- Arif
Infobox Given Name Revised
name = Arif
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pronunciation=
gender = Male
meaning =
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origin = Arabic
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footnotes =Arif ( _ar. عارف) is a popular and common given name in various
Muslim countries of Asia, such asIndonesia ,Turkey ,Pakistan ,India ,Bangladesh andMalaysia (in Malaysia, the spelling may also appear as Ariff or Arief). It means 'smart', 'knowledgeable' and 'wise' (Literally, "one who knows") in Arabic.As a term, it was used by
Sufi authors likeAbu Abd al–Rahman al–Sulami (d. 1021) to mean "a gnostic, mystic; a seeker of "marifa " (spiritual knowledge)", similar in meaning to the terms "salik ", "zahid ", "faqir ", etc.In his work "Waystations of the Gnostics" ("Maqamat al–‘arifin"),
Ibn Sina (d. 1037) defines several stages along a mystical path, where the "‘arif" occupies an intermediate stage.Mahmud Shabistari (d. 1339) remarks that the true "‘arif" sees the inward light of the divine being everywhere. TheTayyibi authoral–Khattab b. al–Hasan (d. 1138), delineating the difference between ordinary knowledge ("‘ilm") and "ma‘rifa", explains that every "‘arif" is a knower, but not every knower is an "‘arif". SomeTwelver Shi'a authors likeRajab Bursi (d. 1411) define an "‘arif" as a believer whose love and knowledge ("ma‘rifa") of theimam s draw him nearer to spiritual perfection.The Arabic word "‘arif" has also been borrowed into the "street language" (vernacular) of
Amharic and otherEthiopian languages , but with a change of meaning: it is used as a slang term corresponding to English "cool", "neat-o", etc.
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