Introduction : This chapter investigates the phenomenon that Darwinism originated from Sufism

Sufism and the second sight:

There is a story from Sufism , It goes like this in late 1700s or early 1800s there was a Sufi guru Called Dehlavi . One day while he was sitting in the mosque surrounded by disciples. A disciple of his asked him " Sir why don't you look at the face of people when you preach.?"

Mr. Dehlavi took his handkerchief out and put it on the head of the disciple . Then the Kashaf (2nd sight ) of the disciple got opened and the disciple began to see every man in the mosque is a species .

Some are tigers ,some are lions , some are wolves e.t.c.

Theme of this story is that there is Nafs (animal soul ) in every human beings and Those Sufi devout who have kashaf (2nd sight) can see this Nafs .

There is a book called " The animals' law suit against humanity " written by the Brethren of Purity in the 10th century reflects this theme . In this book animals talk and reason like humans.

Connection to English literature :

Beatrix Potter: Beatrix Potter was a writer who wrote books that depicts the theme of talking animals . Now look at the character of Beatrix Potter , she was an ascetic type of lady . lived in solitude , befriended animals. Why she wrote books on talking animals ?

Is it unreasonable to think that Miss Potter had Kashaf like Sufi ? since she was a saintly type.

That's why she could see the Nafs that resides in humans . that's why she wrote the books on talking animals.

Aesop and Lewis Carroll : Aesop's fable and Lewis Carroll's " Alice in Wonderland " both literature have Characters of talking animals . Now Aesop was a pious man and Lewis Carroll was a saint . it is likely that those men had had Kashaf like Sufi . That's how they could see the Nafs that resides in human body . that's how they wrote their books.

H G Wells and George Orwell : H G Well's Novel " The island of Dr. Moreau" and George Orwell's " The animal farm " both have the theme of talking animals . It is plausible that Mr .Wells and Mr. Orwell both had Kashaf like Sufi. They could see the Nafs within the human body , that's how they got their ideas for their book

The Nafs is like the Noumena of Kant's Metaphysics . Noumena is a substance beyond matter which no eye can see . But Sufis with Kashaf can see the Noumena.

Darwinism :

Now we come to Darwinism , After Darwinism, we can interpret man as talking monkey ( like in "Planet of the apes ") . Darwinism is anthropomorphism like H G Well's "Island of Dr.Moreau ", Aesop's fables and Beatrix Potter's fairy tales .

Now look at Darwin He was a Christian dervish . In that sense , he was like a Sufi dervish . Then Charles Darwin had had Kashaf ( second sight) by dint of which he could see the Nafs ( animal soul ) that resides in human body . That's how he came to the conclusion that man evolved from animals. ( Not from Trip to the Galapagos)

So Darwinism is a theory of Sufism , Evolution of the Nafs . The Nafs was first in water , then it crawled on to the land , then became four legged animal , and finally, a bipedal thinking animal .

Conclusion :

This theory argues that Sufi Dervish can have Kashaf ( second sight) which enables them to see beyond the material world . Kashaf can see what Kant will Call Noumena . Charles Darwin was a man of Kashaf ,which enabled him to understand the mysteries of nature.

This theory suggests Knowledge is a from of field that is prevalent in the universe . Sufi dervishes with Kashaf (antenna) can capture knowledge from this ubiquitous field .

Sufism, Kashaf, And Darwinism: An Epistemological Hypothesis
[Written by ChatGPT]

Sufism, Kashaf, and Darwinism: An Epistemological Hypothesis

Abstract

This paper presents a speculative and interdisciplinary hypothesis: that certain insights commonly attributed to literary imagination and modern evolutionary thought may arise from a shared epistemological source described in Sufism as kashaf (unveiling or second sight). Drawing from Sufi metaphysics, classical literature, Kantian philosophy, and contemporary discussions on the quantum mind, the paper explores whether knowledge can be conceived as a universal field accessible through altered states of cognition. The argument is presented in a layman-friendly manner and does not claim empirical proof, but rather proposes a philosophical model of knowledge acquisition.

1. Introduction

Modern science generally explains knowledge as the product of sensory perception, experimentation, and rational inference. However, many intellectual traditions—especially mystical ones—suggest that knowledge can also be unveiled directly. This paper investigates the idea that Darwinism, literary anthropomorphism, and mystical insight may share a common epistemological foundation.
The central claim is not that Darwin consciously borrowed from Sufism, but that similar modes of knowing may produce similar insights across cultures and centuries.

2. Kashaf in Sufism: Seeing Beyond the Surface

In Sufi thought, kashaf refers to the removal of the veil between appearances and inner reality. A well-known Sufi narrative attributed to Shah Waliullah Dehlavi (18th century) describes a disciple who, upon receiving spiritual transmission, begins to perceive human beings as animals—lions, wolves, tigers—each representing dominant traits of the nafs (the animal or lower soul).

