The essence of religion is love; some signs of which have been enumerated above. The love of God may be of two kinds. Some love him for his bounties, others for his perfect beauty irrespective of bounties. The former love increases according to the bounties received, but the latter love is the direct result of the contemplation of his perfect attributes and is constant even in tribulations. “These are His favoured few,” says Junaid of Baghdad.[95] But there are many who pose as his lovers and with much talk of his love lack the signs of true love. They are deluded by the devil, slaves of their passions, seeking a hollow reputation, shameless hypocrites who try to deceive the omniscient Lord their creator. They are all enemies of God, whether they are revered as divines or Sufis. Sahl of Taster who used to address everyone as “Friend”, was once asked by a person the reason of his doing so, as all men could not be his friends. Sahl whispered in his ear saying: “He will either be a believer or a hypocrite; if he is a believer, he is God’s friend; if a hypocrite, the devil’s friend.” Abu Turab Nakshabi has composed some verses describing the signs of love. Their translation is as follows: Do not profess your love. Hearken to me: These are the signs of his love. The bitterness of tribulations is sweet to him, he is happy for he believes that everything proceeds from him; for praise or censure he cares not, the will of his beloved is his will. While his heart is burning with love his countenance is radiant with joy. He guards the secret of love with all his might, and no thought save of his beloved enters into his mind. Yahya bin Maaz Razi[96] adds some lines: “Another sign is that he is up and ready like a diver at the bank of a river; He sighs and sheds tears in the gloom of night, and day and night he appears as if fighting for the sacred cause of his love. He entrusts his whole self to his love and gladly acquiescing abides in his love.”[97] “RIZA” OR JOYOUS SUBMISSION TO HIS WILL[98] Riza is the quintessence of love and is one of the highest stages of the favoured few. But some doubt its existence, saying, How can man be joyous for what is against his own will. He may submit to God’s will, but it does not follow that he also shares the feeling of joy. We shall discuss the nature of Riza and prove its existence.