From Emotion to Ontology: The Concept of Love in Davvānī’s Akhlāq-i Jalālī

This article examines the concept of love (maḥabba) in Jalāl al-Dīn al-Davvānī’s Akhlāq-i Jalālī and investigates how love functions as an organising principle within his ethical system. Drawing on a close textual analysis of Davvānī’s treatment of love, the study reconstructs the ontological, ethical, and socio-political dimensions of the concept. It situates it within the broader tradition of Islamic moral philosophy. It argues that love is not merely an emotion in Davvānī’s thought but a fundamental principle. This force holds the cosmos together, underlies the structure of reality, guides moral development, and sustains social and political order. The analysis traces love from its metaphysical foundation in ḥubb-i dhātī (essential love), understood as the dynamic basis of emanation (ṣudūr) and return, through its various ethical manifestations and hierarchical degrees. Attention is given to the relationship between love, knowledge (maʿrifa), justice, and the purification of the soul, as well as to the roles of prophetic guidance, family relations, political authority, and friendship as expressions of love within human society. The study demonstrates that Davvānī integrates the metaphysical, ethical, and social dimensions of love into a coherent theoretical framework, a bond, in his account, as much as a principle, in which the perfection of the individual and the harmony of society are grounded in a common ontological source. By reconstructing this framework, the article contributes to a deeper understanding of love in Islamic ethical thought and clarifies Davvānī’s distinctive place within the post-classical Akhlāq tradition.