Hatfe means something extremely swift, like lightning. It is in the fa'le pattern and signifies forcibly taking or seizing. Here, it refers to a subtle absence (ghayba) from the perceptible (maḥsūs, that which can be sensed) world. The witnessing of lights is a form of witnessing that comes from the influx (fayḍ) of lights that arrive to the nafs (the lower self) in succession, without speech. (Heyākil, 105)
Khāṭir/khawāṭir or khatra/khaṭarāt: fahwā li'l-qalb (that which comes to the heart); azın; ārıż; afhām-i khalā'iq; khāṭir al-ʿaql, khāṭir al-malak, khāṭir al-nafs, khāṭir al-rūḥ, khāṭir al-shayṭān, khāṭir al-yaqīn, khawāṭir, khawāṭir al-ḥaqq, khawāṭir al-nafs; mawārid; rīḥ-i khāṭir al-malakī; rīḥ-i khāṭir al-nafsānī; rīḥ-i khāṭir al-raḥmānī; rīḥ-i khāṭir al-shayṭānī; tadhkira.
(He said:) Khaṭarāt are impulses that come to the qalb (the heart) in the direction of good or evil. I asked: Where do khaṭarāt originate? From which direction do they come? Do they come from one direction or various directions? He said: Their origin is either from Allah or from the warning of shayṭān (Satan), or from the desire of the nafs or from the intellect. Khaṭarāt have three meanings: The first is that it can be a warning from al-Raḥmān (the Merciful). Many have narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him): 'Allah creates an admonisher in the qalb of the one for whom He wills good.' (Musnad, IV, 182; Daylamī, II, 429) In another narration: 'Allah places an admonisher in the nafs of His beloved servant, and something in his qalb that makes him accept what He commands and forbids.'... The second is a temptation from the nafs. Allah says: 'No, your nafs have enticed you to something.' (Yūsuf 12:83) The third is the embellishment, incitement, and whispering of shayṭān. Allah commanded His Prophet to seek refuge from the khaṭarāt of shayṭān. (Riʿāya, 44)
Khatra (thought, idea) leads to ikhlas (sincerity) by abandoning action; tafakkur (reflection) leads to withdrawal from people; self-admiration and delusion lead to reliance on deeds; envy leads to competition of the nafs; it invites the wrath of Allah. Thus, a person may wish for Muslims to suffer misfortune in matters of religion and the world, or to believe that what Allah has forbidden is lawful. (Riʿāya, 46)
The comprehension of creatures has no relation to ḥaqīqa (inner reality), nor does ḥaqīqa have any relation to creatures. Khawāṭir, on the other hand, are obstacles (ʿalāʾiq) that prevent one from the path of Truth. These obstacles do not lead to ḥaqīqa. If it is not easy to comprehend the knowledge of ḥaqīqa, how will you comprehend the reality of ḥaqīqa itself? The right of the Real (ḥaqq) is beyond ḥaqīqa. Ḥaqīqa is something entirely distinct from the Real. (Tawāsīn, 194)
Khāṭir (an idea that comes to a person) is the stirring of the inner secret (sirr, the inner world) without any apparent beginning. When a khāṭir comes to the qalb, it does not remain fixed; it departs and another similar khāṭir arrives. Wāqiʿ, on the other hand, is something that remains fixed; it does not become manifest by the arrival of another wāqiʿ. (Lumaʿ, 418)
Ārıż is that which comes to the qalb and heart from shayṭān, nafs, and desire (hawā). That is, everything that comes from nafs, shayṭān, and hawā is ārıż. For Allah has not permitted these enemies to enter the hearts of the awliyāʾ (friends of God) except by the way of ārıż, apart from states such as khāṭir, qadiḥ, bādi, and wārid. (Lumaʿ, 419)
There are four types of khāṭir: that which comes from Allah, from the angel, from the nafs, and from shayṭān. The khāṭir from Allah is for admonition; from the angel, for encouragement towards obedience; from the nafs, for seeking lust (shahwa); from shayṭān, for embellishing disobedience (maʿṣiyya). The khāṭir from Allah is accepted by the light of tawhid (the oneness of God); from the angel, by the light of maʿrifa (gnosis); from the nafs, it is repelled by the light of iman (faith); from shayṭān, it is rejected by the light of Islam. (Taʿarruf, 62)
Khawāṭir (types): That which comes to the qalb—if it is towards good, it is called ilhām (inspiration); if towards evil, waswās (whispering); if of the type of fear, ihsās (perception); if towards determining and contemplating good, niyya (intention); if concerning permissible matters, tadbīr (planning) and tamaʿ (greed); if of the type of remembering the hereafter, paradise, and hell, tadhakkur (remembrance) and tafakkur (reflection); if it is determining the unseen with the eye of certainty, mushāhada (witnessing); if from the nafs, hamam; if from habit or carnal desires, lemem; all of these are called khawāṭir. For these are either khāṭir of the nafs, or khāṭir of the enemy (shayṭān) due to envy, or a hems from the angel. (Kūt, I, 126)
Khawāṭir are addresses that come to the qalb. Sometimes the angel, sometimes shayṭān, and sometimes the nafs leaves khawāṭir in the qalb. Sometimes they come from Allah the Exalted. The khawāṭir from the angel are called ilhām, those from the nafs are called hawājis, and those from shayṭān are called waswās. If the khawāṭir are left in the qalb by Allah, they are called khāṭir al-Ḥaqq. (Qushayrī, 46-47)
Khaṭarāt, on the path of tariqa (a Sufi path/order), are things that come to the qalb in relation to spiritual states (ḥāl). (Hujwīrī, 466)
The Sufis mean by khāṭir the occurrence in the qalb of a meaning that swiftly disappears with the arrival of another khāṭir, and that the possessor of the khāṭir has the power to repel it from the qalb. (Hujwīrī, 469)
Khawāṭir are things that arise in the qalb from dhikr (remembrance of God) and thought. By this, I mean the knowledge that comes to the qalb through renewal and remembrance. They are called khawāṭir because they come to the qalb when it is unaware of them. It is these khawāṭir that set the will in motion. Surely, intention, resolve, and will only occur after something is remembered. The beginning of actions is khāṭir. Khāṭir sets desire in motion, desire sets resolve in motion, resolve sets intention in motion, intention sets the limbs in motion, and the action is produced. The khāṭir that sets desire in motion is of two types: one moves towards evil that will bring harm in the future, the other towards good that will benefit in the hereafter. Since these are two different khāṭir, they are given different names. Thus, the khāṭir that calls to good is called ilhām, and the one that calls to evil is called waswasa (whispering). Know that these khāṭir are contingent, and every contingent thing must have a cause. (Iḥyāʾ, III, 32-33)
Before action with the limbs, there are four states (aḥwāl) of the qalb: khāṭir, which is the speech of the nafs; then inclination (mayl); then intention (niyya); and finally himma (spiritual resolve). (Iḥyāʾ, III, 51)
The khāṭir that comes from Allah is a beginning. Sometimes, as a gift, it is good; sometimes, it is something that requires evidence; sometimes, it is a glad tiding for a test (imtihān), or a reproach for a trial. Ilhām...