insofar as it is congenial, and that pain is the perception of what is uncongenial insofar as it is uncongenial, they are mistaken. Pleasure and pain are two states that follow the perception of what is congenial and uncongenial.

For loving what is congenial to a person—such as food he craves—involves three states:

(First) Love itself, such as the desire for food.

Second: Experiencing the beloved object, such as eating the food.

Third: The pleasure resulting from that. Pleasure is distinct both from desire and from the desiring person’s tasting. Rather, it results from his tasting; it is not the tasting itself.

The same applies to “what is disliked,” such as being struck. Disliking it is one thing, its occurrence is another, and the pain resulting from it is a third.

Likewise, consider the bliss and joy experienced by those who know Allah and love Him. Their love for Allah is one thing; what occurs through remembering the Beloved is another; and the pleasure resulting from that is a third.

There is no doubt that love presupposes awareness of the beloved, just as desire presupposes awareness on the part of the one who desires. Yet the awareness required for pleasure differs from the awareness required for love. This latter kind is called perception, tasting, attainment, experience, communion, and other such expressions used to describe experiencing the beloved,