Lāhījī's Sufi Epistemology
Mory So
June 15, 2026 DOI: 10.4324/9781003438656-7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Mysticism |
| Keywords | Contemplation Sufism Action physics Philosophy of religion Section typography Epistemology Human life |
| Key points | Argues that true knowledge of God (maʿrifat) is acquired only through direct mystical experiences like unveiling and witnessing, not through rational syllogism. |
Abstract
This chapter will be divided into two parts. The first section analyses and explains Lāhījī’s teachings concerning the necessary prerequisites for the mystical path of the ṭarīqat . The Way of the Sufi friends and darvīshes is a way of life that involves the daily practice of a host of ascetical and contemplative practices. When practised sincerely under the spiritual guidance of a living Sufi master, it eventually leads to true knowledge of God’s Wujūd . The second section is devoted to Lāhījī’s Sufi epistemology and the manner in which he categorises the different kinds of knowledge of God available for the Sufi wayfarer. A central principle within Lāhījī’s epistemology is the superiority of maʿrifat over the more rational mode of knowledge associated with the Avicennian philosophers and speculative theologians that he terms taffakur . For Lāhījī, true knowledge of God is the knowledge belonging to the category of maʿrifat and not taffakur , which is acquired by the human knower through various mystical experiences that they may experience during their spiritual wayfaring on the path of the Sufi ṭarīqat , where Lāhījī defines these mystical experiences of the Sufi wayfarer with various terms, mainly kashf (“unveiling”) and shuhūd (“witnessing”). And maʿrifat can never be acquired through the method of syllogism favoured by the falāsifa , but only by witnessing directly with the eye of the heart ( baṣīrat ) a self-disclosure of the Real.
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| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |