It is to dispense with transmitted knowledge by the path of ʿiyān (direct seeing), and for witnessing (mushāhada) to tear apart the veil of knowledge. Its third degree is ḥaqq al-yaqīn, which is the dawn of unveiling (kashf), then liberation from the burden of certainty (to become a possessor of yaqīn with ease, without hardship), and finally, to become annihilated (fanāʾ) in ḥaqq al-yaqīn. (Manāzil, 25)
They asked, "What is the key to intention?" I replied, "It is yaqīn (certainty)." To those who asked what the key to yaqīn is, I said, "It is tawakkul (reliance upon God)..." (Gunya, II, 125)
(Of the spiritual states) yaqīn is to affirm by removing doubt... (Adab, 21)
Mushāhada (witnessing) is a special quality at the degree of yaqīn, which is ʿayn al-yaqīn. At the degree of ʿayn al-yaqīn there is also a special quality, which is ḥaqq al-yaqīn. In this case, the degree of ḥaqq al-yaqīn is above witnessing. The realization of ḥaqq al-yaqīn takes place in the Hereafter, but those who will be 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 a knowledge of direct experience (wujdānī).
Yaqīn is the highest knowledge, for it calls to action. That which calls to action also calls to ʿubūdiyya (servitude). That which calls to ʿubūdiyya also calls to fulfilling the right of rubūbiyya (Lordship). One who truly tastes yaqīn...
The inspiration (khāṭir) of yaqīn is the spirit of iman (faith) and the increase of knowledge. It is not far-fetched to say that it is an inspiration acquired as a result of yaqīn in a person, which ultimately returns to an inspiration from the Real (al-Ḥaqq).
The inspiration of the intellect sometimes comes from an angel, sometimes from the nafs (lower self). The intellect has no inspiration peculiar and independent to itself; it arises either from the influence of the nafs or the angel. As mentioned above, the intellect is a natural faculty by which sciences are comprehended. Sometimes it inclines toward calls cast by the nafs, sometimes by the angel. Sometimes it responds to the calls of the angel, sometimes to those of the shayṭān (devil).
Yaqīn has the divisions of name (ism), form (rasm), mark (wasm), knowledge (ʿilm), eye (ʿayn), and reality (ḥaqq). Ism and rasm belong to the common people; ʿilm al-yaqīn to the awliyāʾ (friends of God); ʿayn al-yaqīn to the elite among the awliyāʾ; and ḥaqq al-yaqīn is exclusive to the prophets.
The reality of ḥaqq al-yaqīn is reserved for our Prophet Muḥammad... (ʿAwārif, 310; Jāmiʿ, 219)
Yaqīn is Allah's word to the Prophet: "And worship your Lord until yaqīn comes to you." (al-Ḥijr 15:99) Its ruling is that the nafs attains tranquility upon reaching yaqīn, or moves toward attaining yaqīn. In either case, it is what a person possesses with basīra (insight). If the ruling of the desired thing is what occurs in the nafs, this is yaqīn. The possessor of yaqīn, whether he attains it at that moment or not, is like in the verse: "The command of Allah has come." (al-Naḥl 16:1) (Futūḥāt, II, 201)
One who finds uprightness and stability in the presence of Allah (ʿinda’Llāh), in Allah (fi’Llāh), with Allah (bi’Llāh), or together with Allah (maʿa’Llāh), must have a sign that can be ascribed to yaqīn, for this sign is unique to him and pertains only to him. This is ʿilm al-yaqīn. The witnessing (mushāhada) of this sign, its connection with yaqīn, and its being made specific to that person is ʿayn al-yaqīn. Wisdom (ḥikma) must be obligatory in this eye and this knowledge. Knowledge only acts upon that which it is obliged to act upon; the eye only investigates what must be investigated. This is ḥaqq al-yaqīn, which is obligatory for both knowledge and the eye. Yaqīn is whatever is stable and established; there is no wavering in any matter pertaining to the Real or to creation. Knowledge, eye, and reality (ḥaqq) all exist with respect to yaqīn. The obligation of wisdom is nothing other than the Divine Essence. Knowing the Divine Essence as yaqīn is outside of ḥaqq al-yaqīn. In this matter, what is required of us is silence and not delving into the issue, for we do not know the Divine Essence. Then comes a knowledge ascribed to yaqīn but not witnessed; the eye cannot be ascribed to yaqīn. It has a sovereignty over the world, but one must completely refrain from delving into those matters. (Futūḥāt, II, 560)
Knowledge has two wings; doubt has one wing. Suspicion is deficient; falling into suspicion is an endless flight. (Mathnawī, III, 134)
A bird with one wing quickly falls headlong. Even if it tries to gather itself and fly, it can only take two or three steps at most.
The bird of suspicion flies with one wing, hoping to reach the nest by stumbling along.
If it escapes suspicion and the knowledge of yaqīn shows its face, that one-winged bird becomes two-winged.
