Whoever thinks that this is knowledge, this is in itself knowledge, so science is described as lacking in the knowledge of the scholar, which is that perception is prevented from him from many things that he would have perceived if this obstacle had not been present for him, such as someone who has become blind, deaf, or something else, and the sciences would not have been exalted and degraded. According to what is known, therefore, concerns are attached to the noble and high sciences, which if a person is characterized by them, his soul will be purified and his rank will be increased. The highest of them is the rank of knowledge of God, and the highest path to knowledge of God is the science of manifestations, and below that is the science of sight, and nothing apart from sight is divine knowledge. Rather, they are beliefs in the generality of creation, not sciences, and these sciences are what God has commanded. His Prophet, peace be upon him, asked for more of it. God Almighty said, “And do not hasten with the Qur’an before its revelation has been completed to you, and say, ‘My Lord, increase me in knowledge’, meaning, increase me from your words by which we may increase knowledge of you, for here knowledge has increased knowledge with the honor of being slow with the revelation and being polite with the teacher who brought it to him before.” His Lord, and for this reason He added this verse by saying, “And faces were humbled to the Ever-Living, the Ever-Subsisting.” So he wanted the sciences of manifestation, and manifestation is the most honorable path to attaining sciences, which is the sciences of tastes.

[ Knowledge: its increase and increase ]

And know that there is another door to increase and decrease, which we will also mention, God willing, and that is because God made for every thing and the human soul among all things, both apparent and hidden. Note