The boundaries belonging to the Divine Essence that distinguish the Real (al-Ḥaqq) from creation are known only to those among the people of vision (ruʾya, direct witnessing). No one else, neither those who have not attained divine report nor those who are people of hullet (intimate friendship, see below) and direct witnessing, can know this. You cannot know it by mere report; you can only know it through the necessary knowledge (ʿilm ḍarūrī, immediate knowledge) that Allah grants to whomever He wills among His servants.
There exists there a matter that cannot be comprehended by means of divine report. This matter, and others like it, cannot be comprehended without divine report and necessary knowledge. Despite their differences, the boundaries of existents are also the boundaries of possibles. This is so in terms of their rulings in the mirror of existence (wujūdiyyat, being).
The limit of the very reality of essential existence (dhāti wujūdiyyat) is nothing other than the existence of the existent itself. It is identical to the reality of His existence. For it is never an existence belonging to something knowable.
The aim of the gnostics (ʿārifūn) is to place the boundaries of existence (wujūd) entirely in their proper place. This is the essential limit (ḥadd) of the Necessary Existent (Wājib al-Wujūd). Those who know Allah are above this unveiling and witnessing. (Futūḥāt, III, 222)
Hullet/hillet: Hullet derives from a meaning of one thing entering into another. The term khalīl (intimate friend) is so named because the friend enters the heart. The existence of the khalīl is annihilated in the existence of the other. When he speaks, he speaks about the friend; when he is silent, the friend is before his eyes in all things... On this subject, the following poem has been recited:
You have entered the depths of my soul
So it was with the Khalīl
My only concern, my only thought is you
In my words, only you
In my dreams, you are present
Hullet appears in another poem as follows:
I have taken you as a friend in my heart
I have dedicated my body to my friends
Let my body belong to them
But in my heart, my friend is
The beloved of my heart
Hullet (intimate friendship) is that which enters the heart. Maḥabba (love) is that which is in the depth, that is, the essence of the heart. It is called maḥabba because it erases everything from the heart except itself. For this reason, the beloved (ḥabīb) is preferred over the intimate friend (khalīl). (Lumʿa, 155)
Riḍā (contentment)... is the station (maqām) of maʿrifa (gnosis) that comes after maḥabba. The state (ḥāl) of the beloved is to rely (tawakkul) upon the state of the beloved. Maḥabba is one of the most noble stations. Above it, there is no station except the station of hullet (intimate friendship).
The station of hullet is the station of special maʿrifa. The station of special maʿrifa is to be familiar with the secrets of the unseen (ghayb). Thus, the servant, by Allah's unchanging will and knowledge, witnesses the Beloved (Maḥbūb, i.e., Allah) with a knowledge given to him. In this station, the servant attains the secrets of the unseen, of what has happened and what will happen. Among the things the servant discovers in this station are: he uncovers his own state and the degree of his love, sees the stations the servants will reach, and observes their changes from state to state at the boundary of eternity. (Kūt, II, 76)
Hullet is a divine attribute. The following poem has been recited:
You have entered the depths of my soul
So it was with the Khalīl
This is supported by the states of Ḥallāj and Zuleykhā. Was it not written with Zuleykhā's blood where she fell for Yūsuf, and with Ḥallāj's blood, 'Allah, Allah'? The following poem has been recited:
Neither organ nor joint
can petrify me
There is a lesson in this for you, but
Maʿrifatullāh (gnosis of Allah), as a being composed of parts, when it permeates the entire being of the gnostic, leaves no single indivisible essence (jawhar-i fard) remaining. The knowledge of the Lord enters there. Thus, the person knows his Lord with all his limbs. Otherwise, his parts would not be arranged, his composition would not appear, and his spirituality would not look to its own nature. In this way, Allah arranged things as meaning, sensation, and imagination (ḥayāl). The infinite forms of human imagination are like this. These forms can only be arranged by Allah. Their ruling in this degree of knowing Allah is subject to the ruling we have mentioned regarding all existents in terms of sensation and spiritual form.
When a person realizes what we have mentioned, both as existence and witnessing, he becomes the khalīl (intimate friend) of the one who is present in this station. His state in the world is like the attribute of the Real (al-Ḥaqq). For this reason, even though he is ungrateful for the blessing, he is provided for. Allah grants him provision in order to increase his sin, so that the greatness of forgiveness (maghfira) and the power of pardon become manifest. (Futūḥāt, II, 356)
Whoever seeks the station of hullet must treat all of Allah's creatures—disbeliever, believer, obedient, and rebellious—with kindness; he must establish the station of the Lord in this world with his strength. To such people, doors of mercy are opened from where they do not expect, and winds of grace blow. This is ihsan (spiritual excellence) from Allah.
Ihsan reaches them from where they do not know. The state of one who treats people in this way is easy. I enter such a path. I have not seen a way easier or more gracious than this. Its delight is a complete delight. When the servant is in this station, he has realized hullet. When he is unable to help with the outward due to the nonexistence of what exists, he helps them inwardly. From within himself, between his nafs (lower self) and his Lord, he makes dua (supplication) for them to Allah. Thus, he becomes the khalīl, and this is entirely mercy. (Futūḥāt, II, 357)
Hullet is for the servant to become annihilated (fanāʾ) from his own human attributes and to realize the attributes of the Real (al-Ḥaqq), not by way of indwelling (ḥulūl) but by way of manifestation (tajallī), and to be characterized by His attributes. Thus, the servant becomes the mirror of the Real. (Kāshānī, 161; Jāmiʿ, 82)
Hullet is when love permeates all the limbs, flesh, and blood. The beloved (maḥbūb) is called the khalīl, that is, the intimate friend. (Rawḍa, 344)
The name hullet (intimate friendship) is specific to the first degree of the stations of proximity (qurbiyyat). For the one who is in the station of proximity is the one who is a friend with the Real (al-Ḥaqq) through His acts and existence. Then comes the station of love. This station, in the divine manifestation, is the Muhammadan station. Finally comes the station of hitāin... (Insān, II, 97) (See also: maʿrifa; maḥabba)