The style in kalām (theological discourse) is that dünüvv means 'approach.' The meaning of approach here is not striving for the path of the people (halk), but striving for the ḥaqīqa (inner reality) of the Real (al-Ḥaqq).
Dünüvv is the domain of restraint. Ḥaqīqa is the right of realities among the subtlest of subtleties. It arises from the witnessing (mushāhada) of those who, like the elect (khawāṣṣ), compete on the path of the noble ones, by keeping the yearning of the existent alive, clarifying subtleties, severing attachments, and with the word of deliverance. To recognize the path followed by the Prophet (the Messenger of God, peace be upon him), who caused abundant plants to sprout and inexhaustible waters to flow, one must understand yet another spiritual meaning of approach. (Tawāsīn, 202)
If a portion of Allah's riḍā (contentment with God's decree) is placed in a person's heart, Allah lets him taste it so that he may know that Allah is with him and has shown him ihsan (spiritual excellence). Allah's riḍā is attained only through understanding (fahm). Understanding is realized only through nūr (divine light). Nūr is attained only through dünüvv (approach), and dünüvv only through ʿināya (divine favor). When this servant becomes a possessor of ʿināya, gifts from the treasures of goodness are manifested for him. When he attains Allah's aid and nūr, his qalb (heart) is freed from diseases, and with sound perception, he tastes the sweetness of iman (faith)... (Tanwīr, 8)
Dunyā (this world)–ākhira (the Hereafter): (Sign of maʿrifa (gnosis) of the Hereafter; sign of maʿrifa of the world)
The world, with its little and its much, its sweetness and its bitterness, its beginning and its end, is a whole. All of these are a test (imtihān) for Allah's servant. Even though the tests of the world are many and varied, in reality, they all ultimately relate to sabr (patient endurance) and shukr (gratitude). That is, it is either gratitude for a blessing or patience in the face of a calamity. (Ādāb, 82)
The sign of knowing the world is to abandon it, to withdraw from those who rely on it, love it, prefer it, and magnify its worth in their eyes, and to live therein with zuhd (asceticism) and solitude.
The sign of knowing the Hereafter is that desire for it is stirred, yearning for it intensifies, one attains intimacy through frequent remembrance of the Hereafter, and possesses sincerity due to loyalty in acting for the Hereafter. (Ādāb, 146)
Abū Yazīd said: I have irrevocably divorced the world with three pronouncements, never to return. I have left it and turned only to my Lord. Calling out for help, I said: O my God, my Master! I supplicate to You with the supplication of one who has no one but You. When, along with my despair, I realized the sincerity of my supplication in my heart, the first answer to this supplication was that He made me completely forget myself and set creation before me so that I would turn away from them....
...When I gathered all the causes of the world, tied them to the rope of contentment, placed them in the catapult of truthfulness, cast them into the sea of despair, and found relief.
The world is deception upon deception for the people of the world, while the Hereafter is joy upon joy for the people of the Hereafter. Love (maḥabba) for Allah is a joy of nūr (divine light).
The world has three kinds of pleasures: a beloved companion, friendship based on generosity, and a human relationship that benefits and is benefited from.
The world and the Hereafter are like two co-wives; if you please one, you will displease the other. (Futūḥāt, 86)
The world is a fleeting shadow, a veil between the servant and his Master. The true servant does not allow even a particle of its love into his heart. (Bughyat, 119)
See also: durrat al-bayḍāʾ 189