This, then, is the light of natural disposition upon the light of revelation. Such is the state of one whose heart is alive and attentive.

The living heart is intimately connected with the meanings of the Quran: its possessor finds them as though they were already inscribed within it, and so recites them by heart.

Some people, however, are not fully receptive, attentive of heart, or fully alive inwardly. They therefore need a witness to distinguish truth from falsehood for them. Their hearts lack sufficient vitality to contemplate it, reflect upon it, and grasp its meanings, whereby they would come to know that it is the truth.

The first is like someone who has seen with his own eyes what he has been called to and told about.

The second is like someone who knows that the report is true, is certain of it, and says, “His report is sufficient for me.” He occupies the station of faith, whereas the first occupies the station of excellence. The former has attained certainty through knowledge, and his heart has risen from it to certainty through direct perception. The latter possesses the firm conviction through which he has left disbelief and entered Islam.

Certainty through direct perception is of two kinds: one in this world and another in the Hereafter. What is attained in this world bears the same relation to the heart as something visibly present bears to the eye. The unseen realities reported by the messengers are beheld in the Hereafter with physical sight, and in this world with inner sight. In both cases, this is certainty through direct perception.