The following are copied from William C. Chittick’s book “The Self-Disclosure of God” which is based on the works of the great Sufi scholar Ibn al Arabi of the Islamic Spain era.
One of the knowledge comprised by this waystation is the difference between the proof and the sign. The companion of the sign i more worthy of having “weisdom”, ascribed to him and of being called a “sage” than the companion of the proof, for the sign accepts no obfuscation, and it belongs only to the folk of unveiling and finding, but the proof is not like that.
Part of the reality of the [revealed] report is the possibility of the property of the two attributes, truthfulness and falsehood - in respect of its being a report. Hence we distinguish between those who maintain the truthfulness of the report-giver on the basis of the proofs and those who maintain it through faith. After all, faith is a luminous unveiling that does not accept obfusctaions, but the companion of the proof is not able to perserve himself from misgivings that detract from his proof, and these send him back to his rational consideration.
This is why we consider the companion of the proof devoid of faith. After all, faith does not accept disappearance, for it is a watchful, divine light that stands over every soul for what it earns. It is not a solar or a steallar light that rises and sets and is then followed by the darkness of doubt or something else.
Those who know what we have just said, know the level of knowledge in respect of faith and the level of knowledge that is gained from proofs. After all, the root, who is the Real, does not know things through proofs. He knows them only through Himself.
The perfect human being is created in His form. His knowledge of God is a faith through light and unveiling, so he describes God with attributes that are not accepted by proofs. People who have faith in Him in respect of their proofs interpret these descriptions, so their faith is diminished to the degree that their proofs negate them to Him.
