The Lataif.
The Lataif, or the Subtleties as they are sometimes known, are organs of perception. As the eye is capable of the
perception of light, and the ear is capable of the perception of sound, the lataif are also organs from which one may
experience a portion of reality. If the eye does not work, then the experience of sight is denied a person. Similarly,
if the heart is not open, then the portions of reality perceptible through it are not.There is a tendency to believe that the opening of the heart is a metaphorical thing, instead of a reality with a real
outcome, such as, say, cataract surgery.This is unfortunate.
While sharing a common function with the chakras of the yogic tradition, the lataif of the Sufi vary noticeably from
yogic concepts in terms of location and metaphysical significance. In his excellent article on the lataif, Arvan Harvat
discusses some of these similarities and differences.The lataif are also essential to the creation of poetry, and are omnipresent in the Romantic poets, although seldom
discussed in an orderly a fashion as do the Sufis and the Hindus. It is through the lataif that Blake can say things,
like:
How do you know but ev'ry Bird that cuts the airy way,
Is an immense world of delight, clos'd by your senses five?
and forms the basis of the statement that The soul of sweet delight can never be defil'd..
The Sufis differ in their assessment of the number and order of the lataif. As Harvat says: "There is no unanimity
regarding the number of lataif. Some consider khafi, akhfa, or, even sirr, to be only deeper layers ( or core(s)) of other, more
common lataif like qalb or ruh. Some orders, like the Halveti, consider all lataif to be different dimensions/layers of the latifa
qalb/heart."Some commentators on Sufism, such as Colin Atkinson, claim that it is the Sufic understanding of the Lataif which
separates Islam from the other monotheistic religions, such as Christianity. Thus the question may be fairly asked,
Does Christianity understand the Lataif?