14 Different Stages of Love according to the Arabic Language

Arabic language and literature are full of romantic poetry and real tales like ‘Antar and ‘Abla, Qays and Leila. Arab poets used to create their poems with some love rhymes and these poems in Arab literature were written by Abu Nawas, Nizar Qabbani and much more.

Love has different names and synonyms in the Arabic language that explains the level of love or the condition of the lover. Here are the 14 Different Stages of Love according to the Arabic Language;

1-Al-Hawa (Attraction): This is the starting of Love, which is used to describe wind and meaning is to blow. Attraction is the starting stage of Love. This is when love can arise but is passing but still not attached to the heart.[irp]

This also means both to go up and to go down, representing the uneven nature of attraction, and the possibilities for how this love might develop.

2-Al-Sabwa (Amusement): Al-sabwa comes from the Arabic word Al-Siba, which describes boyhood. When two young people meet each other and slowly they want their company and enjoy each other’s conversations but they don’t want to put any label or get into a relationship. This is the phase of a flirt, yet the legal relationship is not developed.

3-Al-Shaghaf (Passion):  The heart now starts to be consumed by the love, which begins with the outer layer of the heart. This can also refer to a kind of heart disease, which, if spreads, can get to a bad temper, also can take the life of the patient.

4-Al-Wajd (Preoccupation): This is love stage when a person is always lost in dreams of his/her lover and can’t stop thinking of his/her loved one. Al-wajd means anxious, worried for his/her lover and want to spend most of the time with him/her.

5-Al-Kalaf (Infatuation): At this stage, the love begins to get stronger and strengthens along with difficulties, pains and hardships. Al-kalaf means “amongst other things”, referring that the love has now become more powerful and has a physical influence on the lover.

6-Al-‘Oshok (Adulation): The term Al-oshok is used to explain the extreme love and deep respect to the lover. The heart is now completely surrounded by the love of the lover fully, and the heart becomes its home. Both lovers become warmly familiar with one another. This love blinds the lover to all sorts of mistakes in the beloved.

7-Al-Najwa (Heartburn): Arab romantic poetry is about pain and hurt. Al-najwa is used to explain that love has generated feelings of sadness when the heart of lover is fully overcome by love. Najwa comes from the word Najah which means recovery, as lovers need to be away from this situation of harsh sorrow.

The difficulty which occurs with the outer layer of the heart now takes over the full heart and results in an internal sadness and grief.

8- Al-Shawq (Longing): This is the stage when a person loves madly and has an attachment with his/her lover and feels a deep desire for his/her lover.

9-Al-Wasab (Excruciating pain): Al-wasab explains the hurt and sickness. In this stage, the difficulty which occurs with the outer layer of the heart now takes over the full heart and results in an internal sadness and grief. Love is not healthy. It comes along so much of hurt and sufferings.

10-Al-Istikana (Submissiveness): In this stage, we usually see in relationships that love is blind. Lovers can’t see mistakes and faults of each other. This is a state of shameful and blind obedience.

11-Al-Wodd (Friendliness): In this stage, lovers are not only lovers but they also become best friends because they share and discuss everything with each other. Al-wodd explains to good-natured and friendliness. It is the purest, noblest and weakest type of love.

12-Al-Kholla (Unification): A person believes that his/her lover is the one and only and no one can be like her/him. There is no perfect match and better than him/her. Al-kholla is explained as love and friendship that is fixed extremely in the heart.

13-Al-Gharam (Fervour): Al-gharam is referred as an attachment to something and not being able to let go of it. Love now becomes attached to the heart and lovers feel like that they can’t live without each other and support each other in every circumstances and situation.

14-Al-Hoyam (Madness): The beginning of love was with hawa and the final stage is hoyum refers to madness and insanity. The journey of love starts with attraction and comes to an end. This is caused by too much of love.  This is the stage where lovers go crazy and senseless and behave nuttily.