Investigations into Perennial Wisdom

On the role of Beauty in the Religious Life          Ihsan  (إحسان) is a term in our Islamic Tradition that refers to something like 'ethical perfection' or 'spiritual perfection'. The highest state of spiritual life in our tradition, it is the moral goal of every human life and every human person. It is also heavily linked to the idea of Beauty . In fact, the word itself can be rendered as 'beautification' in English. This is because, in Islam, Beauty is inextricably linked to Goodness. The moral life well-lived is no different than a beautiful life. The Divine Law , which is the source and principle of all morality, can be understood as God's artistic self-expression of beauty that he has impressed upon the world and infused into the human heart.         When the traditional and religious talk about Beauty, we do not use it in its conventional sense. The Beautiful , with a capital B, does not refer to all that is pleasing to look ...