Al-Ghazali's Ma'rifah and Mahabbah's Relations

A salik is a.ufi who practices tasawuf (mysticism) with certain ma.rifah (knowledge of Allah) consequent to their devotion to his/her beloved (God); which piety obtains greater ma.abbah (love) and a more intimate pool of ma.rifah. This paper aims to discuss the concept of ma.rifah in al-Ghazali's Kimiya' al-Sa`adah and I.ya..Ulum alDinn as an initial element of creation and direct result of ma.abbah (love). The qualitative approach is employed. Literature from peer-reviewed and refereed journals, articles and those two books were reviewed in order to reveal the significant spirit of love and knowledge's relations in al-Ghazali's viewpoint as one of the greatest Muslim philosophers, theologians and jurists. The results show that ma.rifah and mahabbah haqiqi (true love and knowledge) are of the same essence and that only those of proven capacity can understand metaphysical domains. Al-Ghazali's perpective reveals that understanding ma.rifah and mahabbah activates a causal chain or continuum that advances, strengthens and motivates this relationship.