This essay explores various definitions of love and War as interpreted by analyzing evidence found through religion, history and literature. 

1)   Love

An essay on the topic of love can be difficult to describe perhaps because of its subjective nature. One may ask, what is love and there is no right or wrong answer . Its definition resides solely  on the perspective of the person you are asking. For parents love is seeing their children  happy and prosper. A father’s love is in the hard work he does so that his family can have a source of income. It is in the sacrifice of a mother so that her children can have the luxuries she never had. For a brother love is seeing his sister getting married happily. Love is between a group of friends sitting near campfire enjoying precious moments of life without any worry. For a Lover, love is seeing their beloved smile. For me, it is the mere presence of my crush. Love is in the secret care, love is hidden behind a shy smile and it is in the proposal of marriage and affection.

Paul described love beautifully in 1st Corinthians chapter number 13 verse 4 to 6. According to him,” love is patient and kind, it is never Jealous. Love is not boastful or conceived, it is never selfish or rude. It takes no pleasure in other people sins but delights in the truth, it always find an excuse to hope, to trust and to endure for whatever is to come”. Analyzing this verse of Bible, true love can be interpreted as  when you love someone and know that she can’t be with you, however instead of getting jealous upon seeing her with others, you take happiness in the fact that she is happy. It contradicts the modern perception where sex and love have become synonymous. Paul’s definition of love transcends physical barriers and can be extended to the concept of soul mates where it is not limited to death. This view is also found in the ancient philosophies of East, namely Buddhism and Hinduism. In modern times, new age spiritualism has also introduced this idea to Western world where in every life you search for the same soul(albeit in a different body) and again falls in love with that person.

In Monotheistic religions, we have several different analogies of love. According to New testament Love is sacrifice. God sacrificed His only son to display His affection to the world. “ For God so love the world that He gave His only son so that whoever believe in him shall live even though he dies”. This definition is further reinforced in literature where we have the beautiful story of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare where Juliet sacrificed her life for her beloved and seeing this, Romeo took his own life.

Islam portrays love as obedience. We can express our love towards God by submitting our will to His will. By following His commands and leading a righteous life. So love is being obedient to your lover. Love is to believe without any evidence. We believe in God without doubting His existence and in doing so we are displaying our love.

Another definition of love according to religion is patience. God in this life test us in several ways, yet we remain true to Him: still follow His commands and put our faith in Him. So putting faith in God is love.

In History, we have love as a weakness. Samsun died because of trusting his lover. The Ottoman empire king Sultan  supposedly couldn’t capture the entire world because he fell in love.

2) War

War on the other hand is considered to be the opposite of love. However, I believe that Love and  War are two different parable which combine together to bring life. Where there is love, there is war. For a king, war symbolizes his pride, taking back the land or just a mean to express his power. A perfect example can be of Hiroshima and Nagasaki where America dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan to prove their upper hand. For ordinary people, war is a conflict, for an intellectual person, it is a possible exchange of heated arguments on contradictory opinions. For weaker army, war symbolizes death.

History describes war as a gruesome act filled with blood. This perception is the result of religious writings, Mythologies and literature. In Shakespeare’s famous drama, “Macbeth”, his character is introduced as a brave warrior who “bathed in reeking wounds”. This imagery depicts war as an event filled with blood. Similarly all religions talk about a great war which will take place during the end of time. Some horrific images are provided in the book of revelation.

War exists because there are humans. In Julius Caesar, Julius tells Brutus that “the problem dear Brutus is not in the stars but in ourselves, for we are the underlings”. Here war is portrayed as a result of our own weaknesses. It can result from jealousy, hatred and can be interpreted as an integral part of human nature. OLD testament describes war as an annihilation of your enemy. War is to be done until you are victories, for example in the book of Exodus, God ordered Moses to kill all the men infants and even donkey.

Islam on the other hand, provides us with a unique philosophy of war. War is to end persecution. One is to fight until there is no fitna(persecution)left. Islam tells us in Surah Baqarah that “fight in the way of Allah to those who fight you but don’t transgress your limits, for Allah doesn’t like the transgression”. It portrays war as a means of self defense. Even then certain protocols must be followed(which are found in Hadith) for example don’t kill children, Old men, women, trees, animals and no unnecessary bloodshed.

3) Conclusion

In conclusion, we can define these two terms very broadly however people often perceive them in a  very narrow way. In New testament God Himself is portrayed as love. “God is love”. Therefore implying that love is not just a human emotion but rather a divine expression. On the other hand, war, as commonly perceived by us, is a human metaphor designed to fulfill desires such as greed, lust and thirst for power.  However God claiming Himself to be love yet ordering wars and bloodshed is an indication that these two qualities can co exist.