Irfan
/ɪrˈfɑːn/noun
A term for spiritual or mystical knowledge, especially intuitive knowledge of divine reality in Islamic thought.
Did you know?In Sufi and Shiʿi intellectual traditions, irfan can mean a form of gnosis: direct spiritual insight distinguished from ordinary learned information.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
ʿ-r-f
“A root associated with knowing, recognizing, or recognizing through familiarity.”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
ʿarafa (عرف)
“To know, recognize, or become acquainted with.”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
ʿirfān (عرفان)
“Knowledge, recognition, or awareness; later, spiritual gnosis.”
Medieval Islamic philosophy
Arabic/Persian
ʿirfān
“Mystical or intuitive knowledge of divine reality, developed as a technical term in Sufi and Shiʿi traditions.”
20th Century
English
irfan
“An English-language transliteration used for Islamic mystical knowledge or gnosis, and also used as a personal name.”