Love is beyond infatuation...

Love is beyond infatuation; infatuation is accidental, whereas love is essential; the infatuated one may turn away from their beloved, but the real lover is not like this; if the infatuated ones' beloved get handicapped or lose their virtues, their infatuation may disappear, but a mother loves even her handicapped child." He used to say: "The standard for evalution of deeds is the standard by which the doer loves God Almighty." 'The one who has not sown the seed of love, Will not harvest even a single grain of perfection.

Shirin and Farhad Sometimes the Shaykh would cite the story of Shirin and Farhad as similitude to what he wanted to impart to his disciples: "With any strike of his pickaxe, Farhad was remembering Shirin. Whatever you do, you should be in such a state to the end of your task; all your thinking and remembering must be of God, not of yourself." "Write for the Love of the Beloved!" One of the Shaykh's disciples related: 'I was the secretary to a trading company.

One day he (the Shaykh) came to me and told me: "Who are you writing in these notebooks for?" I said, for my master. He asked: "If you write your name in these notebooks, will your master make any objection to it?" I answered, certainly he will. Then he asked: "The cloth you are measuring, for whom you are measuring it? Yourself or your master?" I said, for him (my master). Then he asked: "Did you understand". I said, no.

Then he went on to say: "With every pickaxe that Farhad struck, he would say along: 'My sweetheart Shirin!' and he did not mention anything but Shirin's name. So, you write this notebook with the love of the Beloved! Measure the cloth with his remembrance!

Consequently all these will be a preliminary step toward union (with the Beloved); even your breaths must be breathed in His memory!" "God Has no Clients!" In order to find clients for God (!) the Shaykh would say: "Imam Husayn (a) has got so many customers (clients); perhaps this is the case for other Imams, too; but God has few clients!

I feel pity for God with so few clients; very few come over to say: I want God; I would like to make acquaintance with Him." Sometimes, he would say: "While you are in need of God, He is in love with you!" We read in a Hadith-i Qudsi (Divine tradition): "يا ابن آدم! إني أحبك فأنت أيضا أحببني" "O son of Adam! I love you, So, you love Me you, too."[^4] "عبدي! أنا وحقي لكَ محبٌّ، فبحقي عليكَ كن لي محباُ" "My servant!