Shiblī said: Tongues are divided into three: The first is the tongue of knowledge, the second is the tongue of ḥaqīqa (inner reality), and the third is the tongue of the Real (God). The tongue of knowledge is the tongue that comes to us through intermediaries. The tongue of ḥaqīqa is the tongue by which Allah Most High brings one to secrets without intermediaries. As for the tongue of the Real, there is no way to reach it. (Lumaʿ, 287)
The meaning of lisān (tongue) is to explain the knowledge of realities. (Lumaʿ, 430)
The tongue is the envoy of the qalb (the heart) to the human being
Pearls that the All-Merciful has placed in the qalb
Sometimes it is clothed in the garment of truthfulness
sometimes in the danger of doubt
Both possess a knowledge crowned with fire
The ḥikma (wisdoms) within it cannot be comprehended