“Ecstasy generally manifests itself in two ways:

Some Divine gifts and manifestations of His Glory emerge in the heart, without the person’s willing or intending it. We also call this ‘disclosure’ or ‘unveiling’ (mukashafa), which cannot be related to any cause originating in human beings themselves.

Ecstasy manifests itself also in the form of spiritual pleasures and zeal, or amazement and These feelings pervade the whole being and arouse in the person feelings of awe, tearfulness, and crying. This kind of ecstasy is mainly witnessed in circles where people recite God’s Names or study Divine truths together.”¹⁾

“Mukashafa (derived from kashf, meaning discovering or unveiling) denotes that the Divine mysteries will be disclosed to those well-versed in the Divine truths when, by rising through a spiritual struggle, they are able to perceive and come to know the truths about the Divine Names and Attributes. Travelers to the Ultimate Truth who have attained this rank are regarded as having completed their journey in the Divine Names and Attributes, each according to their individual capacity, with the result that Divine mysteries begin to pour into the heart or spiritual intellect, which is the projection in humanity of the Divine Throne of Mercy. The veils before the pure spiritual realms are opened slightly to these people, and the truths that stand in front of and behind things are disclosed to them. This is called disclosure in the sense of gaining familiarity with the things unseen behind the veils. Disclosure is used to define familiarity with abstract truths and meanings which are by nature invisible, while the terms ‘witnessing’ or ‘observation’ is used to deal with beings.

Disclosure (whose Arabic origin—mukashafa—is in the form that suggests mutuality) implies that intimate friends disclose secrets to one another. The best example of this is that of the Messenger, called also Ahmad and Mahmud due to his being honored with God’s praise to the greatest degree, who attained the rank at which God revealed to him secrets of His Speech to a great extent (53:10).

God discloses some of His secrets to His friends who unburden themselves to Him. His friends talk to Him from their hearts and the One Who knows all the things hidden in creation showers the gems of His knowledge into their hearts. They rise to the horizon of recognizing their Lord with His All-Beautiful Names and All-Pure Attributes in proportion to this disclosure in order to be immersed in the lights of this recognition. The Absolute Hidden One removes the veil slightly from before the seeing of their hearts so that they can perceive the truth of light and He raises them to the peak of excellence or perfect goodness. Until reaching this horizon, every initiate can make a connection with the Realm of the Transcendental Manifestation of Divinity from behind veils. Whatever they see during their journey to that horizon, they see it as if from behind a smoky piece of glass and cannot clearly discern the manifestations of the Divine Names, Attributes and Essential Qualities. Even if they feel that they have discerned some things, it is but a mere illusion.”²⁾

“The first step of disclosure for those who fulfill the requirements to travel on the way to God is a manifestation of knowledge of God, which the One eternally witnessed through His signs produces in their hearts. If they are steadfast on the way, they can advance as far as the final point, where they will be able to witness or observe Him in His signs. Nevertheless, such manifestations may not be constant and the way may sometimes be obscured, with the result that travelers may suffer setbacks. However, the desire to advance in their hearts never ceases; even if sometimes they feel dizzy and waver, they constantly endeavor to reach the goal with a desire that is insurmountable. It is heroism to follow the rules and requirements of the journey without falling into despair, and those who continue on the way heroically are favored with constant disclosure and advancement. They rise from the certainty that comes from knowledge to the certainty that comes from observation. If they are able to take two steps more forward, they are favored with the clearest disclosure supported by self-possession and wakefulness. If they are able to advance further, their journey ends in observation—seeing the All-Holy One, Who is called by the Most Sacred Names with the eye of the heart or insight. This will be explained later.

The clearest disclosure is when the Divine lights pervade the heart and all other faculties so as to enlighten and to be felt by all the emotions. In other words, an initiate feels the Source of these lights beyond what is demonstrated by His signs and proofs. This was the beginning of the spiritual journey of the Prophet, the Pride of the Creatures, upon him be peace and blessings. Throughout his life, all of which he spent at the highest of all ranks and at the summit of all virtues, he continuously traveled from closure to observation and always felt and experienced the mysteries of belief deeply. Especially during his Ascension, he acquired certified familiarity with all the mysteries that belong to the realm beyond, including Paradise, Hell, the angels, and even the sounds of the Pens of Destiny. Then he returned to the world in order to keep the way open for others to travel along, each according to individual capacity. Furthermore, he secured this way with reflector-like lights that he installed along it. In the ranks in which he traveled and made observations, he progressed without his eyes swerving and without his mind becoming perplexed, as declared in the verse (53:17), His sight swerved not, nor did it go wrong. When it came to the point where he was too great for this world of formation and deformation to bear and when he entrusted the way and journey to those who would come after him, he proceeded to his Lord, saying: O God! (Now it is the time to go) to the Highest Friend! His faithful followers have made the same journey in spirit which he made in the universal dimensions and which he has bequeathed to them with its means and results so that each can realize in part his journ

“Certainly, it is not possible for those who are still at the beginning of the way to feel the state described by al-Nuri. For this state, which is frequently felt and frequently disappears, resembles the state of a diver who feels the water when diving into it, and lets the water pull him or her deeper, and who feels only the water when he or she becomes ‘lost’ in the depths. If such a feeling that appears on the way to reaching the truth of something is based on the knowing of the heart or consciousness, it is the culture of consciousness or cognizance in consciousness. If it is of the kind obtained with vision or insight, then it is sight. If travelers are in constant pursuit of increasing research, analysis, and synthesis, then the result is spiritual discovery (disclosure) and vision. Finally if they see everything annihilated in God, then their state is annihilation in God and subsistence with God, and they feel no need whatsoever for anybody else save Him.”³⁾

Türkçe