Rethinking Self-Love and Body Positivity through Jalaluddin Rumi’s Sufi Conception of Love in the Digital Era

Fauzan Akbar Novianto

doi:10.24235/matsnawi.v1i1.633

Authors

Fauzan Akbar Novianto UIN Siber Syekh Nurjati Cirebon Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24235/matsnawi.v1i1.633

Keywords:

self-love, sufism, Jalaluddin Rumi, Self-Affection, Islamic mysticism

Abstract

The discourse of self-love has become increasingly prominent in contemporary popular culture, especially among younger generations. However, this narrative often remains superficial, centring on personal affirmation, bodily acceptance, and visual self-display without engaging deeper spiritual dimensions. In digital culture, body positivity may function as resistance against narrow beauty standards, yet it may also remain trapped within external recognition, algorithmic visibility, and the commodification of the body. This article critiques and reconstructs the meanings of self-love and body positivity through a Sufi lens, particularly by engaging Jalaluddin Rumi’s conception of love, the self, the body, and the ego. Using a qualitative, library-based approach with philosophical-hermeneutic analysis, this study reads selected ideas from Rumi’s spiritual anthropology in dialogue with contemporary narratives of self-love and body positivity. It argues that love for oneself should not be understood as ego glorification, but as a gateway to self-knowledge, purification of the nafs, and Divine awareness. The discussion is structured around three central themes: first, a critique of self-love entangled with spiritual narcissism and digital validation; second, the body as a trust and field of spiritual responsibility rather than merely an object of display; and third, the transformation of self-love into love for God through the Sufi path of purification and self-transcendence. The findings indicate that Rumi’s Sufi conception of love offers a profound spiritual framework for understanding self-love as liberation from the ego rather than its reinforcement. The novelty of this article lies in integrating modern narratives of self-love and body positivity with classical mystical wisdom, thereby offering a renewed interpretation of bodily spirituality, identity, and human essence in the digital era.

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