Report on Rawdat al-Muhibbin (The Meadow of Lovers) 1. Overview Full Title: Rawdat al-Muhibbin wa Nuzhat al-Mushtaqin (روضة المحبين ونزهة المشتاقين) Translation: “The Meadow of Lovers and the Recreation of the Longing” Author: Shams al-Din Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (known as Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya , 1292–1350 CE / 691–751 AH). Subject: Islamic spiritual psychology, the nature of love ( mahabba ), specifically divine love and permissible human love within an Islamic framework. 2. Author’s Background Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya was a major Hanbali scholar, student of Ibn Taymiyyah, and a prolific writer on theology, jurisprudence, and spirituality. He wrote Rawdat al-Muhibbin as a mature work synthesizing Qur’anic exegesis, prophetic traditions ( hadith ), Arabic poetry, and mystical insights. The book is neither a dry legal text nor purely Sufi – it occupies a middle ground, analyzing love from moral, psychological, and theological angles. 3. Content Summary The book is divided into chapters exploring:
The definition and reality of love – distinguishing natural inclination ( gharizah ) from spiritual choice. Types of love: Love of God, love for the Prophet, love for fellow believers, love of family, and romantic love between spouses. Signs and symptoms of love – emotional and physical effects, drawing on pre-Islamic and early Islamic poetry. Permissible vs. blameworthy love – how love can lead to virtue (patience, chastity) or vice (obsession, transgression). Cures for unrequited or unlawful love – including fasting, travel, remembering death, and turning to God. The concept of ‘ishq (passionate, overwhelming love) – Ibn Qayyim argues that ‘ishq for God and His messenger is praiseworthy; for other than God, it can be dangerous unless channeled lawfully (e.g., within marriage).
4. Key Themes & Scholarly Significance
Harmonizing reason and emotion: Rejects both the extreme Sufi glorification of ecstatic love and the dry legalist dismissal of emotion. Praise of chaste love: Maintains that love between non-mahrams is only permissible if it leads to lawful marriage and remains free from physical transgression. Therapeutic approach: Includes one of the earliest Islamic discussions of “love sickness” ( al-‘ishq al-maridi ) as a real psychological condition. Use of poetry: Cites classical Arab poets (e.g., Majnun Layla, ‘Urwa ibn Hizam) as case studies, then reinterprets their passion as symbolic of the soul’s longing for God. rawdat al muhibbin pdf
5. Why a PDF of This Work Is Sought A digital copy of Rawdat al-Muhibbin in PDF format is requested by:
Students of Islamic studies (especially spirituality, ethics, or classical Arabic literature). Researchers comparing Islamic love theories with Western or Sufi traditions. Individuals seeking Islamic guidance on managing romantic feelings without violating religious norms. Non-Arabic speakers needing translations (partial English and Urdu translations exist, but the full Arabic original is often referenced).
6. Availability & Copyright Status
Original Arabic: Public domain (author died > 600 years ago). Multiple editions exist, e.g., published by Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah (Beirut) and Dar al-‘Aqidah (Cairo). PDF copies: Freely available on academic repositories (e.g., Internet Archive, Al-Maktaba al-Shamela), but caution is needed – some scanned copies are incomplete or of poor quality. Translations: A partial English translation by Muhammad Abdul Haqq Ansari exists ( The Meadow of Lovers ), but it is out of print. No complete official English PDF is legally free due to copyright on translation; however, excerpts are shared in scholarly articles.
7. How to Access Legally
Visit al-maktaba.org (Shamela) – type “روضة المحبين” – full Arabic text available online. Internet Archive (archive.org) – search “Rawdat al Muhibbin” – several scanned editions in Arabic. University libraries (e.g., Cairo University, Madinah Islamic University) sometimes host digitized versions. Avoid pirated copies of translated editions; instead, use open-access Arabic editions and then machine translation for personal study. Report on Rawdat al-Muhibbin (The Meadow of Lovers) 1
8. Conclusion Rawdat al-Muhibbin remains a masterful Islamic treatise on love, balancing spiritual aspiration with moral boundaries. Its availability as a PDF in Arabic is widespread and lawful, given the original text is public domain. Non-Arabic readers should rely on existing scholarly analyses or learn classical Arabic to benefit directly. The book’s continued relevance lies in its rare compassion for human emotion within a God-centered worldview.
Note: If you need assistance locating a specific public-domain PDF link or navigating an Arabic text, I can provide guidance on how to search effectively, but I cannot send or host the file myself.