The soul on its way to manifestation passes through four states, Ilm, Ishq, Wujud, Shuhud.

1. Ilm is the original state of the consciousness, the pure intelligence.
2. Ishq is love, the next step of the intelligence towards manifestation; therefore intelligence and love are the same in their essence. Objects, such as rocks and trees, have no intelligence, therefore they have no love, except a little perception of love that exists in plant life, but among beasts and birds intelligence develops; that is why in them love begins to show itself.
3. Wujud is the objective world, whose purpose it is to be loved, for love could not manifest unless there were an object to love.
4. Shuhud is the realization of love's experience, in whatever aspect it may be. The word love is derived from the Sanskrit word Lobh, which means desire, wish; the same word is used in the Russian language, Liubov. Love may be called in other words the desire to be conscious of the object of love. Therefore Shuhud, the realization of love, is the only object of every soul. It is love in different aspects which is known by all such names as will, wish, desire, kindness, favor, and so forth.