Shawq (Islam)

Man longs for God while his knowledge of God is incomplete. The more he knows God the greater the longing. Since there is no end to what may be known of God, the longing is also unending. Some would say that, even when knowledge is complete, desire can continue. Even in paradise the beatific vision only occurs twice a day - in between must arise longing. There is a level of shawq that can exist even on union and which increases with contemplation, just as, in terms of allowed human attachments, it does not cease on intercourse. The longing when the beloved is absent is different from the longing in the presence of the beloved. This second level of longing is termed ishtiyaq.