In the Karkarī Order, inward vision (baṣīra) is the eye of the heart illuminated by the Light of eternity, which itself comes from the treasuries of the unseen and extends from the world of divinity (lāhūt), through the eye of the needle of divine power, to the human world.

Outward vision is the eye of the sensory realm, and inward vision is the eye of outward vision, or the eye of the eye. For it perceives things as they actually are, since it is free from pupils and eyelids. It is hallowed beyond the imprint of forms and cre- ated beings. The object of outward vision is delimited, while the object of inward vision is nondelimited.

Physical sight is stained by all manner of blemishes, which our master Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī discussed in “The Niche of Lights,” (Mishkāt al-Anwār), saying:

Know that the light of eyesight sees other things, but not itself. It cannot see what is too far from it, nor what is too close to it, nor what is veiled from it. It sees the outside of things, not their inside. It sees only part of what exists, not all of it. It sees finite things, not infinite things. Its vision often errs: it takes large things to be small, distant things to be close, stationary things to be in motion, or things in motion to be stationary. These then are seven defects from which the outward eye cannot be free. If there should happen to exist any eye that is free of them all, I would say that it deserves the name of “light” most of all. You should know, then, that there is an eye in the human heart too which is endowed with this very perfection. This eye is what is called the intellect, the spirit, or the human soul.

Yet pay no heed to these expressions, for a person lacking in insight might mistake a multitude of expressions to denote a multitude of meanings. What we mean is the thing that distin- guishes the intellect from the mind of an infant, a dumb beast, or a madman. We call it the intellect (ʿaql) because that is the term that is given to it in common parlance. Yet the intellect is more worthy of being called a Light than the outward eye, for it is above the aforementioned seven defects. Let us examine them in turn:

The first defect is that the eye cannot see itself. The intellect, however, perceives other than itself and perceives its own attributes as well. It perceives that it is endowed with knowl- edge and potential, and perceives that it knows this, and that it knows that it knows this, and so on ad infinitum. Such is incon- ceivable for that which is perceived by the physical senses; and beyond this lies a secret that would be long to explain.

The second defect is that the eye cannot see what is too far from it nor what is too close to it. Yet proximity and distance make no difference to the intellect, which may soars to the high- est heights and plummets to the lowest lows in an instant. In truth, the intellect in its holiness is not bound by the concepts of proximity and distance at all, for the latter refer to physical bodies, whereas the intellect is a similitude of the Light of God; and every similitude is an emulation of the original, though not its equal. This may inspire you to contemplate the secret of the Prophet’s ﷺ words, “God created Adam in His own image,” though I shall not delve into it now.

The third defect is that the eye cannot perceive what is veiled from it. The intellect, however, may roam freely about the Throne, the Pedestal, and what lies beyond the veils of the heav- ens. It may move within the Supreme Assembly and the higher spiritual realm just as freely as it moves in its own domain, by which I mean the body. No realities whatsoever are veiled from the intellect, unless the intellect veils itself by means of attrib- utes that are akin to the way the eye is veiled when the eyelids are closed.

The fourth defect is that the eye perceives only the outward surface aspect of things, not the inner. It sees their receptacles and forms, not their true realities. The intellect, however, penetrates into the inner dimensions and secrets of things, per- ceiving their realities and spirits, gleaning their causes, reasons, purposes, and wisdoms.

The fifth defect is that the eye only sees some existent things, for all intelligible concepts and many sense objects are beyond it. It cannot perceive sounds, smells, tastes, temperatures, nor the faculties of perception, by which I mean the senses of hear- ing, sight, smell, taste, nor the inner attributes of the soul such as delight, happiness, discontent, sorrow, pain, pleasure, pas- sion, desire, power, will, knowledge, and countless other exist- ents. Its scope is thus exceedingly narrow. It cannot go beyond colors and shapes, which are the most basic things in existence; for corporeal bodies are the most basic category of existents, and color and shape are their most basic accidental qualities. Yet the scope of the intellect covers all things in existence, for it perceives all of the things we enumerated above, as well as those we did not, which constitute the major part. It may roam freely among all of them, and pass judgments upon them that are certain and truthful. Inward secrets are manifest to it, and hidden meanings are plain to it. How could the outward eye compete with it for the title of Light? It simply could not. The outward eye may be a light relative to other things, but it is darkness relative to the intellect. Outward vision is merely one of the intellect’s spies, charged with watching over the lowliest of its treasuries, that of color and shape, and reporting back to it. The intellect then passes judgment on these reports accord- ing to the dictates of its piercing insight and powerful judgment. The five senses are its spies, and it has inward spies too: imagination, sense-intuition, reflective thought, recollection, memory, beyond which lie servants and hosts subjected to its will, each in its specific realm. It sets them to work and exer- cises control over them as a king does his subjects, and with greater control still. To explain this thoroughly here would take too long...

