'Aziz Mahmud Huda'i is a Sufi of the 16/17th century and the virtual
founder of the Jilwatiyah Sufi Order. He wrote many treatises
and poetry of mystical character both in Arabic and in Ottoman
Turkish. "Seed of Love," written in Arabic, is a short
treatise on mystical love.
This work consists of three chapters, in each of which is discussed
the love for God, the Prophet and the family of the Prophet. Each
chapter begins with a verse concerning the subject of the chapter.
He who loves God, the ultimate lover, necessarily loves the Prophet,
the Beloved of God. And he who loves the Prophet necessarily loves
his family with whom he is tightly connected by blood and faith.
On the other hand, he can love the Prophet and attain the love
of God by loving his family.
There are three kinds of human beings: the masses, the elite and
the elite of elite. The masses are owners of lower soul, and their
love has self-interested and temporary nature based on sensual
delight and worldly benefit. The elite are owners of the heart,
and their love is based on the beauty and the glory of God, but
their piety still remains external and they have not attained
the union with God. The elite of elite are owners of the spirit,
and their love has a spiritual, essential and radical nature based
on the eternal harmony of the spirits before the manifestation
of the One, the ultimate principle of existence. Human beings
can attain the love of God according to their degree of fana',
i.e. fana' of deeds, attributes and self.