The shrine kept expanding and expanding to take in more and more pilgrims. It was a palpable lesson that we are capable of taking so many into our hearts if we dare let it expand to encompass the whole humanity.

No matter which of the divine names we take as a starting point for meditation, we will find that it serves the purposes of love.

The radiance of love's eternal light gives rise to the universe. The goal of love is to overcome separation, to bridge gaps, to bring the two lovers together as one. If love is to do its work, people must recognize the light and love it in return.

Love, in short, aims at communion, union, unity. Tawhid is the assertion of oneness and unity, but it is only an assertion, not the reality. Love is the energy that drives the quest for integration.

Muslim scholars who talk about love as the heart of Islam and of religion generally take the position that God's love and compassion motivated him to create human beings so that they could love him in return.