Realization (Taḥqīq) in Sufism: An Assessment of Robert K.C. Forman's Pure Consciousness Event (PCE) and Dual Mystical State (DMS)

Abstract

Abstract:As a generally accepted "textbook" definition in Sufism, spiritual realization (taḥqīq) from an epistemological perspective is conceived as the process of obtaining knowledge from the Real (al-ḥaqīqa) through God's guidance in order to apprehend the Truth (al-Ḥaqq) through the self without an intermediary. The "realizer" (muḥaqqiq) is the person who has come to realize the Truth through a direct encounter. From an ontological perspective, however, taḥqīq can also be defined as the station of direct contact with the Real, in which the mystic attains to all the possibilities of human existence through divine solicitude. To explore these two contexts, this article will investigate the wide range of definitions of taḥqīq in major Sufi works and explore the meaning of this term in the context of Ibn ʿArabī's (d. 1240 CE) thought. Through a review of important Sufi texts, this article will also bring the concept of taḥqīq into conversation with contemporary philosophical theories of mystical knowledge, particularly that of Robert Forman, and explore Forman's concepts of the Pure Consciousness Event (PCE) and the Dualistic Mystical State (DMS) to assess whether the Sufi concept of taḥqīq is compatible with the states of experience he describes.