Sufi Philosophy
As a term, it was used by Sufi authors like Abu Abd al–Rahman al–Sulami to mean "a gnostic, mystic; a seeker of marifa", similar in meaning to the terms salik, zahid or faqir.
In his work "Waystations of the Gnostics" (Maqamat al–‘arifin), Ibn Sina defines several stages along a mystical path, where the ‘arif occupies an intermediate stage. Mahmoud Shabestari remarks that the true ‘arif sees the inward light of the divine being everywhere. The Tayyibi author al–Khattab b. al–Hasan, delineating the difference between ordinary knowledge (‘ilm) and ma‘rifa, explains that every ‘arif is a knower, but not every knower is an ‘arif. Some Twelver Shi'a authors like Rajab Bursi define an ‘arif as a believer whose love and knowledge (ma‘rifa) of the imams draw him nearer to spiritual perfection.
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Famous quotes containing the word philosophy:
“What is rational is actual and what is actual is rational. On this conviction the plain man like the philosopher takes his stand, and from it philosophy starts in its study of the universe of mind as well as the universe of nature.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)