''Kashf'' ( ar, كشف) "unveiling" is a
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
concept dealing with knowledge of the heart rather than of the intellect. Kashf describes the state of experiencing a personal divine revelation after ascending through spiritual struggles, and uncovering the heart (a spiritual faculty) in order to allow divine truths to pour into it. Kashf is etymologically related to ''mukashafa'' “disclosure”/ “divine irradiation of the essence”,
which connotes "gain
ngfamiliarity with things unseen behind the veils". For those who have purified their hearts, and who come to know the Divine Names and Attributes to the fullest of their individual capacities, the veils in front of the purely spiritual realms are opened slightly, and they begin to gain familiarity with the unseen. In Sufism, an even further revelatory capacity exists by which the Divine mysteries become readily apparent to the seeker through the light of knowledge of
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
. This is called ''tajalli'' "manifestation".
Veil References in Islamic Literature
Two passages in the Qur'an serve as the most solid basis for elaboration on the Sufi concept of kashf:
:*
0.22'' ‘Thou wast heedless of this; therefore We have now removed from thee thy covering
eil
Eil may refer to:
Places
* Eil (crater), on Mars
* Eil, Cologne, a quarter of Cologne, Germany
* Eil, Somalia
* Eil District, Somalia
* Loch Eil, a lake in Scotland
Other uses
* Eastern Independent League, an American high school sports conf ...
and so thy sight today is piercing.’
:*
3.57-58'' The Immanent is immanent; apart from God none can disclose
emoveit.
The verb “kashafa,” but never the noun “kashf” occurs in the
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
a variety of times in the sense of either “to uncover” (a part of the body) or “to take away” (misfortune, danger).
Hadith of the Veils
One
hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
holds particular significance for the concept of ''kashf'':
2 -
"Between God (mighty and sublime) and creation are ''70,000 veils''. The nearest of creatures to God (mighty and sublime) are
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር ...
,
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
, and
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
, and between them and Him are four veils: a veil of fire, a veil of darkness, a veil of cloud, and a veil of water."
This Hadith is quoted somewhat differently by ''
Ibn Majah
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Yazīd Ibn Mājah al-Rabʿī al-Qazwīnī ( ar, ابو عبد الله محمد بن يزيد بن ماجه الربعي القزويني; (b. 209/824, d. 273/887) commonly known as Ibn Mājah, was a medieval sch ...
'' as follows:
“God has seventy thousand veils of light and darkness; if He were to remove them, the radiant splendors of His Face would burn up whoever (or ‘whatever creature’) was reached by His Gaze.”
It is said that
Ali ibn Abi Talib
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
, cousin to the Prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
, prayed a prayer that included this excerpt during the month of
Sha'baan:
My Lord, grant me complete severance of my relations with everything else and total submission to You. Enlighten the eyes of our hearts with the light of their looking at You to the extent that they penetrate the veils of light and reach the Source of Grandeur, and let our souls get suspended by the glory of Your sanctity.
Sufi Scholars on Kashf
Al-Kushayri expands on
al-Kalabadhi’s proposal that ''tajalli'' (manifestation) of “the essence” of the Divine is called ''mukashafa''. He then illustrates three stages in progression towards understanding the Real:
:# ''Muhadara''—getting oneself into position vis-à-vis the objective sought. The objective remains veiled at this stage. This stage presupposes the presence of the heart, but relies on transmission of proof through the intellect (i.e. understanding God through his miraculous signs).
:# ''Mukashafa''—lifting of the veil. Here reasoning (of the intellect) gives way to evident proof (through intuition). One directly encounters the Attributes of God. Yet, this stage is still considered an intermediary stage.
:# ''
Mushahada
Mushahada or Mushahida (contemplation, witnessing), derived from shuhud to witness, is a concept in Sufism. It is the vision 'of' or 'by' God so that the seeker of God may acquire yaqeen which can neither be inherited nor can it be gained through ...
''—direct vision. This stage indicates an immediate encounter with The Real, without the intellect OR the intuition acting as an intermediary. This is direct experience of the Divine Essence.
Al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...
