ABSTRACT
The second kind of lovers, identified by al-Dabbagh as most of the excellent wayfarers, are those who reach love through the senses and then through the intellect going beyond the world of imagination. At first their beloved is the beautiful form which is attached to a substrate, then, after reflection, they strip beauty from its substrate. The process by which the form is transmitted from the senses to the imagination was discussed above.139 The reflection transmits the spiritual meaning of beauty to the soul which is delighted by it. Man's soul is not satisfied with the attaining of the spiritual form, and so searches for the perfection of the meaning which is attained from the beloved through the senses. This search does not stop until
the soul obtains unity with the form. 14o The love of those people is in an intermediate position; from one point of view it is noble, for its truth inheres in the soul and the soul takes pleasure in it, a pleasure which excels the bodily pleasure and, moreover, frequently this love causes man to experience the third kind of love. From another point of view, namely the connection of love to a specific individual thing on whose presence depends the lover's pleasure, it is imperfect.141
