Sometimes it has been defined as “exceeding the limits of love”.

Sometimes it has been defined as “exceeding the limits of love”. One must not assume, however, that this refers to physical passion and carnal desires, for the expression has a more general meaning, and a profusion of love with respect to anything may be called ‘ishq . Love is one of the most elevated sentiments of the heart, which in its pure essence, according to the Muslim mystics and philosophers, is free from the incidental impurity of the carnal soul.

If in some cases love accompanies such impurities it is not necessary that at all stages it should do so. The mystics of Islam, the ‘urafa , even go so far as to say that it is incorrect to use the term ‘ishq for the physical passions, because passion is only something that happens to accompany love in some cases.

Since love is not to be confused with passion, which is not included in the literal meaning of ‘ishq , if ‘ishq is used for carnal desire it must be understood as a figurative use of the word if it is allowed at all. Thus, the mystics reverse the claim made by many Western as well as Eastern commentators on mystical poetry, that the language of love is applied to God only figuratively.

Such commentators assume that the literal meaning of such language is for something physical, but by attending to the meaning of the words used we see that love must be understood as something essentially spiritual. One might object that if love is not to be interpreted as necessarily physical, neither must it be interpreted to be essentially spiritual, but should be neutral with regard to the material and the spiritual.

A moment’s reflection, however, suffices to realize that whatever is considered to be of such a nature that it may or may not have a physical aspect must be regarded as spiritual, for it is the nature of spirit to be contingently associated with the body in this way. The mystics and philosophers for centuries have taught that the demands of the carnal soul are ever perishing and evanescent.

What is called ‘carnal love’ originates from the sexual instinct, and it must not be confused with the reality of the spiritual sentiment. Carnal love is like the other animal instincts. ‘Ishq , however, is said to become a part of the human nature itself and not to perish. Intense love, wherever, it is found, can be correctly designated by the word ‘ishq .