itself.
Therefore, just as logical and compelling discourses can show the unity that exists between the aims of the leaders of a particular school of thought and the speaker, a tear too can declare an emotional war against the enemies of a school of thought.
William Shakespeare, the erudite English writer and poet, says that thoughts, dreams, heartache, hopes, and tears are inseparable from love.
In another place, he says, “Love that is cleansed by tears will forever remain pure, clean and beautiful.”2
Victor Hugo, the famous western writer, says, “Happy and prosperous is he whom God has granted a heart that has the capacity for burning love and compassion.”3
After gaining knowledge and enlightenment, it is beyond doubt that crying or shedding tears is one of the best tools or means required for man to bond with true love—which is devotion to the Beloved of the Worlds, Allah the Most High.
It is for this reason that no matter how eager a person might be to reach out and find reality and truth, he will never bring about a successful and effective spiritual transformation within himself unless he seeks help from tears.
The tongue expresses wisdom and intellect while the eyes express the love that is felt in the heart and dwells in the soul. Love is always present where tears, arising from feelings of pain and heartache, are shed whereas the mind is the active agent wherever the tongue searches for orderly and logical sentences to express itself.
Therefore, just as logical and compelling discourses can show the unity that exists between the aims of the leaders of a particular school of thought and the speaker, a tear too can declare an emotional war against the enemies of a school of thought.
William Shakespeare, the erudite English writer and poet, says that thoughts, dreams, heartache, hopes, and tears are inseparable from love.
In another place, he says, “Love that is cleansed by tears will forever remain pure, clean and beautiful.”2
Victor Hugo, the famous western writer, says, “Happy and prosperous is he whom God has granted a heart that has the capacity for burning love and compassion.”3
Notes:
1. Safinah al-Bihar, vol. 1, p. 197.
2. Chekideh-ye Andisheh-ha (A Summary of Thoughts), p. 250.
3. Ibid.