Mufāḍala (competition in superiority) is of various kinds in knowledge: competition in superiority in knowledge, and competition in superiority in action. Superiority in knowledge sometimes occurs through the superiority of the things that are the subject of knowledge; sometimes it occurs by attaining the known. One person receives his knowledge from Allah, while another receives it from other beings. Those who receive their knowledge from Allah compete in virtue. They receive their knowledge from Him for various reasons. For example, those who are muttaqī (God-conscious) due to their taqwa (God-consciousness). Some receive it without any reason at all. Supplicating (dua) for an increase in knowledge is among these reasons.
In the known (mālūm), mufāḍala is knowledge directed towards (divine) acts by one, towards (divine) names by another, and towards the Essence (Dhāt) by yet another. The scholars have explained the difference between these types of knowledge.
All of these are divine knowledge (ʿilm-i ilāhī). Similarly, competition in virtue in actions sometimes occurs by the actions themselves, sometimes by their times, sometimes by their places, and sometimes by their spiritual states (ḥāl). Everything is determined according to the virtue realized in it. Accordingly, if it is of the type like spending (infāq) or intellect (ʿaql) which resembles infāq, there are virtues determined by measure and weight. When Allah apportioned intellect among people by measure, for example, He allotted one person one qāfiẓ, and another two qāfiẓ. In some cases, the determination is by rank and degree. What concerns you regarding virtues are numbers and the things that constitute numbers. Accordingly, the number is according to the will of the one who determines and informs of it. (Futūḥāt, III, 99)
In these and similar mentions, mufāḍala is of two kinds: in one, the fāḍil (the one who is superior) and