and perceived by others, the gnostics. They love only God, although they love their spouses, families, and companions. Know this.
We were even told of a righteous person who said that Qays the Madman was one of God’s lovers and made Layla his veil. He was among the enraptured. I took confirmation of this saying from his story in which he said to Layla, “Away from me! Your love has occupied me to the exclusion of you.” He did not bring her close or draw her near.
Love’s character is that the lover seeks union with the beloved, but this act is love’s contrary. The lover’s character is to faint and be bewildered when the beloved suddenly comes upon him, yet this one says to her, “Away from me,” without bewilderment or annihilation. Through this act, the truth of what this gnostic said about Qays the Madman was realized for me. It is not far-fetched, for God has those He guards jealously among His servants.
From there lovers find rest in the beloved’s speech and remembrance. The Qurʾan is His speech and is a reminder, so they prefer nothing to its recitation, for in it they act on His behalf, as though He were the speaker, as He said, “Grant him protection until he hears God’s speech” [al-Tawba 9:6], although the reciter is Muhammad, God bless him and grant him peace. The people of the Qurʾan are God’s people and His elect: they are the beloved lovers.
A Dais and a Locus of Self-Disclosure: The Lover Is Described as Agreeing with What His Beloved Loves
This can belong only to the descriptions of God’s lovers in particular, for He, exalted is He, is neither delimited nor restricted. He discloses Himself in the name
