Malfuzat - Volume VII — Page 147
10 MARCH 1905 drowsiness overtakes a person while he is awake that he is com- pletely aware of what is happening, and his five senses are also functioning, yet such a breeze blows [upon him] and endows him with new senses with which he can perceive vistas from the world of the unseen. Those senses are given in various ways: sometimes in sight, sometimes in smell, and at times in hear- ing. An example of 'smell' is what the father of Hadrat Yūsuf [Joseph] said: 1 لَاجِدُ رِيحَ يُوسُفَ لَوْ لَا أَنْ تُفَنِّدُونِ ! (That I smell the fragrance of Yūsuf, though you may say that this old man has gone astray. ) This refers to those same new senses that Yaʻqūbas [Jacob] received at that time, and he learnt that Yūsufas was alive and was about to meet him. The others nearby could not smell this fragrance as they had not been endowed with those senses that Yaʻqūbas had received. Just as brown sugar is made from molasses, and sugar is made from brown sugar, and from sugar more delicate sweets are made; in the same way, when the condition of a dream progresses and assumes the character of a kashf, and when this becomes very clear, it is given the name kashf. The Difference between Kashf and Wahī However, wahi [Divine revelation] is something that is far purer than kashf, and it is necessary to be a Muslim to receive it. Kashf can be seen even by a Hindu; indeed, even an atheist who does not believe in God may attain this ability to a degree. However, wahi cannot descend upon anyone except a Muslim. 1. Sūrah Yūsuf, 12:95 [Publisher] 147