It is to feel constant remorse due to being tainted by things forbidden by Allah. (Ādābī, 59)
(I asked:) What is ḥusn-i maʿrifa (the beauty of maʿrifa)? He said: It is for the qalb (the heart) to be in need of Allah, to draw near to Him and to the abode of the Hereafter, such that it is as if one sees them with one's own eyes. In this state, one imagines that the past sins that remain between oneself and Allah are set before one's eyes. One also contemplates the countless blessings Allah has bestowed, and inwardly acknowledges that one is unable to show shukr (gratitude) for those blessings. One brings to mind Allah's majesty, His exaltation, His power, His punishment, the terrors of the Day of Qiyāma (Resurrection), and, before that, the barzakh (the grave) and death. (Ādābī, 148)
Maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God) is above all things and is the foundation of all things. Then comes irāda (will). It too is of the kind of maʿrifa. Irāda is to realize the abandonment (the ability to leave something) and the action (the ability to do something). Taking, giving, loving, not loving—all of these are included in actions. Irāda is the decision mechanism for the benefit of the actions of those who possess actions. (Ādābī, 154)
Abū Yazīd Bisṭāmī said: In the beginning, I erred in four things: I thought that it was I who performed dhikr (remembrance of God), knew, loved, and willed Him. When I reached the end of the path, I saw that His dhikr preceded my dhikr, His maʿrifa preceded my maʿrifa, His maḥabba (love) preceded my maḥabba, and His will preceded my will.
The people of maʿrifa (ahl al-maʿrifa) are upon three maqāms (spiritual stations): The first are those who seek Allah because they are heedless of Him; the second are those who flee from Allah because they are incapable before Him; the third are those who neither seek nor flee, but remain as they are.
Abū Yazīd Bisṭāmī was asked, "By what means did you attain maʿrifa?" He replied, "With a bare nafs (the lower self) and a hungry belly deprived of all food."
I heard Abū Yazīd Bisṭāmī say: There is the maʿrifa of the common people (maʿrifat al-ʿawām), the maʿrifa of the elect (maʿrifat al-khawāṣṣ), and the maʿrifa of the elect of the elect (maʿrifat khawāṣṣ al-khawāṣṣ): Maʿrifat al-ʿawām is the recognition of ʿubūdiyya (servitude), rubūbiyya (lordship), ṭāʿa (obedience), maʿṣiyya (disobedience and recognition of sins), and the recognition of the enemy and the nafs (recognition of Satan and the lower self). Maʿrifat al-khawāṣṣ is the recognition of ijlāl (divine majesty and grandeur), ihsan (spiritual excellence) and divine favors, and tawfīq (divine assistance). Maʿrifat khawāṣṣ al-khawāṣṣ is the recognition of uns (intimacy with Allah) and munājāt (intimate supplication), the recognition of divine grace and favor, and finally, the recognition of the qalb (the heart) and the sirr (the innermost secret).
Tawhid (the oneness of God) is a secret, and maʿrifa is birr (goodness). Iman (faith) is to guard the secret and to witness the birr. Islam is to show shukr (gratitude) for the birr and to surrender the qalb to the secret. For tawhid is a secret, and the servant can only attain that secret through Allah's hudā (guidance) and by Allah showing him the proof. Without Allah's support and hudā, one cannot comprehend it with one's own intellect. Maʿrifa is a grace and ihsan from Allah. For, without the servant deserving it, Allah opens the door of blessing and ihsan for him, and bestows hudā upon him. The servant believes that all of this is from Allah. He is given blessings and is also granted the ability to show shukr for those blessings. Without Allah's tawfīq, the servant cannot show shukr to Him. This too is a new blessing and ihsan from Allah to the servant. Thus, the servant sees Allah's grace and guards the secret, for only He enables him to succeed in this. For the servant cannot comprehend the nature of His rubūbiyya. Thus, he understands His oneness and avoids tashbīh (likening Him to other beings), taʿṭīl (denying His attributes), takyīf (speculating about His modality), and tajnīf (falling into deviant ideas and thus becoming distant from Him). This iman is what witnesses the birr and guards the secret. (Bayān, 39)
Islam is a name that encompasses both the fundamentals and the branches of the religion. Surely Allah completed this religion, with its branches and rulings, over more than twenty years. However, some rulings were abrogated and replaced with new ones. But iman, maʿrifa, and tawhid—abrogation is not permissible in these, nor can they be replaced by anything else. (Bayān, 61)
Abū Saʿīd Ḥarrāz was asked, "What is maʿrifa?" He said: Maʿrifa comes from two directions: one is a direct gift from Allah, the other is attained through a person's own effort. (Lumaʿ, 56)
Maʿrifa is of two kinds: maʿrifat al-Ḥaqq (knowledge of the Real) and maʿrifat al-ḥaqīqa (knowledge of the inner reality). Maʿrifat al-Ḥaqq is to know His oneness as He manifests it to His creation through His names and attributes. Maʿrifat al-ḥaqīqa is to believe that it is impossible to realize the attributes of samadiyya (absolute self-sufficiency) and rubūbiyya, and thus that it is impossible to truly know Him. For Allah says, "No knowledge can encompass Him" (Qur'an, al-Ṭā-Hā 20:110).
Abū Naṣr said: To say that it is impossible means that it is impossible to know His reality. For Allah has shown His creation the names and attributes that they are able to comprehend. For if the universe were to behold Him, it would be annihilated such that not a single atom would remain. Who has the power to recognize this attribute of majesty, whose result is such? Thus, someone has said: None but He can truly know Him, and none but He can truly love Him. (Lumaʿ, 56)
When Shiblī (Ḥasan ʿAlī Yazdānyār, in Taʿarruf) was asked, "When does the ʿārif (gnostic) become the locus of manifestation of the Real?" he replied: When the shāhid (first manifestations of maʿrifa) appear, the shawāhid (images belonging to creation) are annihilated, sensations depart, and perception vanishes... (Lumaʿ, 57; Taʿarruf, 104). When asked, "What is the beginning and end of this state?" he said: Its beginning is His maʿrifa, its end is tawhid. He also said: Among the signs of maʿrifa is that a person sees himself in the grasp of (divine) might.