After that, it walks on the straight path; it neither falls on its face nor flies crookedly. (Note: This alludes to the verse: "Then is one who walks fallen on his face better guided or one who walks erect on a straight path?" (al-Mulk 67:22) Those who crawl on their faces are those who do not approach Islam or have turned away from it. Those who are rightly guided are the sincere Muslims. (Şefik Can)
Like Gabriel, he opens both wings without doubt, trickery, or gossip, and flies.
If all the people of the world say to him, "You are on the path of Allah, you are on the true religion,"
He does not rejoice or boast because of their words. His noble soul, his unique soul, cannot befriend those who utter such words.
If everyone says to him, "You are astray, you think you are a mountain but you are like a straw,"
Even if the seas and mountains were to speak and say to him, "You have become a companion of misguidance..." that person does not doubt because of the criticism of the critics, nor is he saddened by their hatred or enmity.
That person does not fall into fantasy (hayāl) in the slightest, nor is he disturbed or pained by the words of the critics. (Mathnawī, III, 135)
Yaqīn is something that comes with acceptance into the tariqa (Sufi path). Its first subtlety is exclusive to the elite. Its first degree is ʿilm al-yaqīn, the second is ʿayn al-yaqīn, and the third is ḥaqq al-yaqīn. This is the dawn of unveiling. Then comes liberation from the burden of the nafs, then the annihilation of the nafs. (Rawḍa, 486)
No action or books are of any benefit for ḥaqīqat al-yaqīn, for it is original. It is not included in benefit by any state or created thing. It is an affair above intellectual, perceptual, and experiential apprehensions. Allah grants it to whomever He wills among His people. Perhaps you could say: If, in the end, after the benefit of books, one must abandon them, then abandon them at the very beginning! Return to that which must be returned to! (Marātib, 10)
The stations of yaqīn are nine: tawba (repentance), zuhd (asceticism), sabr (patient endurance), shukr (gratitude), khawf (fear), riḍā (contentment with God's decree), rajāʾ (hope), tawakkul (reliance upon God), and maḥabba (love). It is not correct to consider any of these stations as being due to the cessation of planning or preference with Allah. (Tanwīr, 8)
It may be said: According to the views of this noble group (the Sufis), yaqīn is of three degrees: ʿilm al-yaqīn, ʿayn al-yaqīn, and ḥaqq al-yaqīn. They say that, just as knowing the existence of smoke leads by inference to certainty about the existence of fire, so ʿilm al-yaqīn is a journey from the effect to the Cause by istidlāl (inference); ʿayn al-yaqīn is to see the fire itself; and ḥaqq al-yaqīn is to realize the fire itself directly. In this state (ḥāl), if the heart loses vision (ruʾya), how can ʿayn al-yaqīn be realized, since vision is absolutely absent? How then can the consensus of the shaykhs be correct?
In response, I say: Most likely, what the questioner means by consensus is the consensus of the early shaykhs (mutaqaddimīn). The later shaykhs (mutaʾakhkhirīn) have ruled the opposite, permitting vision of the heart.
In my view, the aforementioned ruling is not established. All three degrees they have explained are included in ʿilm al-yaqīn, for one has not yet left the domain of inference and passed from knowledge to direct vision. The example of seeing the fire given for ʿayn al-yaqīn is, in reality, seeing the smoke that is presented as evidence for the existence of fire. Just as this is included in ʿilm al-yaqīn, so inferring the existence of smoke from the existence of fire is also included in ʿilm al-yaqīn. In this station, inferring the existence of fire by seeing the smoke is likewise so. This second yaqīn, due to the strength of the evidence, is more perfect than the first, for in the first, knowledge is the evidence, while here, the evidence is seen.
Similarly, in ḥaqq al-yaqīn, realization is not with the fire itself, but again with the smoke, and inference is again made from it. This yaqīn is more complete and perfect than the two types of yaqīn previously described, for it is inference from the thing itself (the smoke) to the existence of fire. This is the clear distinction between the macrocosm (āfāq) and the microcosm (anfus). Allah, Exalted is He, has said: "We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth." (al-Fuṣṣilat 41:53) (Maktūbāt, III, 140)
Taqwa (God-consciousness) is to abstain from the lawful out of fear of being kept away from Allah. The reality of yaqīn is to witness the unseen by the unveiling of hearts and to contemplate secrets by the address of thoughts. (Jāmiʿ, 54)
Yaqīn is of three kinds: ʿilm al-yaqīn is for the common people, ʿayn al-yaqīn for the elite, and ḥaqq al-yaqīn for the elite of the elite. (Jāmiʿ, 61)
In language, yaqīn is knowledge in which there is no doubt. In technical usage, it is to believe that a thing is in a certain state in such a way that the actual occurrence of the opposite is impossible. The first condition (to believe in something) is of the kind that also includes suspicion. The second (to believe that a thing is in a certain state) gives rise to suspicion. The third (to believe absolutely that a thing is in a certain state) is ignorance of...