““1. “Knowledge is the revelation (tajallî ) of things themselves.”130 Note the use of the verb tajallâ in D-10. 2. “Knowledge is the falling of the soul’s sight (basar) upon the universals.”131 3. “Knowledge is a light thrust by God into the heart.”132 For the concept of knowledge as light, see below, pp. 155 ff. 4. “The knower is he whom God allows to witness (ashhadahû) His divinity and essence, while he is not (yet) possessed by a state (hâl ). Knowledge is his state, but on condition that a distinction be made between it and gnosis (ma- rifah) and the gnostic - ârif ).”133 5. “The arrival of the knowledge of a thing whatever it may be and its perfect cognition (ma- rifah) is based upon union (ittihâd ) with the given object of knowledge, and union with a thing is based upon the cessa- tion of everything whereby the knower is distinguished from the object known.”134 6. “Knowledge is intuition (badîhah) as well as acquisition (iktisâb).”135 This hardly quali- es as a “de- nition” of knowledge, although it is listed as such by Ibn Sabîn. The fact that Ibn Sabîn lists evident knowl- edge next to acquired knowledge in this fashion would seem to indicate that for him, the philosophical-theological assumption of the existence of such knowledge corresponded with the mystic’s desire for divinely inspired knowledge.””