—This Sufi scholar discusses the concept of ''kashf'', not purely in its mystical sense, but also with respect to
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
in general. In conjunction with Al-Kushayri, Al-Ghazali links ''kashf'' with intuition. For Al-Ghazali, ''mukashafa'' has a dual sense:
:# It indicates an inner state of purification, which is subjective and brought about by “unveiling” or ''kashf''.
:# It describes the objective truths that are revealed through the “unveiling”/''kashf''.
Since, for Al-Ghazali, ''kashf'' is linked to
intuition
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning. Different fields use the word "intuition" in very different ways, including but not limited to: direct access to unconscious knowledge; unconscious cognition; ...
, he describes ''mukashafa'' as the certain knowledge of the unseen discovered by the “science of the saints”.
Thus, ''kashf'' is considered “a light,” that is freely bestowed upon the purified worshipper through the grace of God, yet also yields sure intuitive knowledge for the worshipper upon whom it is bestowed.
Ibn Arabi
Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , 'Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influenti ...
—This Sufi mystic indicates the necessity for “divine unveiling” (''kashf'') as the means by which to understand the universality of the reality of realities (i.e. the universality of God's oneness). In ''
fana
Fana is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. The borough makes up the southeastern part of the municipality of Bergen. The borough was once part of the historic municipality of Fana which was incorporated into Bergen in ...
'' (self-annihilation), the individual ego passes away and divine self-manifestation occurs. This self-manifestation is eternal (as it comes from God), but it must be continually reenacted by the human in time. Therefore, the human becomes a pure receptor required for pure consciousness to be realized. The human is a sort of ''
barzakh
Barzakh (Arabic: برزخ, from Persian ''Barzakh'', "limbo, barrier, partition") is an Arabic word meaning "obstacle", "hindrance", "separation", or "barrier". In Islam, it denotes a place separating the living from the hereafter or a phase/"st ...
'' or intermediary between divinity and elementality, between spirit and matter, and open to the experience of ''kashf''.
Ali Hujwiri
Abu 'l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. ʿUthmān b. ʿAlī al-Ghaznawī al-Jullābī al-Hujwīrī (c. 1009-1072/77), known as ʿAlī al-Hujwīrī or al-Hujwīrī (also spelt Hajweri, Hajveri, or Hajvery) for short, or reverentially as Shaykh Syed ʿAlī al- ...
—The author of the Persian Sufi text ''
Kashf ul Mahjoob
The ( fa, کشف المحجوب , lit=Revelation of the Hidden) was the first formal treatise on Sufism, compiled in the 11th-century by the Persian scholar Ali al-Hujwiri. The work contains a complete system of Sufism with its doctrines and pr ...
'' (Revelation of the Veiled) Hujwiri argues, along with Al-Kushayri that very few ''real'' Sufis exist anymore in his time; rather, there are a large number of “false pretenders” which he calls ''mustaswif''—“the would-be Sufi”. In his text, Hujwiri describes the “veils which should be lifted” in order to purify one's heart and really pursue Sufism. Hujwiri argues for the importance of “morals” over “formal practice” in Sufism. He was the first to directly address the problematic diversity in
Muslim belief during his time. In ''Kashf ul Mahjoob'', he describes various Sufi approaches to theoretical ideas, linking them to particular key Sufi figures.
''Kashf'' and Shi’ism
In Shi’ism, the spiritual experience of ''kashf'' is treated as a theological rather than purely mystical dimension.
:
Imami
Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
s—
Sayyid Haydar Amuli
Sayyid Baha al-Din Haydar, Haydar al-'Obaidi al-Hossayni Amuli, or Sayyed Haydar Amoli or Mir Haydar Amoli a Shi'ite mystic and a Sufi philosopher, was an early representative of Persian mystic philosophy and one of the most distinguished commen ...
distinguishes three kinds of knowledge: 1) by the intellect, 2) by transmission, 3) by ''kashf''—this is the only form of knowledge that leads to true understanding of Reality
:Amuli additionally distinguishes between two kinds of kashf:
:#''kashf suwari''—divine manifestations reach the senses of sight and hearing
:# 'kashf ma’nawi''—spiritual encounter, such as the disclosure indicated by ''mukashafa''
:
Ismalis—these followers of Shi’ism put emphasis on ''kashf'' in a double sense as both a Gnostic and cosmic “state.” The Ismalis define “cycles of metahistory”
which alternate between phases of “unveiling” (''dawr-al-kashf'') and “occultation” (''dawr-al-satr'').
