The first of these signs is that you love him as he loves you. The second is that he cause you to be loved by your brethren. The third is that he grant you success in your affairs. The fourth is that he take upon himself the burden of your service. The fifth is that he give you only what you need. The sixth is that he multiply your affliction. The seventh is that he conceal you and not reveal you. The eighth is that he straiten you and not be indulgent towards you. The ninth is that he embellish your virtues. And the tenth is that he cause this world to be loathsome in your sight.

As to the first sign, that you love him as he loves you, this means that when God clothes a man with the light of his love he removes him from a human attribute to a divine attribute and subsumes his human quality in his own divine quality so that the man is joined in union with him. Then there is no longer any distinction between the beloved and his lover, [186] nor is there any division, since the lover has been annihilated in him. Let this be understood. It is this love about which God said to Gabriel, peace be upon him, “O Gabriel, my love is the guide to me.”

It is related that the Messenger of God went in to visit his paternal uncle Abū Ṭālib when the latter was ill and that Abū Ṭālib said to him, “Pray for me to your Lord whom you worship so that he may heal me.” So the Messenger of God prayed for him, and he recovered immediately. Then Abū Ṭālib said to him, “Nephew, I see that your Lord whom you worship obeys you.” “Uncle,” he replied, “if you were to obey him, he would obey you too.” And ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her, said to the Messenger of God: “I see that your Lord hastens to fulfill your wishes.” A certain wise man also said: “If you desire to know your portion with God, then consider the portion of God in your heart.”