He was asked, "What do you say about maḥabba (love)?" He replied: There is no barrier between the lover and the beloved. The lover speaks out of longing, describing his delight. The one who tastes knows, but the one who describes cannot be described. How can you describe that in whose presence you are absent, in whose existence you move, in whose witnessing you vanish, with whose sobriety you attain intoxication, by means of whom you fill your emptiness, and with whose joy you grieve?
Hayba (awe) renders a person speechless and unable to speak; ḥayra (perplexity) prevents the fearful from disclosing anything; ghayra (protective jealousy) prevents the eyes from seeing others. Dehşet (dahsha, overwhelming dread) binds the intellects and allows nothing to be said; there is always a continual dehşet, inseparable ḥayra, bewildered hearts (qulūb), hidden secrets, and ailing bodies... and maḥabba, with its mighty sovereignty, dominates the hearts (qulūb). 186 dahriyyūn
Dehşet is a force that strikes the heart (qalb) of the lover due to the awe (hayba) of the beloved. When one encounters the beloved in a moment of despair, and when separated, one finds no illness in oneself.
Someone said: O Allah! You are not seen in the dunyā (this world); grant me something from Your presence so that my heart (qalb) may find tranquility with it! Upon this, the person fainted, then after a while regained consciousness and said, "Subḥānallāh." He was asked why he made tasbīḥ (glorification). He replied: In return for gazing upon Him, He granted me His tranquility, so I glorified Him for that. When asked, "Is such a brief tasbīḥ enough for you?" he answered: O Lord! I was overwhelmed by dehşet from Your love and did not know what I was saying. (Luma, 421)