Once at the time of
Hajj, there was a gathering in Mecca of some
friends of Allah; the youngest among whom was
Junaid Baghdadi (ra). In that gathering, there
was a discussion on the subject of 'Love for
Allah' and as to who is the lover of Allah. Many
of them expressed their views on the subject,
but Junaid (ra) kept quiet. He was pressed to
say something.
With his head bowed down and tears in his eyes,
he said, "The lover of Allah is he who forgets
his own self, remains engaged in Allah's
remembrance with due regard to all its
requirements; sees Allah with the eyes of his
heart, which is burnt by the heat of Allah's
fear; Allah's remembrance affects him like a cup
of wine, he speaks the word of Allah as if
All-Mighty Allah speaks through his mouth; if he
moves, he does so under the command of Allah; he
gets peace of mind only through the obedience of
Allah; and when such a stage is reached, his
eating, drinking, sleeping, awakening and, in
short, all his actions are for the pleasure of
Allah; he neither pays heed to the worldly
customs, nor does he attach any importance to
unfriendly criticism by people."
