Uns

Uns is the term for spiritual intimacy — the warmth, ease, and delight that comes from closeness with Allah. If khawf (fear) is the trembling before Allah and mahabbah (love) is the orientation toward Him, uns is the quality of resting in His presence — the feeling that being with Allah is the most natural, most pleasant, most desired state. The scholars describe the person of uns as one who finds company in solitude and solitude in company: they are never more themselves than when alone with Allah, and they are never quite alone.

The root of uns is the same as that of insan (human being) and uns (companionship between people). This is not coincidental: the human being is defined by a need for companionship — and in the highest spiritual anthropology, the deepest companionship available to the human soul is with Allah. Uns is the experience of that companionship as warmth and ease rather than awe and trembling.

Al-Ghazali described uns as the final station before fana' — the heart that has experienced uns no longer needs distraction, entertainment, or constant human company. It has found the source of satisfaction and rests there. The great irony of uns is that it is found most often in the night prayer, in private dhikr, in the moments most others find lonely: the person of uns has discovered that solitude is populated.