Kashf
Encyclopedia
Kashf 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:

  1. kashf suwari—divine manifestations reach the senses of sight and hearing
  2. '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
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...

), but knowledge of the unseen is a power that should belong solely to God. Thus, if kashf supposedly allows Sufis to lift all veils and directly encounter the unseen and unknowable (the Divine Mysteries), then it seems to contradict the teachings of the Qur’an.But it does not contradicts the quran because only God has knowledge of the unseen and if someone else other than God has that knowledge than its only because it was given to them by God.

Yet, Sufis would argue in conjunction with mainstream Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....

 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. If a worshipper fails to experience unveiling, it indicates that that person is pursuing Sufi worship for a reason other than the love of God alone. 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. 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
Avicenna
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...

, al-Kindi
Al-Kindi
' , known as "the Philosopher of the Arabs", was a Muslim Arab philosopher, mathematician, physician, and musician. Al-Kindi was the first of the Muslim peripatetic philosophers, and is unanimously hailed as the "father of Islamic or Arabic philosophy" for his synthesis, adaptation and promotion...

, and al-Farabi
Al-Farabi
' known in the West as Alpharabius , was a scientist and philosopher of the Islamic world...

argue that the intellect unaided by divine unveiling (kashf) is sufficient in order for man to attain ultimate truth.

Sufis such as Bayazid Bastami
Bayazid Bastami
Bayazid Bastami , also known as Abu Yazid Bistami or Tayfur Abu Yazid al-Bustami, was a Persian Sufi born in Bastam, Iran.- Background :...

, Rumi, and Ibn al-Arabi
Ibn al-Arabi
*For the Sufi scholar, see Ibn Arabi.Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi or, in full Muḥammad b. ʿAbdallāh, Ibn al-ʿArabī al-Maʿāfirī, al-Išbīlī, Abū Bakr was a judge and scholar of Maliki law from al-Andalus. Like Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad Ibn al-Arabi was forced to migrate to Morocco during the reign of the...

, 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

Later mystics, relying upon the traditional terminology, classified the revelations as follows:
  • 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
    The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...

    .

  • 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
    Cardiognosis
    In Christian theology, cardiognosis is a special charism that God confers on some saints. In Christian asceticism, the term Cardiognosis also indicates the ascetical methods and meditation techniques which have the purpose of reaching an inner state of mystical experience and, eventually, the...

     ["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
    Ramadan
    Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...

    in human form in the ālam almithāl.
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