falāmat al-uns; ahl al-uns (people of intimacy); majālis al-hayba; uns billāh (intimacy with Allah)
He was asked, "What do you say about maḥabba (divine love)?" and he replied: There is no barrier between the lover and the beloved. The lover speaks from longing, describes his delight. The one who tastes knows, but the one who describes cannot be described. How can you describe that which you are absent from in His presence, act within His existence, vanish in your witnessing of Him, attain intoxication through your sobriety, fill your emptiness through Him, and grieve over what you are gladdened by from Him? Hayba (awe) renders a person mute and unable to speak; ḥayra (perplexity) prevents the fearful from disclosing anything; ghayra (protective jealousy) prevents the eyes from seeing others. Dehshat (dread) binds the intellects and prevents speech; there is always a persistent dehshat, inseparable perplexity, bewildered hearts, hidden secrets, and ailing bodies... and maḥabba (divine love) rules over the hearts with its mighty sovereignty.
Intimacy with Allah (uns billāh) is to trust in Him, find tranquility with Him, and seek help from Him. It is not possible to say more than this on the matter.
The people of intimacy (ahl al-uns) are of three degrees regarding uns (intimacy): The first are those who find intimacy in dhikr (remembrance of God), feel estrangement in heedlessness, find intimacy in obedience, and feel estrangement from sins.
It is related that Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh (al-Tustarī) said: The first form of intimacy is from the servant. The intimacy of the nafs (lower self) and the limbs is through the intellect; the intimacy of the intellect and the nafs is through knowledge of the sharia (the sacred law); the intimacy of the intellect, nafs, and limbs is through acting with ikhlas (sincerity) for Allah. When the servant realizes this, he attains intimacy with Allah and finds tranquility with Him.
The second state of uns is that, as a result of intimacy with Allah, the servant is freed from all thoughts and distractions that occupy the heart. When Zunnūn was asked what intimacy with Allah is, he replied: If Allah causes you to find intimacy with people, know that He is distancing you from intimacy with Himself.
When Junayd was asked about intimacy with Allah, he said: It is to have no sense of veiling along with hayba (awe).
Ibrāhīm Māristānī said about uns: Uns is the heart's joy with the beloved.
The third is when, together with uns, there are states of hayba (awe), proximity, and reverence, such that the intimacy of the people of uns cannot be perceived. As one of the people of maʿrifa (gnosis) said regarding uns: There are servants of Allah whom, due to the hayba they feel towards Him, He has prevented from finding intimacy with others. (Lumaʿ, 96)
When Junayd was asked what uns is, he replied: It is the presence of hayba (awe) along with the absence of a sense of majesty. The absence of a sense of majesty is upon the servant.