Hevā (or havā) is the unseen (ghayb) that cannot be observed. (Iṣṭilāḥ, 540
I have severed my ties with the love of Layla and Su'da
I have turned to befriend my original state
Longings have called me
Behold, the changing states of lovers
transcend hevā, transcend them
(I said:) Can ṣidq (truthfulness) and hevā unite in a righteous deed? The answer was given: Allah is able to subjugate hevā to ṣidq. Even so, this situation is rarely seen. Among people, those who know this rarity are few, while those who do not know are many. For the will of the act precedes the act, while hevā and shahwa (carnal desire) come after. Intention and ṣidq come after both. (Ādāb, 135
According to the verifiers (muḥaqqiqūn), the composition of a perfect human consists of three meanings: the first is the rūḥ (spirit), the second is the nafs (the lower self), and the third is the body. Each of these three meanings is maintained by a particular attribute. The attribute of the rūḥ is intellect, the attribute of the nafs is hevā, and the attribute of the body is sensation. (Hujvīrī, 238-239
According to one group, hevā consists of the attributes of the nafs. According to another group, it is the will of nature that regulates and manages the nafs, like the intellect in the rūḥ. Not every rūḥ necessarily possesses the faculty of intellect; it may be deficient.
Not every nafs necessarily possesses the faculty of hevā; it may be deficient. The deficiency of the rūḥ is a deficiency of qurbah (nearness). The deficiency of the nafs is itself qurbah. The servant is constantly confronted by the invitation of both the intellect and hevā. Whoever responds to the invitation of the intellect attains iman (faith) and tawhid (the oneness of God). Whoever responds to the invitation of hevā falls into misguidance and kufr (disbelief). Hevā is the veil of those who have attained union (wuṣla), the mount of the murīd (aspirant), and the place from which the seeker turns away. The servant is commanded to oppose it and forbidden to ride it. (Hujvīrī, 249
The rūḥ is the source of good; the nafs is the source of evil. The intellect is the soldier of the rūḥ; hevā is the soldier of the nafs. Allah's tawfīq (divine enablement), in the fasl (separation), is a result of the assistance of the rūḥ. Excesses are the result of the nafs. The qalb (the heart) is the domain of sovereignty for these two armies. (Ādāb, 33
According to us, hevā is nothing but the falling of love into the qalb at the first arising in the heart of the lover; it is nothing else. When no other state shares in it, when it is pure and exclusive for itself, it is called ḥubb (love). When this love becomes firm and settled, it is called wudd. When it encompasses the heart, the inner self, and inclinations, and nothing remains except the heart's attachment, it is called ʿishq (passionate love). What is meant by ʿishq is a thorny plant. (Tercümān, 14
Hevā is to desist from desiring the beloved (maḥbūb) and to attach the heart to the first thing it attains. For this reason, Allah does not have a name derived from the root of hevā. (Futūḥāt, II, 318
Hevā is something outside of will. When the seeker attains everything he desires, this pleases the nafs. Every desire is hevā, for hevā is that which the nafs finds pleasing. That which the nafs does not find pleasing is not hevā. It is called hevā because it falls into the nafs. It only falls by submitting to the will of its Lord. 368 hevācim
But there is nothing superior to hevā, for it leads you to the Truth (al-Ḥaqq). None other can taste its delight in this way. However, creation is veiled from this perception (they cannot comprehend it). Thus, they are nothing but their own will. They call this will hevā, but it is not hevā. Hevā is for the gnostics (ʿārifūn), while will is for the common people. Their falling into hevā is blameworthy. They act for this reason. (Futūḥāt, IV, 426
Hevā is the inclination of the nafs towards what nature requires, turning to the base direction and turning away from the lofty direction. (Kāshānī, 46; Jāmiʿ, 105
In Arabic, maḥabba (love) is a metaphor for intensified will. For example, you say: I intended to do this, and I wanted to do this. The difference between them is this: If you attach will to an attribute or an act by saying, I intended His generosity, His knowledge, or His nearness, you have limited will to that attribute or act. If you attach it to a person, you restrict it to maḥabba with certainty.
The word hevā is derived from the word suqūṭ (to fall). As Allah the Exalted has said: "By the star when it falls" (Qur'an 53:1). That is, when it descends to set. Accordingly, the meaning of hevā is that, just as the air changes rapidly due to its clarity and subtlety, so too does the heart incline and change rapidly because of love.
In the lexicon called Tāj, it is explained as follows: When a man rolls downwards, it is said 'hevā'r-rajul'. 'Huvwa' means a deep abyss. When a group falls into an abyss, it is said 'hevā'l-qawm fī'l-huvwa'. It is said that the verb hevā, in the sense of falling, is derived from the word 'hevā'. For example, when a wall collapses, it is said 'hevā'l-ḥāʾiṭ'. Accordingly, the lover falls into the abyss of love. (Rawḍa, 338