Controversy in the Muslim World
The concept of ''kashf'' remains controversial in the Muslim world because it indicates the ability to “know” the unknowable. According to the Qur'an, Muslims are required to believe in the unseen (namely
Allah
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
), but knowledge of the unseen is a power that should belong solely to God. But it does not contradict the Qur'an because only God has knowledge of the unseen and if someone else other than God has that knowledge, then it's only because it was given to them by God.
Sufis further would argue that “the only guide to God is God Himself”. They do believe that every genuine worshipper has the capability to experience unveiling (personal revelation), but that this personal revelation occurs by the grace of God. Some say, if a worshipper fails to experience unveiling, "it indicates that that person is pursuing Sufism for a reason other than the love of God alone." - However this in fact, incorrect. As devout Sufis believe that every individual's experience in Sufism is different, similarly to how different people have the ability to see different things, therefore one can confirm that Kashf is not an ability granted to everyone. God is in fact the one who does the unveiling once a person has given up on all worldly forms of knowledge and his/her heart is pure and open for God. It is God's will to choose what people see and which people see. Ibn ‘Arabi calls this “inner receptivity” to the manifestation (''tajalli'') of the Divine Mysteries, the essence of which is ''mukashafa''.
Peripatetic Scholars vs. Sufis
Peripatetic scholars such as
Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
,
al-Kindi
Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī (; ar, أبو يوسف يعقوب بن إسحاق الصبّاح الكندي; la, Alkindus; c. 801–873 AD) was an Arab Muslim philosopher, polymath, mathematician, physician ...
, and
al-Farabi
Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the Western world, West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a reno ...
argue that the intellect unaided by divine unveiling (''kashf'') is sufficient in order for man to attain ultimate truth.
Sufis such as
Bayazid Bastami
Abū Yazīd Ṭayfūr bin ʿĪsā bin Surūshān al-Bisṭāmī (al-Basṭāmī) (d. 261/874–5 or 234/848–9), commonly known in the Iranian world as Bāyazīd Bisṭāmī ( fa, بایزید بسطامی), was a PersianWalbridge, John. "S ...
,
Rumi
Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلالالدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...
, and
Ibn al-Arabi Ibn al-ʿArabī may refer to:
*Ibn Arabi (1165–1240), Andalusi Muslim philosopher
*Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi (1076–1148), Andalusi Muslim scholar of Maliki jurisprudence
See also
* Ibn al-A'rabi
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ziyād (), surna ...
, contrarily argue that the limited human intellect is insufficient and misleading as a means of understanding ultimate truth. This kind of understanding requires intimate, personal, direct knowledge resulting from the removal of the veils separating man from God as given to man by God himself. This is ''kashf''.
Other Types of ''Kashf''
The 18th century mystic
Khwaja Mir Dard
Khwaja Mir Dard (1720-1785) ( ur, ) was a poet of the Delhi School and a Sufi saint of the Naqshbandi
The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نهقشهبهندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni ...
(d. 1785) (, relying upon the traditional terminology, classified the revelations as follows in his `Ilm al-Kitab:
*Kashf kaunī, revelation on the plane of the created things, is a result of pious actions and purifications of the lower soul; it becomes manifest in dreams and
clairvoyance
Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...
.
*Kashf ilāhī, divine revelation, is a fruit of constant worship and polishing of the heart; it results in the knowledge of the world of spirits and in
cardiognosis soul-reading"so that the mystic sees hidden things and reads hidden thoughts.
*Kashf aqlī, revelation by reason, is essentially the lowest grade of intuitive knowledge; it can be attained by polishing the moral faculties, and can be experienced by the philosophers as well.
*Kashf īmānī, revelation through faith, is the fruit of perfect faith after man has acquired proximity to the perfections of prophethood. He will be blessed by direct divine addresses — he talks with the angels, meets the spirits of the prophets, and sees the Night of Might and the blessings of the month of
Ramaḍan
, type = islam
, longtype = Islam, Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, I ...
in human form in the ālam almithāl.
[Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical dimensions of Islam (1975), pg192]
References
{{Authority control
Sufism