In its discussion, it is defined as the secret remaining in ḥayra (bewilderment). In this ḥāl (spiritual state), muḥāḍara (presence before the Real) occurs in the witnessing of verses (definitive proofs), while mukāshafa (unveiling) occurs in the witnessing of spiritual perceptions.
The sign of muḥāḍara is to remain in constant contemplation when the verses are witnessed; the sign of mukāshafa is the persistence of bewilderment when the essence of ʿaẓama (divine majesty) is attained. Here, there is a great difference between those who contemplate the (divine) acts and those who are bewildered by the (divine) majesty. One of these follows the path of friendship, while the other is close to maḥabba (divine love). (Hujwīrī, 453)
(Of the spiritual states) ... mushāhada (witnessing) is to distinguish between seeing with certainty and seeing with the eye. For the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Worship Allah as if you see Him; for if you do not see Him, He surely sees you." This is the final stage of the spiritual states. After this, there occur the openings (fawātiḥ), flashes (lawāʾiḥ), and gifts (manāʾil), which no words can describe. "If you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them" (Ibrāhīm 14:34). (Ādāb, 21)
One of the Sufis said: Respond to Allah with your secrets (hearts), and to His Messenger with your outward selves (bodies). The life of the nafs (lower self) is in following the Messenger of God (peace be upon him); the life of the qalb (heart) is in witnessing faults. This is achieved by seeing one's own faults and feeling shame before Allah. (ʿAwārif, 19)
Muḥāḍara, mukāshafa and mushāhada... Muḥāḍara is for the people of talwīn (spiritual fluctuation), mushāhada is for the people of tamkīn (spiritual stability), and mukāshafa is for those who are between these two until the ḥāl becomes established and remains as a maqām (spiritual station). Accordingly, muḥāḍara belongs to the people of knowledge, mukāshafa to the people of vision, and mushāhada to the people of the ayn al-Ḥaqq (the very Reality), that is, those who possess ḥaqq al-yaqīn (the certainty of truth).
Mushāhada is a particular quality at the degree of yaqīn (certainty), which is ʿayn al-yaqīn (certainty of sight). At the degree of ʿayn al-yaqīn, there is another particular quality, which is ḥaqq al-yaqīn (certainty of reality). In this muḥāḍara-mukāshafa-mushāhada order, the degree of ḥaqq al-yaqīn is a state above mushāhada. The realization of ḥaqq al-yaqīn takes place in the hereafter, but those who are worthy of it in the hereafter may taste a little of it in this world. Ḥaqq al-yaqīn is the highest of the ways of knowing Allah, for it is knowledge attained through direct experience.
The maqām (station) of muḥāsaba (self-accounting) is only stabilized by the coming of the murāqaba (spiritual vigilance) state. When the servant is given the possibility of rising to the state of mushāhada, his murāqaba becomes stabilized and his station becomes a state. Mushāhada is a state that sometimes remains hidden and sometimes becomes manifest. Then it becomes a station, and the light of this station is freed from the veil of concealment (its becoming a station removes its hiddenness).
After mushāhada comes the realization of fanāʾ fī’Llāh (annihilation in God), the attainment of baqāʾ bi’Llāh (subsistence in God), and the ascent from ʿayn al-yaqīn to ḥaqq al-yaqīn. Thus, in the servant arises the state of ḥaqq al-yaqīn, which pierces the veil covering the heart. This is the highest degree of mushāhada.
Muḥāḍara is the tranquility of the heart (in the Real) through the repeated confirmation of the proof. According to us, the muḥāḍara of (divine) secrets is with the realities upon which they are based. (Iṣṭilāḥ, 534)
Mukāshafa is sometimes used for the realization of understanding the trust, sometimes for the realization of the increase of the state, and sometimes as a counterpart to ishāra (allusion)... (Iṣṭilāḥ, 535; Futūḥāt, II, 486)
Mushāhada is the name given to seeing things through the proofs of tawḥid (the oneness of God). It is also used for seeing the Real (God) in things (the world). It is the name given to being at the level of ḥaqq al-yaqīn, where no doubt remains. (Iṣṭilāḥ, 535)
According to this group (the Sufis), mushāhada is seeing things through the proofs of tawḥid and seeing the Real in things. Its ḥaqīqa (inner reality) is to possess yaqīn (certainty) free from doubt... (Futūḥāt, II, 484; Asfār, 65)
Know that what mukāshafa is attached to are meanings, while what mushāhada is attached to are essences. Mushāhada is for (divine) names, mukāshafa is for the rulings of (divine) names. According to us, mukāshafa is broader than mushāhada. However, if mushāhada of the Essence of the Real occurs, then mushāhada is more perfect, broader, and more comprehensive. For this reason, we say that mukāshafa is more perfect, because it is subtler. Mukāshafa is the subtle becoming dense. Abū Ḥāmid (al-Ghazālī), Ibn Furak, and Munḏir, among a great group of the people of God, have expressed views in agreement with ours.
Another group has said the opposite. According to us, mukāshafa is more comprehensive (complementary), because there is no state that it witnesses without having attained it through kashf (unveiling). There are also states beyond those attained by the possessor of mushāhada. The only way to reach this is through kashf. (Futūḥāt, II, 486)
Mukāshafa of knowledge is to realize the trust through understanding. It is to know from the Mashhūd (the One witnessed, i.e., God) Who manifests to you what is not in you, so that you may become aware of it. Mushāhada is the path to knowledge and kashf. This path is the occurrence of knowledge in the nafs. When He addresses you in this way, He makes you hear His address. This is the mushāhada of samʿ (hearing). Mushāhada does not occur through the faculties of sensation, but through something else. Kashf occurs through spiritual faculties. He makes you hear only so that you may understand Him. When He enables you to understand any of the sensory forms of manifestation, this understanding is a trust from Him to you, and you are worthy of this trust. Therefore, you should only entrust this trust to one who is worthy of it.
Mukāshafa of state is the increase of the state. This is to witness the Essence according to whatever state it is upon. From this state, due to this state, one becomes aware of the direction in which the state can be interpreted (taʾwīl). This is called ziyādat al-ḥāl (increase of state) and mukāshafa bi’l-ḥāl. (Futūḥāt, II, 486)
Mukāshafa bi’l-wajd is the realization of the allusion. By this I do not mean the call (nidāʾ) above the servant’s head, but the allusion of the assembly. For even the voice cannot reach its distance. There are two kinds of such assemblies with God: In the first, only seclusion with Allah Most High occurs. In this kind of mukāshafa, no allusion occurs. This is when you become a friend with Him as He is with Himself, and it is a mukāshafa according to His own knowledge.
The second is the mukāshafa in which companionship in the assembly occurs. When Allah manifests to the servant in a certain form, He allows for the presence of a group, large or small, in this companionship. This may include an additional person who is a friend. In such an assembly, allusion occurs. However, the additional person in the assembly cannot be on the same level as the other. If each of those present in the assembly were aware of the other’s state with Allah, he would not be able to bear it, accept it, and would turn to denial. (Futūḥāt, II, 487)
Muḥāḍara is the attribute of those who are people of consideration and who are commanded by the sharia (the sacred law). For those to whom the proof is shown (i.e., those given scriptural knowledge about Allah), whenever they look at a proof, Allah immediately shows them another proof. They then ...