{ Islam from inside }

Podcast - The Role of Love in the Qur'anic Worldview

Added Jan 31, 2010

This is from a recording made by a good friend at a recent public lecture given by William Chittick at Carleton University. The subject of the lecture was love in the Qur'anic worldview and is based on material Chittick has collected for a new book he is working on.

The lecture centers around a ubiquitously well known verse in the Qur'an, a verse described by Sam'ani as a "body-melting, heart-burning" verse: "He loves them, and they love Him." It's a verse which Chittick has touched upon again and again in his many works and which he turns to with a more focused intent in this particular lecture. Chittick's lectures are a delight to attend as he weaves beautifully insightful tapestries of traditional Islamic thought in a very expressive manner. He also has a delightful sense of humor that comes through in his physical expressiveness and his turn of phrase.

Note: At this particular lecture, his microphone was not working well and so the audio volume is very low and the background sounds are quite loud - I've tried to boost the audio to compensate but it may be necessary for listeners to turn up the volume to clearly hear the lecture.

I approached him for permission after the lecture to make this available online and he graciously granted it. The lecture is also available as a podcast. You can listen to it here or subscribe/listen to it as a podcast in iTunes. As well, Sadiq Alam, on his website "Inspirations and Creative Thoughts" has taken the trouble to transcribe a few key sections of the lecture. You can read his post "The Gaze of Love is Something Else" on his website.

The Role of Love in the qur'anic Worldview (.m4a audio file)

- Irshaad Hussain