This is that very state which the Noble Prophet (S) came to...

This is that very state which the Noble Prophet (S) came to possess during the Battle of Khandaq when he said: “In the spark that was created by the striking of a pickaxe with a stone, I witnessed the palaces of Khusroe or Caesar or the castles of the Yemeni kings.”[^1] Similarly, it has been reported about Aminah, the honourable mother of the Noble Prophet (S), that when she bore the Noble Prophet (S) in her womb, she said: I saw a light emanate from me and by means of it I witnessed the palaces of the land of Basri, in Syria.

These are neither revelation nor are they spiritual inspiration but a kind of perception that differs vastly from sensory vision. This is that very station which a renowned critic has mentioned, saying: If an eye of the Unseen opens up for you, the atoms of this universe shall become intimate and share their secrets with you. It is then that you shall hear the talks of water and flower.

Hearing the hubbub of the glorification (of Allah) of the entities of the universe, scepticism shall be erased from within you.

The ears of the untrustworthy ones do not hear these realities and only the person, who has been made intimate, is worthy of hearing these sounds and secrets.[^2] Thus, mystical intuition and vision can be defined in one sentence as: The entry into the meta-sensory world and witnessing its realties by an inner eye in a manner similar to sensory vision - only more powerful or listening to those murmurings by the ears of the soul.

Of course, the words of every person who claims such vision cannot be hastily accepted, nor can the words of every claimant be believed. Nevertheless, the initial discussion in this topic is concerned with the actual existence of such a source of (Divine) cognizance[^3], after which comes the discussion regarding the manner of attaining it, and finally, the means of distinguishing between the true and false claimants. [^1]: Kamil Ibn Kathir, vol. 2, pg.

179 [^2]: A summary of some renowned verses. [^3]: Tafsir Payam-e-Qur’an, vol. 1, pg. 252 Previous…