The sixth defect is that the eye cannot see what is infinite, for it sees only the attributes of corporeal bodies, which can only be conceived as finite. Yet the intellect perceives concepts, and concepts cannot be conceived as finite. It is true that a given bit of information attained by the intellect in the present moment must be finite, but it has the potential to conceive of the infinite. For example, consider arithmetic. The intellect can conceive of an infinite series of numbers, or indeed the infinite multiplication of a given number. It can conceive of relation- ships between the numbers that can only be infinite. Indeed, it can apprehend its knowledge of something, and its knowledge of this knowledge, and its knowledge of this knowledge of this knowledge, and so on.

The middle level, the eye of inner vision (ʿayn al-baṣīra), allows you to witness your own nonexistence and His existence, so that you do not set up your ego as a partner to Him. It is then that the cosmos burns away and all things in existence vanish. That is the meaning of, “God was, and there was nothing with Him.”

Finally comes the truth of inner vision (ḥaqq al-baṣīra), through which you witness His existence, not your nonexist- ence or your existence. This is the meaning of, “He is now as He was.” Sidi Ibn ʿAjība says:

It is called the truth of inner vision because when the inner vision perceives the truth at its root and becomes absent from the Light of the branches by the Light of the roots, it is called the truth of inner vision on account of how it perceives the truth and is blind to creation. This is the station of the truth of cer- tainty (ḥaqq al-yaqīn). The ray of inner vision is the Light of faith for the folk of watchfulness (murāqaba); the eye of inner vision is the Light of spiritual excellence for the folk of witness- ing (mushāhada); the truth of inner vision is the Light of sta- bility and mastery for the folk of intimate converse (mukālama).

Or one could say that the ray of inner vision is the Light of the knowledge of certainty; the eye of inner vision is the Light of the eye of certainty; and the truth of inner vision is the Light of the truth of certainty. The knowledge of certainty is for the folk of proof and argument; the eye of certainty is for the folk of unveiling and elucidation; and the truth of certainty is for the folk of witnessing and beholding.

For instance, a person who has heard of Mecca but never seen it possesses the knowledge of certainty. If he views the city from afar without entering it, he has the eye of certainty. But when he actually enters the city and finds himself within it, he has the truth of certainty. The same applies to the seeker of God. As long as he is behind the veil, annihilated in pious works, he has the knowledge of certainty. When he approaches annihilation in the Essence but does not master it, he has the eye of certainty. When he attains mastery and stability in anni- hilation, he has the truth of certainty.

Or one could say that the ray of inner vision is for the people of the physical realm (mulk), the eye of inner vision is for the people of the spiritual realm (malakūt), and the truth of inner vision is for the people of the realm of invincibility (jabarūt). Or one could say that the ray of inner vision is for those who are annihilated in works, the eye of inner vision is for those who are annihilated in the Essence, and the truth of inner vision is for those who are annihilated in annihilation.

The eye of inner vision shows you your nonexistence; it makes you recognize the illusory nature of your existence beside His existence, for it is impossible to witness Him while witnessing anything besides Him. When your illusion fades and you become annihilated to your own existence, you witness your Lord through your Lord. This is the sign that the inner vision is opened and the innermost heart is cured, as the master of our masters Sidi ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Majdhūb said:

If you see the Being-Giver through the realm of being,

Your inner vision is still sealed;

When you see the realm of being through the Being-Giver, Your innermost heart will be healed.

The truth of inner vision shows you the existence of God alone, not your own existence since you are entirely absent, nor even your nonexistence since there is no question of nonexist- ence for something that never had any existence to begin with. There was never anything besides God; “God was, and there was nothing with Him, and He is now as He was.” Those last words [and He is now as He ever was] are not actually part of the ḥadīth, but their meaning is true, for it is impossible for God to undergo change. Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī said, “Suc- cessful is the one who sees creatures as motionless; advanced is the one who sees them as lifeless; arrived is the one who sees them as pure nothingness.” I would add that the one who sees them with the eye of nonexistence had attained mastery in his arrival. A poet said:

To an existence that you behold as a stitched mass,

Without distance, dialogue, or duality. (Īqāẓ al-himam, pp. 103-104)