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Is the "unveiling of inspiration" that Sufis claim regarding knowledge of the unseen real in Islam, in light of what is narrated about Umar, may Allah be pleased with him?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Divinely-inspired knowledge (kashf) is divided into three types: psychological (shared by Muslims and disbelievers alike), Rahmani (divinely-inspired through revelation and sacred law), and satanic (through jinn). Partial kashf is shared by believers and disbelievers and may be from Satan or the self, whereas Rahmani kashf is exclusive to the Friends of Allah (Awliya Allah). The incident of Umar ibn al-Khattab calling out, "O Sariya, the mountain!" is a true miracle (karama) granted to him and an inspiration from Allah, not a vision of the unseen. As for what happens to Sufis, most of it is satanic or psychological, not Rahmani. The Friends of Allah are those who adhere to the sacred law and do not claim knowledge of the unseen.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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