In Section 11 of the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sanai characterizes love (*eshgh*) as a state of complete selflessness (*bikhodi*) and self-transcendence (*bikhwishi*). He asserts that true love bestows eternal spiritual life, declaring that anyone who is brought to life by love will never die ('هرکه از عشق زنده گشت نمرد'). Additionally, Sanai contrasts the mere verbal form (*surat*) of love and intellect with their true meaning (*ma'ni*), which acts as a spiritual touchstone, and emphasizes that those captive to their own ego cannot worship the 'idol of love' (*bot-i eshgh*).

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## Original content
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صورت عشق و عقل گفتار است 
معنی آنرا محک و معیارست
عاشقی بیخودی و بیخویشی است 
عشق از اعراض منزل پیشی است
بنه ار هیچ عشق آن داری 
در میان آنچه بر میان داری
بر تو چون صبح عشق برتابد 
نه تو کس را نه کس ترا یابد
چون بترسی همی ز مردن خویش 
عاشقی باش تا نمیری بیش
که اجل جان زندگان را برد 
هرکه از عشق زنده گشت نمرد
آتش بار و برگ باشد عشق 
ملک الموت مرگ باشد عشق
هرکه را عشق آن جمال بود 
درد بی دال و ری و دال بود
هرکه در بند خویشتن باشد 
کی بت عشق را شمن باشد
گرچه بیرون طرب فزون دارد 
نوحه گر عاشق از درون دارد
مرد عاشق کبودبر باشد 
مرغ دولت بریده پر باشد
در ره خلق و کام اهل هنر 
از پی کام جستن و غم گر
هست حلوالمذاق تف بلاش 
هست عذب المساغ داغ قضاش
گر همی لعل بایدت کان کن 
ور همی عشق بایدت جان کن
چون ترا نیست عشق بی آبی 
مزهٔ نان خرده کی یابی
مرد تاریک جان و روشن روی 
گردد از تف عشق جوشن روی
عقل و نفس و طبیعت از زیست 
همه در جنب عشق دانی چیست
نفس نقشی و عقل نقاشی 
طبع گردی و عشق فراشی
عقل چون نقش بست نفس سترد 
عشق چون روی داد طبع بمرد
خلق را تا ز عشق معزولیست 
جستن و جستن این دو مشغولیست

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## English translation
The form of love and intellect is speech,
For its meaning there is a touchstone and standard.
Being a lover is selflessness and ego-lessness,
Love is precedence over the accidents of the way-station.
Put down, if you have any love for that,
From your waist what you have bound on your waist.
When the morning of love shines upon you,
Neither you will find anyone, nor anyone will find you.
Since you are always afraid of your own death,
Be a lover so that you will die no more.
For death takes the souls of the living,
Whoever became alive through love did not die.
Love is the fire for the fruit and leaves,
Love is the angel of death to death itself.
Whoever possesses the love of that Beauty,
Has a pain that is beyond letters.
Whoever is bound to himself,
How can he be an idolater of the idol of love?
Although outwardly he has much joy,
Inwardly the lover has a mourner.
The lover must wear the blue robes of mourning,
The bird of fortune must have its wings clipped.
In the path of creation and the desire of people of virtue,
In pursuit of seeking desire and bearing grief,
The heat of its affliction is sweet to the taste,
The brand of its decree is sweet to swallow.
If you want rubies, dig the mine,
And if you want love, excavate your soul.
Since you do not have love, which is without water,
How will you find the taste of the crumbs of bread?
A man with a dark soul and bright face,
Becomes like a wearer of armor from the heat of love.
Intellect, ego, and nature from living,
Do you know what they all are beside love?
The ego is a painting and the intellect a painter,
Nature is dust and love is a sweeper.
When intellect painted, the ego erased it,
When love showed its face, nature died.
As long as people are dismissed from love,
Seeking and searching are their two preoccupations.

