The Sufi follows the path toward God primarily by means of love. For the Sufi who is enraptured with the love of God (who is the source of all existence, or, as some might say, who is all of existence), all of existence is extraordinarily beautiful. In contrast, one who is not in love with God to this degree will not see what is so awesome about existence. A discourse on love by Shams-i Tabrizi (the man who was the catalyst of Rumi's divine ecstasy) illustrates this

While some Sufis such as Rumi become utterly consumed by love's fire, for most who wish to love God, their love is merely a wavering flame, ever in danger of diminishing. Hence, by remembering God's forgotten reality and beauty, Sufis rekindle the flame of their love for God. In Sufism, it is remembrance that makes the heart grow fonder. In a nutshell, this is the relationship between dhikr and love.