■ The Six Categories of the Men of the Unseen (Rijāl al-Ghayb)
▪︎ From the Sayings Attributed to Sayyidī ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Jīlī, may Almighty Allāh sanctify his noble secret.
“When I asked al-Khiḍr, peace be upon him, about the Men of the Unseen, al-Khiḍr informed me that they are divided into six categories, differing according to their spiritual stations.
▪︎ The First Category: The Awliyāʾ
They are the saints, the finest and most steadfast of the people. They are those who follow in the footsteps of the Prophets.
They have become absent from the world of created forms, dwelling in the unseen realm described as the level of the Throne of the All-Merciful.
▪︎ The Second Category: The Awtād of the Earth
They are the people of meanings and the spirits of forms. A saint may assume their forms and speak to people, both inwardly and outwardly, conveying their knowledge.
They are pure spirits who have travelled from the world of witnessing towards the world of the unseen, until their very breaths have become acts of worship.
▪︎ The Third Category: The Angels of Inspiration and Spiritual Impulses
They approach the doors of the saints and speak to the elect of Almighty Allāh. They emerge into the realm of sensory perception, yet remain unrecognised by ordinary people.
▪︎ The Fourth Category: The Men of the Unseen
They are the men of intimate communion with Almighty Allāh, constantly engaged in spiritual encounters. They depart from their own realm and are found only beyond the familiar boundaries of their world. They appear to people in perceptible forms.
Those endowed with spiritual purity may also fall under this category, informing others of hidden matters and revealing things that have remained concealed.
▪︎ The Fifth Category: The Men of Spiritual Favour
They are individuals from among the descendants of Ādam who appear before people and then disappear.
They speak to them and answer them.
Most of those associated with this category are said to dwell in mountains, valleys, and along the banks of rivers.
▪︎ The Sixth Category: The People of Spiritual Unveiling
They are the people of kashf, whose father is contemplation (tafakkur) and whose mother
is imagination or spiritual envisioning (taṣawwur).
Their thoughts are divinely inspired, their breaths are all-merciful, and their worship is perfected. Their outward law is Mosaic, while their inward spiritual reality is Khidrian.”
▪︎ Al-Insān al-Kāmil fī Maʿrifat al-Awākhir wa-l-Awāʾil
And only with Almighty Allāh is true success.
