(Imam -asws further added that once) Abu Jafar -asws was...

(Imam -asws further added that once) Abu Jafar -asws was asked about the minimum required degree of acknowledgement of the existence of Allah -azwj without which an acknowledgement would not be considered sufficient. The Imam -asws said: A degree of knowledge of Him -azwj must have these facts: There is nothing similar to Him -azwj or resembling Him -azwj . He -azwj is All-knowing, All-hearing and All aware.

Notice that He -azwj has Presented to you His -azwj Arguments in Proof of His -azwj existence by means of only those facts which He -azwj has made known to you’. [50] How can one recognise an Arif (A Person with Irfan)?

Masomeen -asws have never said to follow a blindly a non-masoom person in order to obtain Irfan and Maurifat, if one insists of having a peer then it will be similar to those who insist for Taravi [51] offered behind an imam, as they did not want to make an effort to learn and read the Holy Quran, a public demand which was rejected by the Prophet -saww but, later happily entertained by the 2 nd Muslim Caliph.

Similarly, instead of finding and learning instructions of Masomeen -asws (as are available to us through their Ahadith), to acquire ‘Maurifat and Irfan’, people tend to find and lean on a personality which superficially attracts them, the ‘so called ‘peer’. After having several sessions and/or training of ‘irfan’ by a peer, a mureed is always seen to be quoting and emulating the rituals, chantings or even miracles of his murshid/peer.

And eventually loses the will and ability to go beyond his peer’s practices and learn and practice the Ahadith of Masomeen -asws , a quality of an Arif (a person having Irfan), as per the several Ahadith of Masomeen -asws .