not an effect. It necessitates and determines; it is not itself determined. Whatever Allah wills must exist, and whatever He does not will cannot exist.

[Surah al-A‘rāf (7): Verse 189]

“He is the One who created you from a single soul and made from it its mate, so that he might find tranquility in her. When he had intercourse with her, she conceived a light burden and went about with it. When she grew heavy, they both called upon Allah, their Lord: ‘If You grant us a good child, we will surely be among the grateful.’” (189)

Thus, He made her being from him the reason for his finding tranquility in her. If physical beauty were the cause of love, less beautiful forms would necessarily never be found attractive. Yet we find many who prefer someone less beautiful, knowing that another is more beautiful, but finding no way to turn their hearts away from the one they love.

If love arose from compatibility of character, a person would not love someone who neither supports nor agrees with him. We therefore know that it is something within the soul itself. Sometimes, however, love arises from a particular cause and fades when that cause disappears.