Hubb-i khāṣṣ is to love the Divine Essence (dhāt) without regard to the spirit (rūḥ). In this love, there are states of intoxication (sakr ḥāl). This is a gift (mawhiba) from Allah, Who is generous to His servants. This gift is that He has chosen that servant. This love is among the states (aḥwāl), for it is a pure bestowal from Allah and is not open to any intervention of effort.
The aim of natural love is union (ittiḥād, meaning to become one with the beloved). This is the unification of the essence of the beloved with the essence of the lover, and the essence of the lover with the essence of the beloved. Although this is what the Hulūliyya allude to (ishāra), they have no real knowledge of this matter.
Know, then, that whatever form natural appearance (ṣūrat) manifests in, in whatever relation (nisba) and in whatever state as body or corporeal form, if in reality (ḥaqīqa) the love that is non-existent remains non-existent, then hubb-i rūḥānī (spiritual love) also, that form represents the beloved in imagination (khayāl). This is perceived with an imaginative gaze and an eye belonging to that level of imagination. When two lovers embrace and kiss, they absorb each other's saliva. This saliva spreads to each of the two lovers. During the embrace and kiss, each lover breathes in and out. The breath that comes from one enters the other, and vice versa.
Thus, the animal spirit (rūḥ ḥaywānī) in natural forms is nothing other than this breath. Every breath is the spirit of each of those who breathe. While breathing, the breath gives life to the person. Thus, Zayd's spirit becomes the same as ʿAmr's spirit. This breath comes from the lover, takes shape in the form of love, and thus the pleasure of love is realized. When the breath that is transferred becomes spirit, the breath of the other also becomes spirit for the other. In this case, it becomes possible to speak of union (ittiḥād) regarding each of these two persons. It is correct to say: I am the lover, and I am also the beloved. This is the ultimate point of spiritual love (rūḥānī love) in natural forms. (Futūḥāt, II, 329)
hubb-i rūḥānī: Hubb-i rūḥānī (spiritual love) is the love that gathers loving the beloved both for their sake and for one's own sake in the being of the lover. However,