Veiled, he has abandoned the desire for salvation in the hereafter and has not been able to escape eternal torment after death for the sake of a trivial thing. (Bed', 35)
The ʿārif (knower through maʿrifa) neither rejoices at anything nor fears anything. (The ʿārif contemplates his Lord, while the ʿālim (scholarly knower) contemplates his nafs (the lower self).)
The sign of the hereafter for those who possess knowledge is khashyah (awe), khushūʿ (humble reverence), humility, good akhlāq (character), and zuhd (asceticism). (Kūt, I, 146)
Scholars who are in heedlessness have made the world the qibla (direction of orientation) of their hearts, have preferred the easy aspects of the sharia (the sacred law), have adopted servitude to rulers, have hovered around kings, have made gaining the esteem of the people their aim, have been deceived by the tricks of their own intellects, have busied their hearts with the verbal beauty of their own words, have unleashed their tongues in disparagement of investigative scholars and masters, and have occupied themselves with destroying the great ones of the religion through their excessive words. If both worlds were placed in the pans of their scales, those pans would not weigh enough for the scale, nor would they be satisfied. For this reason, they have made rancor and envy their madhhab (sect, school of thought). (Hujwīrī, 23)
The ʿālim (scholar) is one of Allah's creatures. (Hujwīrī, 468)
Knowledge is the contemplation by the mutmaʾinna nafs-i nāṭiqa-i mutmaʾinna (the tranquil rational soul)—even if alone—of the realities of things, their forms abstracted from matter, their qualities, quantities, substances, and essences.
The ʿālim is one who encompasses, perceives, and conceives. The maʿlūm (object of knowledge) is the essence of that which is imprinted upon the nafs. The nobility of knowledge is according to the nobility of the maʿlūm. The rank of the ʿālim is according to the rank of knowledge.
There is no doubt that the most virtuous, exalted, superior, and noble of the maʿlūms is Allah, the Sāniʿ (Creator), Mubdiʿ (Originator), the Ḥaqq (the Real) and the Wāḥid (the One). Knowledge concerning Him is tawhid (the oneness of God) knowledge. This knowledge is the most virtuous and perfect of all sciences. Acquiring this knowledge is necessary and obligatory for all possessors of intellect. (Risāla, 4)
One who enjoins maʿrūf (good) and forbids munkar (evil) must possess these five conditions: First, he must know well what he commands and forbids. Second, his intention must be the riḍā (contentment with God's decree) of Allah Most High, to strengthen the true religion, to exalt Allah's word and His command. He must be free from feelings such as ostentation, fame, and anāniyya (egotism). For Allah's help and facilitation in eradicating evil depends only on the correctness and sincerity (ikhlas) of intention.
Third, he should command and forbid his brother with gentle, loving, and compassionate words, in the manner of nasīḥa (sincere counsel), and should not use harsh or severe language. Especially when addressing one whose enemy is the accursed shayṭān, whose mind is preoccupied, whose sins and rebellion against his Lord have been adorned for him, and who thus seeks his own destruction and entry into Hell—how excellent it is to speak to such a person with gentleness and sweetness!
Fourth, he should be patient (sabr), gentle, tolerant, humble, steadfast, and mild-hearted, like a physician treating the sick or a healer tending to the insane—a guide of hudā (guidance).
ʿālim-i rāsiḥ (firmly rooted scholar), ʿālim-i wārith (inheriting scholar), ʿālim-i rabbānī (divine scholar)
Fifth, he should first practice what he commands and abstain from what he forbids, so that those who commit those sins do not find an open door to attack him. Otherwise, he will be among those who are condemned and reproached before Allah. (Gunya, I, 51-52)
The ignorant one sees with the physical eye... (Fetli, 181)
Knowledge is a quality that must be acquired by the qalb (the heart), not by the hand. The ʿālim is the qalb. The maʿlūm is the state thus acquired. (Futūḥāt, I, 137)
The ʿālim is one in whom a ḥāl (spiritual state) has not manifested, yet whom Allah has made a witness (shāhid) to His divinity and Essence; knowledge is his ḥāl. (Iṣṭilāḥ, 539)
The Messenger (Resūl) is sent to his people. The Prophet (Nabī) worships on his own until prophethood comes to him. The walī (friend of God) is one awakened from the sleep of heedlessness by the Messenger. The Messenger is the imam; the walī follows the imam. The Prophet is both follower and imam. He is protected (maḥfūẓ) but not infallible (maʿṣūm). The Messenger is among the maʿṣūms, one who is desired, loved, and sought refuge with. The muʾmin (believer) affirms and turns to him. The ʿālim provides proof and evidence for him, acknowledges and confesses his truthfulness. The ignorant one looks at him and turns away (deviates). The doubtful one is perplexed and indecisive about him. The one with conjecture thinks and fails to understand what is not true about him. The one who truly looks at him understands and awaits his path. The imitator (muqallid), who is with every group, acts according to whom he follows: if his leader walks, he walks; if he stops, he stops. Whether in salvation or destruction, wherever his leader is, he is there too. (Latāʾif, 50)
There are those who are sent back to the people to bring them to kamāl (perfection), to guide and call them to the Real (al-Ḥaqq) Most High with the language of irshād (guidance) and hudā (guidance)... those who are returned to the people... These are the rabbānī (divine) scholars. (Asfār, 266)
The ʿālim is one whom Allah has made privy to these knowledges not by direct witnessing (mushāhada), but by certainty (yaqīn). (Jāmiʿ, 89)
The ʿālim, provided he is sincere (ikhlas) and does not use his knowledge for the sake of the world (dunyā), is the inheritor of the words of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) both in learning and teaching. Otherwise, if he does not meet these conditions, he completely loses his right of inheritance. The ʿābid (devout worshipper) inherits the actions of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) until his feet swell. The ʿārif inherits all of them... (Rihla, 231)