Baba Najam Ahsan (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“Love increases, eventually to a stage that its sensation annihilates and it is assimilated into the entity of beloved. (That is, our feelings & emotions (hal) undergo metamorphosis and the state (maqam) of keeping the beloved really happy emerges.)

I provide a few simple examples to make it understandable. Perceive it in your self (assuming that you are a perfectly content couple), neither do you verbalize your love for your wife nor does she articulates it for you, whereas in reality you both are true soul mates. (Your attitude and interaction towards each other is demonstrative of this love, more than the speech.)

Similarly, it is not essential for an individual to put into words feelings of love for his/her mother. (Your appreciation and affection are evident by your behavior and interactions.)

The blessed Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were similarly immersed in the love of Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) to such an extent that its feelings (verbalization and emotional expression) were gone, leaving them only with their awareness of servitude (bandagi). (Their ‘love’ was to perform with utmost sincerity all that is agreeable and abstain from all that is disagreeable to the beloved. Their goal was to keep the beloved well pleased.)

Zikr e Ahsan ra, page 198

We should reflect on this and examine ourselves!

What kind of love, if any do we have for Allah, His Beloved Prophet and friends?

Do our emotional feelings rule this realtionship or the pleasure of one whom we claim to love does so?