The Arabic ‘ma`arifa’ denotes inner knowledge discerned and understood by the heart, often referring to intrinsic knowledge of higher truths, of the soul, and of Allah, which fuels one to perform good deeds and leads one closer to Allah. This is in contrast to the Arabic `Ailm which denotes acquired and learned knowledge in any field, which may or may not lead to action or proximity to Allah
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1ـ رسولُ اللهِِ (صَلَّيَ اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ آلِهِ): أفضَلُكُم إيماناً أفضَلُكُم مَعرِفَةً. |
| 1– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The ones from among you with the best faith are the ones with the best inner knowledge.’[Jami`a al-Akhbar, p. 36, no. 18] |
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2ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): العِلمُ أوَّلُ دَليلٍ، والمَعرِفَةُ آخِرُ نِهايَةٍ. |
| 2– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Knowledge is the first proof whereas inner knowledge is the last step in the conclusion.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 2061] |
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3ـ الإمامُ عليٌّ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): المَعرِفَةُ نورُ القَلبِ. |
| 3– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Inner knowledge is the light of the heart.’[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 538] |
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4ـ الإمامُ الحسينُ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): دِراسَةُ العِلمِ لِقاحُ المَعرِفةِ. |
| 4– Imam al-Husayn (AS) said, ‘The acquisition of knowledge is the seed for [the growth of] inner knowledge.’[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 78, p. 128, no. 11] |
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5ـ الإمامُ الصّادقُ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ): لا يَقبَلُ اللّهُ عَمَلاً إلّا بِمَعرِفَةٍ، ولا مَعرِفَةً إلّا بِعَمَلٍ ، فمَن عَرَفَ دَلَّتهُ المَعرِفَةُ عَلَى العَمَلِ ، ومَن لَم يَعمَلْ فلا مَعرِفَةَ لَهُ . |
| 5– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Allah does not accept any act without inner knowledge [i.e. awareness of what one is doing], and inner knowledge only comes through prior action. So whoever knows intrinsically, his knowledge will lead him to action, and whoever does not act does not have any inner knowledge.’[al-Kafi, v. 1, p. 44, no. 2] |