بخش ۱۱ - فی صفة‌العشق / Section 11 - On the Description of Love

In Section 8 of the Hadiqat al-Haqiqah, Sanai explores the paradoxical and transformative nature of divine love (Eshgh). He characterizes love as a force that unites opposites, describing it as 'water that kindles fire' and 'fire that consumes water.' Sanai emphasizes that true love liberates the soul from the constraints of the physical body, comparing the spiritual seeker to a wise bird that breaks its bodily cage (مرغ دانا قفس شکن باشد). This section establishes the fundamental Sufi view of love as an active, purifying power that demands the sacrifice of the ego and worldly attachments to achieve true spiritual flight.

Sanai's Characterization of Love (Eshgh) and the Lover in the Hadiqat

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Love as Selflessness and Immortality in Sanai's Hadiqat

In the *Hadiqat al-Haqiqah*, Sanai characterizes longing (*shawq*) as a spiritual mount (*buraq*) that compels the soul to seek liberation when the material world becomes its prison. This longing ignites an inner fire that consumes the conventional intellect (*aql*), soul (*jan*), and body (*tan*), freeing the spiritual seeker from natural constraints. Sanai distinguishes between 'the longing of taste' (*shawq-i dhawq*), which can lead to spiritual trials, and 'the longing of longing' (*shawq-i shawq*), which offers divine intimacy and nourishment.

The Station of Longing (Shawq) in Sanai's Hadiqat al-Haqiqah

In Section 9 of the Hadiqat al-Haqiqah, Sanai uses the allegory of a dying lover who smiles in his final moments to illustrate the perfection of spiritual love (Eshgh). When questioned about his joy, the lover explains that when the Divine Beloved removes the veil, true lovers gladly surrender their physical existence. Through this narrative, Sanai emphasizes that divine love transcends human agency, physical dimensions, and rationality. He explicitly states that 'intellect on the path of love is mad' (عقل در راه عشق دیوانه است), reinforcing the Sufi doctrine that the rational mind and the ego must be joyfully annihilated to achieve true spiritual realization.

The Allegory of the Smiling Dying Lover in Sanai's Hadiqat

In Section 14 of the Hadiqat al-Haqiqah, Sanai contrasts the superficial claim (دعوی) of love with its true meaning (معنی), arguing that genuine spiritual love requires proof (برهان) through action rather than mere words. He declares that 'being a lover is the work of brave men; it is not by claim but by proof' (عاشقی کار شیرمردانست / نه به دعویست بل به برهانست). By emphasizing that love demands selflessness (بیخودی) and profound existential sacrifice—metaphorically described as the 'blood of the heart' (خون دل)—Sanai establishes the core Sufi principle that traversing the spiritual path requires rigorous action and the annihilation of the ego, transcending simple intellectual discourse.

Love as Action and Proof (Burhan) in Sanai's Hadiqat

In the Hadiqat al-Haqiqah, Sanai establishes the foundational Sufi concept that divine love (hubb) transcends both conventional intellect (aql) and formal religious boundaries (din and kufr). He describes spiritual lovers as those who put 'intellect in the sleeve and life in the hand' (عقل در آستین و جان بر دست), sacrificing worldly rationality, religion, and disbelief to approach the Divine. This conceptualization posits that the intellect is limited and must be bypassed or discarded in the pursuit of true spiritual union, serving as a primary prerequisite for later developments in Persian Sufi poetry.

The Transcendence of Love over Intellect and Orthodoxy in Sanai's Hadiqat

In Section 13 of the Hadiqat al-Haqiqah, Sanai presents the allegory of a young man who follows a beautiful woman on the road and passionately claims to have fallen in love with her. To test his sincerity, the woman tells him that her even more beautiful sister is walking just behind them. When the young man eagerly turns around to look, the woman strikes him, exposing his claim as false. She rebukes him, declaring that a true lover would never turn their gaze away from their beloved. Through this narrative, Sanai illustrates the fundamental Sufi principle that true spiritual love (Ishq) demands absolute, undivided devotion to the Divine. Any distraction or wandering desire reveals the seeker's love to be superficial and lacking the true 'burning' of spiritual devotion.

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