XV - On the Explanation of the Signs of Man’s Love for God

Summary

The first of these is that you give preference to him over all the other things you love. The second is that you obey him both in your outward behavior and in your inward dispositions. The third is that you be in conformity with him in all your affairs. The fourth is that you love his loved ones (awliyāʾ) with all your heart for his sake. The fifth is that you choose meeting him over your own survival. The sixth is that you despise all else in comparison with your love (for him). The seventh is that you rejoice in the remembrance of his blessings and favors to you. The eighth is that you wholly abandon yourself to remembering him in all your moments. The ninth is that you find delight in his signs in the world around you. The tenth is that you annihilateevery lot that comes to you other than from him. The author of this book said: After this stage a man enters the state of annihilation [197] and drunkenness. Thus if he surpasses this stage, a word other than love must be used to describe his condition.

As to the first sign, that you give preference to him over all the other things you love, it must be recalled that love begins with a preference for your beloved and a selection of him that comes about in your innermost heart. Hence you give preference to him over every other beloved. This is why the spiritual masters have replied when asked about it: “Love is giving preference.” Moreover, this kind of love is an obligation (of faith), for God has said: “Say: Tf your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your clan, your possessions that you have gained, commerce you fear may slacken, dwellings you love—if these are dearer to you than God and his Messenger, and to struggle in his way, then wait…”’ (9:24). In this verse he has warned men who neglect this obligation to wait for a time and see.

As to the second sign, that you obey him both in your outward behavior and in your inward dispositions, we say that outward obedience is service, whereas inward obedience is humility before him, because obedience comprises both humility and compliance.