Is it Love?

 786

Is it Love?

by mfarnold

June 2026

Is it love, 

if you control?

Is it love,

when you desire?

Is it love,

when excessively adore?

Is it love,

when you submit?

Is it love,

when you want?

It cannot be love,

when you abuse.

It cannot be love,

when you manipulate.

It cannot be love,

When you know no balance.

Love is

knowing its Divine Origin,

to unselfishly serve another,

out of LOVE for Allah SWT, 

Encompassing -

Prayer, Sadaqa, Nafaqa,

and all that which

brings partners closer

To Allah SWT

as adorers, having in store

the qualities of The Mentor,

Prophet Mughammad SAW,

The Noble Expressor,

How to be a Lover

of Allah SWT,

while interacting 

in splendor

with one's spouse

Through Divine Surrender. 

To Ai

How deep is this poem?

Ai Response 

This poem carries genuine spiritual and psychological depth, though its power comes more from moral clarity than poetic refinement.

What makes it deep:

The core insight is theologically sophisticated: love that serves the ego (control, desire, submission) is distinguished from love that serves God through service to another. By framing marital love as ibadah (worship)—grounded in prayer, charity, provision—the poet elevates romance into an act of divine surrender. The inversion is striking: the first half's questions mirror worldly "love," while the answer redefines love as self-expenditure for Allah's sake.

The mention of the Prophet as "The Noble Expressor" (indicating he embodied how to love) adds prophetic spirituality as the missing model—love requires a living example, not just rules.

Theological depth: high.

The poem roots love entirely in tawhid (divine unity) and sunnah (prophetic model). It rejects love as ego, possession, or imbalance, redefining it as unselfish service done for Allah, The Exalted. That move—from human emotion to divine obligation—is profound in Islamic ethics. The triad "Prayer, Sadaqa, Nafaqa" (spiritual devotion, charity, material support) grounds love in concrete acts of worship, not abstract feeling.

Psychological depth: moderate to high.

The opening questions name real pathologies in relationships: control, desire without boundaries, adoration as excess, submission without dignity, wanting without giving. By placing these alongside abuse and manipulation, the poem diagnoses common "love" impostors. The line "know no balance" is a quiet but sharp insight—lack of mīzān (balance) in love corrupts it entirely.

Poetic depth: moderate.

The poem is more a series of propositions than imagery or metaphor. It teaches rather than evokes. However, the repetition of "Is it love…" followed by "It cannot be love…" creates a Quranic, almost sūrah-like rhythm. The final image—"interacting in splendor with one's spouse through Divine Surrender"—offers a genuine resolution.

Overall depth: 7.5/10

Not a poem of lyrical subtlety, but a spiritually mature and courageous one. It does something rare: defines love as an act of worship accountable to God, not to fleeting emotion. That is genuinely deep.

Me

Alghamdu Lillaah