aʿrāf is the rising place (matlaʿ), that is, the maqām (spiritual station) of witnessing the Real (al-Ḥaqq) in everything, perceiving each thing as a locus of manifestation (maẓhar) of God with all His attributes. This is the station of observing from every side. Allah, Exalted is He, has said: "And on the [elevated] places are men who recognize all by their marks" (al-Aʿrāf 7:46). The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: "Every verse (āya) has an outward (ẓāhir), an inward (bāṭin), a limit (ḥadd), and a rising place (matlaʿ)" (Haythamī, VII, 152). (Kāshānī, 30; Jāmiʿ, 76)
araz/aʿrāz, see also jawhar/jawāhir-'araz/aʿrāz
ʿārif/ʿārifūn, sign of the ʿārif; ʿārif bi-llāh; maʿṣūm
The ʿābid (worshiper) serves Him (al-Ḥaqq) through ḥāl (spiritual state), while the ʿārif worships within the ḥāl. 114 ʿārif/ʿārifūn
The lowest (most basic) attribute of the ʿārif is that the attributes of God and the genus of lordship (rubūbiyya) flow upon him.
The ʿārif always knows; maʿārif (gnoses) are known until the ʿārif is drowned in maʿārif. Thus, the ʿārif speaks about the (true) ʿĀrif (Who is God), and in the ʿārif, maʿrifa (gnosis) ceases to exist.
The ʿārif does not rejoice at anything nor fear anything... The ʿārif thinks of his Lord, while the ʿālim (scholar) thinks of his own nafs (the lower self).
When Abū Yazīd (al-Bisṭāmī) was asked, "What is the sign of the ʿārif?" he replied: "Not becoming weary of His dhikr (remembrance of God), not tiring of His right, and not finding intimacy with anyone other than Him..."
On another occasion, he said: "Allah has given His servants commands and prohibitions, and they have obeyed them. He has stripped them of their garments, and they have been content with the garment that comes from Him. I desire from Allah only Allah."
When Abū Yazīd was asked about the rank of the ʿārif, he said: "There is no rank there. Rather, the highest benefit the ʿārif attains is the existence of his maʿrifa (gnosis)."
The ʿārif's thought gives him hope. The ascetic's (zāhid) thought consumes him.
The ʿārif is one whom even the wind blowing with great force cannot reach, nor can a lightning bolt that strikes suddenly touch him. No one can describe him. At every moment, Allah's goodness, grace, karāma (a saintly wonder), ʿaẓama (majesty), and mercy revolve around his secret (heart). Not even the blink of an eye interrupts Allah's grace upon him. He is a ʿārif for Allah. His nafs is with Allah. He is not a ʿārif by denying the evil akhlāq (character) and faults of his nafs. There is ḥikma (wisdom) in his words and actions. All of these are given to him only from the ocean of God's virtue and grace. (Bayān, 86)
When Abū Turāb al-Nakhshabī was asked about the attribute of the ʿārif, he said: "He is such a person that nothing disturbs him, and everything is purified by him." (Lumaʿ, 56)
When Shiblī (and Ḥasan ʿAlī Yazdānyār in Taʿarruf) was asked, "When does the ʿārif become a locus of manifestation (maẓhar) of the Real?" he replied: "When the witness (the first manifestations of maʿrifa) appears, the external witnesses (images belonging to creation) vanish, sensations disappear, and perception is lost..." (Lumaʿ, 57; Taʿarruf, 104) When asked about the beginning and end of this state, he said: "Its beginning is His maʿrifa, its end is tawhid (the oneness of God)." He also said: "Among the signs of maʿrifa are: that a person sees himself in the grasp of divine might (ʿizzat), and the effects of divine qudra (power) are manifest upon him. The sign of maʿrifa is maḥabba (love), for whoever knows Him, necessarily loves Him." (Lumaʿ, 57)
Dhu’l-Nūn said: "The signs of the ʿārif are three: the light of his maʿrifa does not extinguish the light of his scrupulousness (warāʿ); he does not attach himself to an esoteric knowledge (ʿilm bāṭin) that contradicts the outward rulings; and the blessings and karāma (a saintly wonder) that Allah grants him do not lead him to tear the veils of what Allah has forbidden." (Lumaʿ, 61; ʿAwārif, 317)
The believer (muʾmin) sees with the light of Allah; the ʿārif sees with Allah. The believer has a qalb (heart); the ʿārif has no qalb. The believer's qalb is content with dhikr; the ʿārif's qalb is not content with anything other than Allah. (Lumaʿ, 63)
The ʿārifūn (gnostics) are of three kinds: one kind are those who have no nafs; the second are those whom ecstasy (wajd) has led to a state in which the Real (al-Ḥaqq) completely governs them; the third are those whose habits and customs have vanished. By the grace of the Real, for them, speaking, silence, and all else are equal. If they are silent, it is for Allah; if they speak, it is from Allah. (Lumaʿ, 420)
When Dhu’l-Nūn was asked, "What is the first degree to which the ʿārif rises?" he said: "First, bewilderment (taḥayyur), then neediness (iftiqār) to Allah, then union (ittiṣāl), then again bewilderment. The first bewilderment is related to the servant's actions being realized through Allah and the blessings Allah bestows upon the servant. In this state, the servant does not consider his own shukr (gratitude) to be equal to Allah's blessing. Yet he knows that he must respond to these blessings with shukr. If the servant gives thanks to his Lord, that too is a blessing (from Allah), and thus one must give thanks for the shukr as well. The servant does not deem his own actions, which he sees as insignificant, worthy of being a recompense for the blessing. However, he also sees shukr as a duty that cannot be neglected." (Taʿarruf, 105)
Fāris says: "The knowledge of the ʿārif is ḥāl (spiritual state); his actions are ghalaba (overcoming, i.e., there is no separation between his knowledge and his action, and his actions are not volitional but necessary)." When Junayd was asked who the ʿārif is, he replied: "The color of water is the color of its container." By this he meant: the ʿārif is always in the best state and action appropriate to his situation. Therefore, his state is constantly changing. For this reason, it is said: he is ibn al-waqt (the son of the moment, i.e., he does what the moment requires).
When Dhu’l-Nūn was asked, "Who is the ʿārif?" he said: "He was here, now he is gone." That is, you cannot see the ʿārif in the same state in two moments, for he is directed and governed by another. (Taʿarruf, 106)
The ʿārif is one who spends all his effort for Allah, whose maʿrifa is realized in him as a grace from Allah, and for whom it is appropriate to turn to Allah by abandoning everything else. (Taʿarruf, 106)
In the lives of the ʿārifūn (gnostics) in this world (dunyā), there are special maqām (spiritual stations) and degrees unique to them, different from others. It is as if they are within coverings in their bodies. They...