﴿ نَارُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْمُوقَدَةُ ﴾

“A fire kindled by God,”

[It is] the fire of God, kept kindled,That is, it will not die down through consuming the skin and flesh, but [will go on burning] until its heat reaches the very hearts.Fire is of four kinds: the fire of lust (shahwa), the fire of wretchedness (shaqāwa), the fire of alienation [lit. being cut off, qaṭīʿa], and the fire of love (maḥabba). The fire of lust consumes acts of obedience (ṭāʿāt), the fire of wretchedness consumes the profession of God�s oneness (tawḥīd), the fire of alienation consumes hearts, but the fire of love consumes all fires. It has been related of ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn y that once he entered a cave with some of his companionsand found a woman alone there. He asked her who she was, and she answered, �I am one of God�s bondswomen. Get away from me so that this love (ḥubb) does not leave me!� Then ʿAlī asked her, �What is love?� She replied, �It is too hidden (akhfā) to be seen and too evident (abyan) to be concealed. Its concealment within a person�s interior is like the concealment of fire within a stone. When you strike it can be seen but when you leave it alone it remains hidden. Then she started to recite the following:Verily the lovers are preoccupied with their Master,Like the young men of the Cave, they know not how long they tarried! His words, Exalted is He: