An Introduction to Irfan18.,19. & 20. Qalb, Ruh and Sirr: The 'urafa' have different words for the human soul; sometimes they call it nafs (self), sometimes qalb (heart), sometimes ruh (spirit) and sometimes sirr (mystery). When the human soul is dominated and ruled by desires and passions they call it nafs. When it reaches the stage of bearing Divine knowledge, it is called qalb. When the light of Divine love dawns within it, they call it ruh. And when it reaches the stage of shuhud, they call it sirr. Of course, the 'urafa' believe in levels beyond this, which they call khafi (the 'hidden') and akhfa (the 'most hidden'). Notes:1. Murtada Mutahhari, An Introduction to Ilm al Kalam, transl. By Ali Quli Qarai, Al-Tawhid, vol II No. 2 2. R.A Nicholson, Mysticism in The Legacy of Islam, London 1931 ed. by Sir Thomas Arnold and Alfred Guillaume pp. 211-212 3. Ibid 4. Ibid 5. Dr Qasim Ghani, Tarikh e Tasawwuf Dar Islam, p. 19 6. Farid al Din al Attar, Tadhkirat al-awliya 7. Abu Nasr al Sarraj, al-Luma, p. 427 8. Dr. Qasim Ghani, op. cit
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