Kashf

Kashf ( , ) is a Sufi 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[ing] familiarity 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. This is called tajalli "manifestation".

Kashf ( , ) is a Sufi 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[ing] familiarity 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. This is called tajalli "manifestation".

Hadith of the Veils

One hadith holds particular significance for the concept of kashf: This Hadith is quoted somewhat differently by Ibn Majah as follows: It is said that Muhammad's cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib prayed:

Kashf and Shia Islam

In Shia Islam, the spiritual experience of kashf is treated as a theological rather than purely mystical dimension. Imamis—Sayyid Haydar Amuli 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 Ismailis define "cycles of metahistory" which alternate between phases of "unveiling" (dawr al-kashf) and "occultation" (dawr al-satr).

References

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1362893893 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.