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The Two Faces of Love: Ishq-e-Haqiqi & Ishq-e-Majazi

Published on October 07, 2025

Love, or Ishq, is the undeniable soul of the ghazal. But in the world of Urdu poetry, love is not a single, simple emotion. It has two profound dimensions: the love for a person, and the love for the Divine. These are known as Ishq-e-Majazi (worldly love) and Ishq-e-Haqiqi (true/divine love).

Ishq-e-Majazi (عشقِ مجازی) - The Worldly Love

This is the love that is most immediately recognizable. It is the passionate, often painful, love for another human being—the beloved (mehboob). This form of love is characterized by yearning, the anguish of separation (hijr), the bliss of union (visal), and the entire spectrum of human emotion. Most romantic poetry operates within this realm.

Ishq-e-Haqiqi (عشقِ حقیقی) - The Divine Love

This is the "true love" at the heart of Sufi and mystical poetry. It is the profound, all-consuming love for God, the Ultimate Reality. This love transcends worldly desire and focuses on spiritual connection, the annihilation of the self (fana), and the ultimate goal of merging with the Divine.

The Bridge Between Worlds

The genius of the ghazal lies in its ability to blur the line between these two forms of love. A great poet uses the language of Ishq-e-Majazi to express the truths of Ishq-e-Haqiqi. The "beloved" in a sher could be a person on Earth or the Divine in the heavens. The "wine" could be literal wine or the intoxicating knowledge of God. This intentional ambiguity gives the poetry its incredible depth. For many Sufi poets, worldly love is seen as a necessary bridge—a practice ground for the soul—to prepare it for the ultimate journey of divine love.