and taʿrīf (recognition, introduction) are attributes belonging to the abrār (the pious). (Küt, I, 241)
Maḥabba (love) is an intermediary between the shaykh and the murīd (aspirant, disciple). Maḥabba, according to its strength, permeates the spiritual states (aḥwāl). For maḥabba (love) leads to acquaintance, acquaintance leads to affinity (being of the same kind), and affinity causes the murīd to be drawn to all or some of the shaykh's spiritual states. (ʿAwārif, 241)
(See also: maḥabba)
tafākhur I asked: What is tafākhur (boasting with pride)? He said: Tafākhur, in most of its meanings, is the same as mubāhāt (boasting in permitted matters). However, due to certain reasons, there are differences between them. For example, there can be tafākhur with knowledge. Tafākhur with knowledge leads a person to arrogance. Thus, he asks his interlocutor: From how many people have you heard? Have you been able to perform good deeds? What is your opinion on this matter?
He also tells this to others. Even if he has never heard anything from that person, he says, "So-and-so is not a good scholar." Yet, he himself has not heard the knowledge that the other has, and moreover, he is not even at that person's level.
Similarly, he boasts with the world (dunyā). For example, he says: "You are very poor, you have no wealth or property. How much do you earn? How much property do you have? When did you acquire it? Even my slaves are richer than you!"
Likewise, he boasts with his deeds. For example, he says: "In battle, you did not act as befits a horseman! You did not fight repeatedly! You acted cowardly! You did not fight well!"
He behaves similarly in debates and discussions, saying: "How many hadiths do you have memorized? Which shaykhs have you met? How many scholars have you encountered? Look, so-and-so did not consider you superior, but he considered me superior to you." He says this boasting (iftikhār) even in the absence of the person. Ostentation (riyāʾ) leads him to arrogance and insolence.
Takāthur (boasting in abundance) also merges with tafākhur, and in some respects even surpasses it. (Riʿāya, 130)
tafakkur and tadhakkur 1037 tafakkur and tadhakkur (in Shi'i usage) (tafakkur concerning the hereafter—tafakkur concerning the world)
Tafakkur (contemplation) is soundness in perception. (Lumaʿ, 302)
The difference between fikr (thought) and tafakkur is as follows: Tafakkur is the roaming of the qalb (the heart) from one place to another, whereas fikr is the qalb's focus on a particular knowledge (ʿirfān). (Lumaʿ, 303)
Everything pleasant or unpleasant that you encounter is either something present now, something that occurred in the past, or something that will occur or is expected in the future. If something that existed in the past comes to mind, this is called dhikr (remembrance) and tadhakkur. (Iḥyāʾ, IV, 174)
Tadhakkur is the presence of two kinds of knowledge (ʿirfān) in the qalb at the same time. The second is tafakkur, which is the seeking of the desired knowledge among the two in the qalb. The third is the attainment of these two desired knowledges and the qalb's illumination thereby. The fourth is the transformation of the qalb due to what arises from the acquisition of the light of maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God). The fifth is the service of the body (actions) to the qalb in proportion to the new spiritual states (ḥāl) that arise. (Iḥyāʾ, 165-166)
Divine learning (rabbānī taʿallum) is of two kinds: The first comes from outside (not from the person himself). This is acquiring knowledge through learning. The other comes from within, which is being engaged in tafakkur. Inner tafakkur, in terms of its position in learning, is external. Learning is when a person benefits from another person, while tafakkur is when a person benefits from the Universal Soul (Kullī Nafs). The Universal Soul is more influential and stronger in teaching than all the people of the world and intellect. Sciences are gathered in potential (bilquwwa) in the foundations of souls, like seeds under the earth. The essence is at the bottom of the sea or at the center of the mine. Taʿallum (learning) is the desire to bring this thing from potentiality to actuality. Taʿlīm (teaching) is to bring it into actuality itself. The soul of the learner (mutaʿallim) resembles the soul of the teacher (muʿallim), and its relation to the teacher is by means of proximity. In other words, the scholar, by benefiting others from his knowledge, is like a farmer, and the learner, by benefiting from knowledge, is like the earth. Potential knowledge is like a seed, actual knowledge is like a plant. When the soul of the learner reaches perfection (kamāl), it becomes like a fruit-bearing tree or like a jewel extracted from the depths of the sea.
When bodily forces dominate the soul, the learner needs more learning for a longer period. He seeks benefit by enduring hardship and fatigue. When the light of intellect prevails over sensory attributes, he gives up excessive learning and is content with a small amount of tafakkur. The soul of a person who accepts (spiritual) tafakkur attains in one hour of tafakkur what the soul of a person who struggles to accept (spiritual) tafakkur cannot attain in a year of learning. (Risāla, 19)
Tafakkur concerning the world (tafakkur fī al-dunyā) is a punishment and a veil. Tafakkur...