" The Sufi relates to God not as a judge, nor as a father figure, nor as the creator, but as our own Beloved, who is so close, so near, so tender.

In the states of nearness the lover experiences an intimacy with the Beloved which carries the softness and ecstasy of love. "

― Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee , Love Is a Fire: The Sufi's Mystical Journey Home