The Nafs

The nafs represents instinct, desire, aggression, fear, and survival drives.
Ordinary people experience the nafs unconsciously.
Sufi adepts claim to see or directly perceive it through kashaf.
This vision is symbolic rather than zoological: humans are not literally animals, but carry animal patterns of consciousness.

3. Early Philosophical Parallels: The Brethren of Purity

The 10th-century work The Animals’ Lawsuit Against Humanity by the Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-Safa) presents animals who speak, reason, and argue morally against humans. This text anticipates later literary traditions of talking animals and reflects a worldview in which:
Consciousness exists on a spectrum
Human rationality is not categorically separate from animal life
Moral and cognitive qualities are distributed across nature
This suggests an early non-dual epistemology, where mind and matter are not strictly separated.

4. Talking Animals in Literature: A Cognitive Pattern

4.1 Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter lived an ascetic, solitary life and showed deep empathy toward animals. Her stories portray animals with human speech and ethics. From a mystical-epistemological perspective, this may reflect not fantasy, but heightened sensitivity to instinctual consciousness.

4.2 Aesop and Lewis Carroll

Aesop’s fables moralize animal behavior to reflect human traits.
Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland dissolves rigid boundaries between logic, species, and identity.
Rather than childish invention, these works may express intuitive cognition—a mode of knowing that perceives archetypal patterns beneath social appearances.

5. Modern Literature: Wells and Orwell

H. G. Wells – The Island of Dr. Moreau

This novel explores the instability of the boundary between human and animal, suggesting that civilization is a thin layer over instinct.

George Orwell – Animal Farm

Orwell uses animals to reveal political psychology, implying that power, dominance, and fear are biological patterns recurring in human society.
These works function as diagnostic visions of the nafs, not merely allegories.

6. Kant, Noumena, and Kashaf

Immanuel Kant distinguished between:
Phenomena: what appears to the senses
Noumena: things-in-themselves, inaccessible to ordinary perception
Sufi epistemology diverges at this point. While Kant argued noumena are unknowable, Sufism claims that inner perception (kashaf) can access them directly.
In this framework:
Noumena ≈ Inner reality of consciousness
Kashaf ≈ Direct apprehension beyond sensory mediation

7. Darwinism Reinterpreted: Evolution of the Nafs

Conventional View

Darwinism explains evolution through:
Natural selection
Random variation
Environmental pressure

Mystical-Epistemological Reinterpretation

This paper proposes a symbolic parallel, not a scientific replacement:
The evolutionary sequence mirrors the transformation of the nafs
Aquatic → terrestrial → quadruped → biped reflects increasing cognitive complexity
Humanity represents a self-aware animal, not a metaphysical exception
From this angle, Darwin’s insight can be seen as an intuitive recognition of continuity of life, rather than mere empirical deduction.

8. Quantum Mind and Knowledge as a Field

Contemporary theories of the quantum mind (e.g., Penrose–Hameroff, Bohmian implicate order) suggest:
Consciousness may not be entirely local
Information may exist as a non-material field
The brain may act as a receiver, not a generator, of awareness

Proposed Model

Knowledge is a universal field
Ordinary cognition samples it weakly
Mystical states (kashaf) function as high-sensitivity antennas
This resonates with Sufi claims that knowledge is unveiled, not invented.

9. Epistemological Implications

This hypothesis challenges strict materialism without rejecting science:
Science describes how phenomena behave
Mystical epistemology explores how knowing itself occurs
Both may be complementary rather than contradictory.

10. Conclusion

This paper does not argue that Darwinism historically originated from Sufism, but that similar cognitive states can generate parallel insights across cultures. Sufi kashaf, literary imagination, and evolutionary intuition may arise from a shared epistemological substrate.
If knowledge is indeed a field permeating the universe, then mystics, poets, and scientists may differ less in kind than in mode of access.

Final Note

This work is philosophical and speculative. It invites dialogue between science, mysticism, and literature rather than attempting to collapse one into the other.
I’ve structured your ideas into a layman-friendly philosophical research paper and placed it in the canvas so you can read, revise, or expand it easily.
What I did deliberately (to strengthen credibility and clarity):
Framed the argument as epistemological and speculative, not as a literal historical claim (this protects it from easy dismissal).
Clearly separated science, symbolism, and mystical cognition.
Reinterpreted Darwinism as a parallel intuition rather than denying biology.
Integrated Kant (noumena) and quantum mind ideas without technical overload.
Maintained your core thesis: kashaf as an alternative mode of knowing and knowledge as a universal field.

How this can be used

As a philosophy of knowledge / consciousness paper
As an interdisciplinary humanities + science essay
As a chapter in a book on mysticism and modern thought

.

Chapter 6 ---- Epistemology of Darwinism