DÖRDÜNCÜ BÂB · İKİNCİ FASIL · Dokuzuncu Madde
Here follows the translation of the provided text:
**Article Nine**
Concerning the Names of Love for the Divine.
Beloved! It is known that the friends of God have said: [278/b]
The names of love are varied according to their respective stations. If the names of love arise from one’s own actions, then in that station, they call it “irāda” (will). This irāda becomes sincere longing through obedience and love for God, and by embodying His character, drawing near to Him. Indeed, the Exalted One said in a sacred hadith: "My servant continues to approach Me with optional good deeds until I love him. And when I love him, I become his seeing eye, his hearing ear, his grasping hand, and his supporter."
The sign of the degree of this irāda is that the person intensely focuses all their power on achieving what they desire, so that they have no thought other than obtaining it, and no longing remains except to attain what they seek. As it is said:
Poem
I desire union with Him, yet He desires separation.
I surrender my desire to His desire.
This irāda arises through the realization of the beauty of the beloved. This realization is according to the capacity of the one seeking love.
Following this, the name of love becomes “shawq” (ardor). Shawq is the movement of the soul towards union and its maturation by bringing forth from within itself what completes the fulfillment of that which it loves and increases enjoyment of the beloved’s beauty. Then the name of love becomes "tawajjuh" (intense yearning), which is the degree of perfection of shawq. Following this, the name of love becomes “nizā” (struggle and contention), which is when the sultan of love finds strength and power through resolve and steadfastness. This station arises from the intense manifestation of the beloved’s beauty in the heart, and from the light shining within the heart, drawing back the reins of patience and will. Following this, the name of love becomes “sabābat” (infatuation). In this station, the lover no longer possesses the power of patience or endurance but is compelled to run towards the beloved, having no inclination or desire for anything else. They are unaffected by what those who disapprove and condemn their state say. Sabābat is the degree of perfection of nizā.
As it is said in Arabic poetry:
Poem
1. By God, nothing has diverted me from you.
2. Neither patience nor consolation have I sought from anyone but you.
3. No source of joy have I gazed upon except for you; you are the hearing and the sight.
Then the name of love becomes “hawā” (passion), which is to remain at the door of the beloved, like a devotee in seclusion, and to dwell there, forgetting one’s own beauty through the enjoyment of tasting the beauty of the beloved. Then the name of love becomes "muwaddah" (affection), which is attained when one reaches the nearness of the beloved, arrives at the goal of love, and the intensity of union mixes with the fire of shawq, and the coolness of reunion settles into moderation, remaining upon balance. In this state, the person cannot be free from the sorrow of separation from the beloved nor from the extinguishing of the fire of desire within them. For their union is a sign that they are not yet truly together with the beloved; it is evidence of the absence of unity (adem-i ittihad). Therefore, even when this person draws near to the beloved, they feel fear of separation from them, and the grief of being estranged from the beloved gnaws at their heart. The sign of muwaddah is that the lover surrenders their own will to their beloved, finding a way to reach them and attain peace with them.
Following this, the name of love becomes “hullet” (inner love), which is love for the Essence along with the vestiges of egotism. This hullet arises from the strengthening of muwaddah, leading one to pure love. However, in this station, the lover has not yet been completely freed from their duality. For making a friend (tahalul) always requires the existence of another. Thus, two friends are counted as two, not one. As it is said in poetry:
Poem
You have penetrated every particle of my soul.
Therefore, you were named “Halil,” the beloved friend.
It is after this that love attains true purity, where there remains nothing pertaining to selfhood nor duality. This pure love, which has reached this state, is superior to "hullet" and more pure than all the stations below it. The Most Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) attained the station of Halilullah (Friend of God), which belongs to those among the prophets who possess it, and ascended from there to “qaba qawsayn” [279/a] and then to the station "ev ednâ" (closer still). For Ibrahim al-Halil (peace be upon him) drew near to God through His attributes, saying, “It suffices for Me that He knows My state; I have no need to ask.” (He highlighted the attribute of knowledge when supplicating.)
The Most Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), however, did not suffice with the attributes but supplicated to the pure Essence of God, saying, "God is sufficient for me; He is the best disposer." Therefore, whenever love becomes pure and the state of its possessor is known, it is given the name “makh” (exceedingly white). This makh is the state of the pure lover, which has become their station. In this station, they have only found the initial states of observation (mushahada).
When love transforms into a purely essential love and settles in that station, continuing its course there, and the lover finds no trace of themselves within it,
Love is the most exalted thing that exists only for other than itself, and it is superior to everything that seeks partnership with it.
When every custom and tie of selfhood is uprooted and cast off, then news arrives.
When the sea of love fills the vessels, then the lover finds eternal life; then existence, non-existence, name, and trace all become love.
Love is what creates the lover and the beloved, and through it, the heart and soul discover hidden mysteries.
When the wine of spirits fills the goblets of bodies, that cupbearer who pours out the wine of life is Love.
Anything manifest in the world needs no explanation whatsoever; how can one describe love in its manifest form?