Nafas (breath) is to gladden hearts with the subtle influences (latāʾif) that come from the unseen (ghayb). Those who are possessors of nafas are more refined and pure than those who possess ḥāl (spiritual state). The one who possesses waqt (moment) is the beginner, while the possessor of nafas is at the final degree. The possessor of ḥāl is in between the two. For this reason, ḥāls are intermediaries, while nafas is the culmination of ascension. Moments are for those who possess the qalb (the heart), ḥāls are for those who possess the ruh (the spirit), and nafas is for those who possess the sirr (the innermost secret). They have said: The most virtuous of acts of worship is to count the breaths spent with Allah. They have also said: Allah created the hearts and made them the source of maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God). Beyond that, He created the secrets (asrār) and made them the source of tawhid (the oneness of God). Every nafas that does not indicate maʿrifa and does not point to ishāra (allusion) to tawhid is a dead thing spread upon the bed of distress. Its possessor is responsible for it.
I heard that Abū ʿAlī al-Daqqāq said: The nafas is not entrusted to the ʿārif (gnostic). For he does not tolerate its flow. But for the muḥibb (lover), nafas is a condition. For if he has no nafas, he will have no strength and will perish. (Qushayrī, 46)
It has been said that nafas is specific to the muntaḥī (one who has reached the end), waqt is for the mubtadī (beginner), and ḥāl is for the mutawassiṭ (intermediate). What is indicated by this is that sometimes an inspiration from Allah comes to the beginner. The intermediate is one over whom the ḥāl has mastery, so he is the possessor of ḥāl. The one who has reached the end is the possessor of nafas, because the ḥāl has become firmly established in him. The states of presence (ḥuḍūr) and absence (ghayba) are not transient. The states of ecstasy (wajd) have found stability together with their nafas. All of these are states belonging to their people.
Nafas is the relaxation of the heart through the subtleties of the unseen. (Know that (Jāmiʿ)) this is for the one who wishes to find intimacy with the Beloved. (Kāshānī, 94; Jāmiʿ, 101)
Nafas is relaxation. Its first subtlety is the nafas in the state of istitār (concealment). This is filled with swallowing anger and is connected to knowledge. The second is the nafas in the state of manifestation (tajallī). Joy (surūr) passes from the state of ḥāl to the state of direct witnessing (muʿāyana). It is filled with the light of existence (wujūd). It awaits the cessation of allusion (ishāra). The third is the nafas purified by sanctity (qudsiyya). It subsists by the sign of pre-eternity (azal). It is the shell of light. (Rawḍa, 492)
Every being, every existent other than Allah, has a nafas that is identical to Him. Then that (nafas) ceases to exist and its like comes into being. Its existence is just like its breathing in and out. Allah Most High, by His nafas, has breathed out the realities of possible existents. You accept it as the sleep of non-existence. His nafas is identical to the contingent existents. Allah Most High manifests at every moment, and the possible existents also come into being at every moment.
You should know that everyone who enters upon the path to Allah, whether by dhikr (remembrance) or by thought (fikr), is annihilated at every moment and in return, his like comes into being. For this reason, at every moment there is a new path for that sālik (traveler). For it is not possible for two persons to agree in every respect. If they were to agree, they could not be distinguished from one another. Since the existence of different persons is necessary, their capacities are also different. If capacities are different, then manifestations (tajalliyāt) are also different. If the manifestation is different, then the path leading to it is also different. (Asfār, 183)