| Summary: | A salik is a ṣufī who practices tasawuf (mysticism) with certain maʻrifah (knowledge of
Allah) consequent to their devotion to his/her beloved (God); which piety obtains
greater maḥabbah (love) and a more intimate pool of maʻrifah. This paper aims to
discuss the concept of maʻrifah in al-Ghazali’s Kimiya’ al-Sa`adah and Iḥyā᾽ʻUlum al-
Dinn as an initial element of creation and direct result of maḥabbah (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 maʻrifah 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 maʻrifah and mahabbah activates a causal chain or continuum that
advances, strengthens and motivates this relationship.
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