Edited and Slides by OmarKN
09 Knowledge That Comes Inside = maʿrifa = an Unmediated Knowing
When we look at the use of ʿilm and maʿrifa in Arabic, we see that a clear distinction was commonly drawn between the two words.
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Knowledge that comes from the outside is called ʿilm – it is the information that we gain from a lecture or a book or a Google search.
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Knowledge that comes from the inside is called maʿrifa – it is an unmediated knowing[8], not received from any book or teacher. Its truth is self-evident to the knowing heart.
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It may come to be known because of an outside stimulus, but, once it is found, it is as if the heart has always known it. In terms of the Islamic creation myth, recognition of the true nature of things is latent in the heart because God taught Adam the names when He created him.
Related texts
Muhyiddīn Ibn ʿArabi, Presentation of 30 Texts
[8] On intellectual intuition, see for example:
→ Shams, Mother of the Poor, Ibn `Arabi
→ Symbolism - which is essentially intuitive, is (therefore) more apt than (everyday common) language ”to serve as a support for intellectual intuition, which (by the way) is above reason.” René Guénon: Words and Symbols
→ The intellectual intuition “is essentially a supra-individual faculty…” Crisis of the Modern World, René Guénon
