Revelation: A Love Letter from The Merciful
When We sent to them two but they denied them, so We strengthened them with a third, and they said, “Indeed, we are messengers to you.” (36:14 al-Quran)
That Allah sent numerous Prophets to mankind to save them from their ignorance and heedlessness of Him is a pervasive trope in the Quran. The above example from Surah Yasin is only one instance.
Recently, I have found it powerful to think of this motif from the lens of Divine Love. Indeed, Islamic literature has historically been a literature of love — hence, the famous and oft-cited story of Majunun and Layla. In this tale, a man named Majunun (literally meaning “a crazy person”) falls madly in love with a girl, Layla; nothing in the world is able to preoccupy him or suffice his passion except her. The lengths he takes and the experiences he endures to be with her, unsurprisingly, mirror that of the spiritual quest for God. By way of falling in love with another human being, one gains insight on how to love God — and perhaps achieve a tiny inkling of how He Loves us.
One profound feature of human love is what one can call a “pleasantness of proximity.” Perhaps even more compelling than our carnal desires, there is an emotional pleasantness one experiences when being physically proximate to his or her beloved. From a seemingly super-rationale process within heart, the conscience of the two individuals “commune” (or, in the case of unreciprocated relationships, think they are communing), and you just feel good! But when geographic distance trammels that physical proximity, the archetypal substitute for that intimacy has been the “love letter.”
Through the written word, one is able to simulate the proximity of two souls by injecting them into language. Thus, composition of love poetry — unadulterated feeling captured in enrapturing rhythm and imagery — was once the medium for expressing ones love for the beloved. (I suppose, the modern version of this are pick-up lines). Even now, many prefer to text the significant other (cue: “sliding into the dm’s”) over simply just talking over phone. There is a calculation and creativity that only writing can afford.
What, then, is Allah’s revelation but the Ultimate Love Letter to humanity (sent upon the tongues of the noblest letter-bearers)? Each word of His Speech is an outpouring of His Unbounded Love, by whose recitation and inspection we can experience exhilarating ecstasy and proximity to the Divine Presence. Through the Quran, our souls commune with the Infinite.
The intensity of a person’s love is most obvious when the lover continues to pursue the beloved despite previous rejection. Out of His Love and Mercy, Having Allah sent three messengers to the people of Surah Yasin. Yet, how many times has Allah invited us back to Him despite our repeated arrogance and turning away? I, personally, can count more than three. Tawbah (repentance) is to subsume our imperfection into His Love.
For those who currently are in love (or fallen out): know that the pleasantness experienced in His Proximity is infinitely more splendid! His Fragrance is most potent in sujood (prostration). May Allah make us of the Muqarraboon (those who are near to Him) — Ameen!
