The Seven Stages of Love in Sufism: A Journey Into the Divine


The Sufi understanding of love is a profound inner journey—from the first spark of attraction to the complete dissolution of the ego in the Divine. The Seven Stages of Love map this transformation with remarkable clarity. Beginning with hub (attraction) and deepening into ‘ishq (passionate love), the seeker slowly moves from human love to Divine love. Trials cultivate patience and trust, leading to contentment in both presence and absence of the Beloved. Ultimately, the seeker reaches fanā—the disappearance of the self—and baqā, abiding in the Divine. This is the Sufi path of love: intense, purifying, and liberating.