There are four stages and there are four types of knowledge.
Number 1, Shariah.
Shariah is the law, law of the religion and there are two parts of Shariah.
Shariah number 1, which is to purify the body
and number 2, Shariah e Batin, which is to purify your Latifa e Nafs (Lower Self).
Shariah of Zahir (outer dimension of Shariah) and Shariah of Batin (inner dimension of Shariah).
Shariah of Zahir will discipline your body
and Shariah of Batin will discipline your Lower Self
and with the help of Shariah e Batin, you will successfully go through the stages of Nafs-purification.
When your body is disciplined, when your Lower Self is disciplined, this is the culmination of Shariah.
Now you need Tariqah.
Tariqah (The Path).
The law is to purify your body and your Lower Self.
This is why Shariah is half faith.
According to a Prophetic Tradition, cleanliness is half of the faith.
So, with Shariah you purify your body, you discipline your body
and with the inner dimension of Shariah, you discipline your Lower Self, you purify your Lower Self.
And at the culmination of the inner and outer dimension of Shariah, you have reached half of the faith.
Now, you proceed towards Tariqah, the Real Path.
And the first step towards Tariqah is enlightenment and awakening of the Spiritual Heart.
"Awaken a dormant heart; for if it is dormant Thy [zikr] strikes [by tongue] are indeed ineffective."
With Shariah, you become a Muslim.
Meaning, you become obedient to God and his Word.
Now, in order to become a Momin, a devout servant of God, according to the Quran, God’s light must enter your heart.
How to bring God’s light into the heart can only be learnt through Tariqah.
Shariah doesn’t have this facility.
Shariah is confined to cleanliness of the body and purification of the Carnal Self.
However, in order to awaken the heart, you need Tariqah.
And, now the knowledge of Tariqah is very vast.
It starts with Awakening of the Heart (Zikr e Qalb) and it will end on witnessing the divine splendour (Liqa Billah).
Tariqah starts with Zikr e Qalb and it will end on Liqa Billah (witnessing the divine splendour).
Now, what is Haqiqah?
What is the knowledge of Haqiqah?
Haqiqah is a type of knowledge in which certain Kamileen, Sualihen and Muqariben,
they will use their spiritual concentration upon the heart of the seeker and they will purify their entire bosom;
all seven souls in no time without requiring them to be engaged in Zikr e Allah or any other Sufi practise.
So, with their spiritual concentration, they let the seekers of the path embark on the spiritual journey.
But this is Wehbi, this is not Qasbi.
Qasbi way of obtaining spiritual benevolence is through Tariqah
and Wehbi is what is conferred onto you by God or your Spiritual Master.
That is Haqiqah.
Now, what is Marifah?
Marifah is the knowledge which is given to saints and spiritual dignitaries when God wants them to become a Spiritual Guide.
In Marifah, they are taught by God how to guide people
and how to successfully take them on the spiritual path from the commencement of their spiritual journey
to the culmination of their spiritual journey.