What Are Shari’a, Ma’rifa, Tariqa and Haqiqa?

Question

What are Shari’a, ma’rifa, tariqa and haqiqa? And what is the meaning of these four?

Answer

These are lofty matters — only those who possess both Shari’a and haqiqa (truth) understand them. However, the difference between Shari’a and tariqa is plain: the rulings that pertain to a person’s outward state are Shari’a, while the cultivation of the inward is called tariqa.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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