Bismillaah

In order to attain true love ['ishq haqiqi] for Allaah, the following principles must be established:

Sincere Yearning [Talab]

The foremost condition of attaining love for Allaah is to sincerely crave such love. A person may acquire the material world [dunyaa] passively, but true love ['ishq] is a treasure; therefore it cannot be acquired unless one actively seeks it.

I am humbled by my abaseness, and in awe of Your exaltedness,

Yet, what can I do of my heart, still it desires to reach You.

A person may be made of dust and earth, yet far does his gaze travel when he desires the countenance of the True Beloved.

Where is this [lowly] heart, that it may desire to attain the Beloved?

Where is the King of the beautiful? And how far are we?

When a person sits to remember Allaah, but discovers his heart full of heedlessness and neglect, he should recite the following prayer to himself:

O Beneficient One, have grace upon me, I am in great agony,

I am sitting before You, yet still I remain veiled.

A person must make firm intention in his heart to acquire true love for Allaah and must be prepared to sacrifice everything for this goal.

To be continued… insha’Allaah