Vulūm al-khawāṭir; ʿulūm al-mukāshafāt; ʿulūm al-mushāhadāt
ʿIlm al-ibāra (the science of explicit expression) is the articulation of something by means of language. ʿIlm al-ishāra (the science of allusion), on the other hand, is to indicate with the qalb (the heart) towards Allah’s lordship, oneness, majesty, grandeur, power, and all His attributes and acts. (Bayān, 58)
The sciences of khawāṭir (inward inspirations), the sciences of mushāhada (spiritual witnessing) and mukāshafa (unveiling); especially what is called the science of ishāra—
this is precisely that. This is the knowledge particular to Sufis who have learned all the aforementioned sciences. Since it is impossible to express the witnessing of the qalb and the unveiling of the ruh (the spirit) in their true sense by words, this knowledge is called the science of ishāra. These matters are known through the states of union (wuṣla) and spiritual orientation (wajh). No one can know what this is except those who experience Sufi ḥāl (spiritual states) and attain the maqām (spiritual stations) belonging to this knowledge. (Taʿarruf, 59)
ʿIlm al-ishāra is a knowledge particular to Sufis. Since it is impossible to express the witnessing of the qalb and the unveiling of the ruh in their true sense by words, this knowledge is called ʿilm al-ishāra, as opposed to ʿilm al-kalām (the science of scholastic theology).
These matters are known through the states of union and spiritual orientation. No one can know what this is except those who experience Sufi ḥāl and attain the maqām belonging to this knowledge... One of the great Sufi poets, in a poem also cited in Kalābādhī’s Taʿarruf, says:
When those attached to the form of words
ask us something
our answer to them is only an allusion
We allude to the meaning with symbols
making its comprehension more difficult
words fall short of conveying the meaning
Yet we see with joy
the meaning within that allusion
The Beloved reveals Himself to us
In every part, a trace of Him
Words are captive in the hands of states
like those left in loss
in the hands of the gnostics