Love Is The Sea Where Intellect Drowns:

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When we love our Lord most, we see how the Lord’s love trascends reason, including the journey of surrendering to the Divine. Then we Feel no pain in sacrificing our desires For the Lord.

In Arabic, the term aql which translates to ‘intellect,’ is From the root ‘ql meaning ‘to bind.’ It is the Faculty which binds humans to God. By virtue of being endowed with al-aql, humans are capable of acquiring knowledge “which ultimately belongs to God alone”

Al-`Aql the intellect, it is a Faculty, which Allah places in the person by means of which he can comprehend things. By means of it, he can distinguish what is harmful From what is beneficial and what is good From what is evil.

No-one knows the nature (kayfiyyah) of the intellect (`aql). People have groped about in confusion concerning it but they have not reached a conclusion because it is one of the secrets of Allaah, which no-one knows except Him, He, the Perfect and Most High.

And the aql (intellect), it is calledaql (intellect) with an `ain and a qaaf and a laam because it withholds a person From that which will harm him just as a tethering rope holds an animal back From escaping.The intellect is also called Hijr (prevention).

Early Muslim intellectuals searched For knowledge in every domain especially when the Qur’an “explicitly commands the study of the universe and the self as a means to know God” .

In Rumi’s view, Intellect (reason) and love are distinct, with intellect often characterized as cautious and rational, while love is seen as carefree, risking everything, and dissolving entanglements.

He suggests that while intellect can be valuable For controlling desires and understanding God’s existence, a deeper, more direct experience of the Divine and true spiritual awakening comes through love.

This theme is explored in various ways in Rumi’s poetry and within broader Islamic thought:

Rumi often contrasts the intellectual, who is afraid of drowning and “showing off,” with the lover, who is always “getting lost” and whose “whole business of love is to drown in the sea.”

This metaphor highlights the idea of surrender and self-dissolution in love, implying that love requires letting go of intellectual control and embracing a deeper, more intuitive understanding.

He states, “The intellect does not know and is bewildered by the Religion of Love—even if it should be aware of all religions,” Further emphasizing love’s transcendental nature beyond rational comprehension.

The intellect is better than desire, For the intellect makes you a king over your destiny, and desire makes you a slave of your destiny. The intellect is a natural disposition which learns From experience.

The quote reflects Rumi’s profound understanding of love as a Force that transcends the boundaries of human intellect, offering a pathway to spiritual realization and a deeper connection with the divine within the rich tradition of Islamic mysticism.

In order For the human heart to open itself to God, it must have proper knowledge of what it is opening up to. We cannot love what we do not know,every knowledge of God is built on our knowledge of the world and ourselves”.

So, the point is that—A heart purified can thus begin to ‘see’ Allah and His creation everywhere; seeing not only with the eyes but also with the heart.

May Allah(swt) grant us understanding of the knowledge of Islam and make us those who practice it. (Ameen).

Jazakallahu Khairan(May Allah reward you with goodness) For reading.

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