“As referred to in some verses of the Qur’an, Sufis classify certainty in the three categories:

Certainty coming from knowledge: Having a strong, firm belief in or conviction of all the essentials of faith, primarily God’s Existence and Unity, acquired through correct observation and study of the relevant signs and evidence.

Certainty coming from direct observation or seeing: Having an indescribable degree of certainty and knowledge of God acquired through unveiling and observing the immaterial truths invisible to ordinary believers and on which the essentials of belief are based.

Certainty coming from direct experience: Being favored with God’s constant company, without any veils and in a way that only the one receiving this favor can perceive. Some have interpreted it as self-annihilation in God and gaining subsistence by Him.

These three degrees of certainty can be summed up in the following example: A person’s knowledge of death (before he or she dies) that is acquired by observing or studying the body in a biological context can be an example of certainty coming from knowledge. Witnessing some metaphysical phenomena, such as seeing the angel who has come to remove one’s soul and catching glimpses of the intermediate world of the grave, may be regarded as a kind of certainty coming from direct observation. The certainty gained by actually experiencing death is a certainty coming from direct experience.”¹⁾

“A person should always strive to deepen their faith. If our faith is currently at the level of ilm al-yaqin (knowledge-based certainty), we should work to elevate it to ayn al-yaqin (vision-based certainty). And even then, we must not be content, but seek the paths that lead to haqq al-yaqin (truth-based, experiential certainty).”²⁾

“As we traverse the stages of knowledge—ilm al-yaqin, ayn al-yaqin, and haqq al-yaqin—wherever we touch within these levels, what we call ma‘rifah (true knowledge of God) is to reach a state where one hears, from that very station, the echo of ‘La ilaha illa Allah.’”³⁾

“Even those who have not yet reached fana’ fi’llah (annihilation in God), baqa’ bi’llah (subsistence through God), and ma‘allah (constant awareness of God), nor crossed the levels of ilm al-yaqin, ayn al-yaqin, and haqq al-yaqin to reach the One, yet are utterly sincere and pure-hearted—constantly turning to God with prayers like: ‘O Allah, grant me perfect faith! Complete Islam! Absolute sincerity! True devotion!’—such servants of renewal and reformation have never been left alone. Divine protection and care have always encompassed them.”⁴⁾

“When a person effaces their ego, they begin to see the manifestations of God in everything. Immersed in awe and ecstasy, they lose themselves in that ocean of Divine presence. As Ghawsi expressed:

‘You cannot manifest Yourself while my self veils the view;

The condition for Your manifestation is my nonexistence.’

When one dissolves their own existence before the True Existence, they begin to approach the horizon of haqq al-yaqin. Whether full realization of this station is possible in this life is uncertain. Imam Rabbani notes in one place of his Maktubat that it is not possible, while elsewhere he allows that it may occur to a certain degree. Reconciling these, we can say that its reflection may be experienced here, but its full reality will manifest in the Hereafter, when Divine Power and Wisdom unveil themselves fully, and each person will experience that truth according to their own capacity.”⁵⁾

“Some have illustrated these levels as follows: Knowing theoretically that fire burns, cooks, and emits light is ilm al-yaqin. Seeing the glowing fire in the stove with one’s own eyes, and witnessing its heat and light directly, is ayn al-yaqin. When a pair of tongs is thrust into that fire until it glows red like the flames themselves, becoming indistinguishable from the fire, that state exemplifies haqq al-yaqin.”⁶⁾

“Certainty has levels: ilm al-yaqin, ayn al-yaqin, and haqq al-yaqin. If a person cannot intellectually ground their beliefs in evidence, they have no yaqin at all. Note carefully: not a lack of certainty, but no certainty whatsoever. For the starting point of certainty is knowledge. Anything below that is not worthy of a human; it is akin to the unreflective life of animals.”⁷⁾

“I observed and felt and experienced with the degree of ‘absolute certainty’ that the true pleasure and happiness of my permanence lay accurately and in more perfect form in the Permanence of the Everlasting One of Perfection and in believing and confirming that He is my Lord and Deity.”⁸⁾

“In one respect, His Ascension is his journey of spiritual elevation in God’s way and his sainthood’s title or final rank.

Just as saints attain the rank of certainty of experiencing the truths of belief within a period of 40 days to 40 years, the Messenger’s (the king of saints) Ascension enabled him to attain the highest rank of experiencing the truths of belief within a period as short as 40 minutes. He ascended to the Divine Throne of Majesty, witnessed with the certainty of vision the truths of belief in God and the Hereafter, drew near to God to the distance of ‘two bows’ length, and experienced Paradise’s eternal happiness. This event enabled him to open a broad way for those seeking the rank of sainthood to follow in their spiritual journey.”⁹⁾

“… the human race is the most important fruit of the universe, appointed on this earth to rule and develop it; and the most elevated of living creatures and possesses the most comprehensive capacity. And these four groups are humankind’s most truthful and confirmed guides, and its leaders in perfection. Therefore, do those who do not recognize or who choose to deny a truth in which these perfected individuals believe, proving its existence with evidence taken from the universe and all of the beings within it, unanimously and at the degrees of certainty of knowledge, certainty of vision, and certainty of experience—do these wretched individuals in their obdurate unbelief not perpetrate an infinite crime? Are they not deserving of infinite punishment?”¹⁰⁾

Certainty Based on Vision (Ayn al-Yaqin)

Certainty Based on Knowledge (Ilm al-Yaqin)

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