ع ر فknowing; being at rest with

معرفة · maʿrifa · knowing, recognition

• Met in: V1 p12 ¶2a: «اعلم أن المطلوب من هذا الباب معرفة فضيلة العلم ونفاسته», "know that what is sought in this chapter is knowing the excellence of knowledge and its preciousness".
• Dictionary form: مَعْرِفَة, a verbal noun of عَرَفَ, which Lane gives as "He knew it; he had cognition of it". Lane also quotes al-Rāghib: maʿrifa "is the perceiving a thing by reflection, and by consideration of the effect thereof", "so that it has a more special meaning than" ʿilm.
• Pattern: مَفْعِلَة (mafʿila). The verb عَرَفَ is in the Quran 20 times.
• Meaning here: Knowing: Ghazali's aim in this section is to know what the excellence of knowledge is. Maʿrifa and ʿilm (العلم, one of our first words) are close, and Ghazali uses both.

Ibn Faris, Maqāyīs al-Lugha, root عرف, vol 4, p 281

العين والراء والفاء أصلان صحيحان، يدل أحدهما على تتابع الشيء متصلا بعضه ببعض، والآخر على السكون والطمأنينة

Two sound origins: one points to a thing following on, joined piece to piece; the other to stillness and being at rest. Maʿrifa belongs to the second: «وهذا يدل على ما قلناه من سكونه إليه، لأن من أنكر شيئا توحش منه ونبا عنه», "this shows what we said, his being at rest with it, for whoever does not know a thing is wary of it and shies away from it".

Urdu bridge

معرفت (knowing Allah), عارف (one who knows), تعارف (an introduction), معروف (well known) and عرف (the name one is known by) are all Urdu. (to be confirmed)

Quran

70 words from this root (Quranic Arabic Corpus). Most common: مَّعْرُوف (what is right and known) ×38, عَرَفَ (he knew) ×20.

ٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَٰهُمُ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ يَعْرِفُونَهُۥ كَمَا يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَآءَهُمْ وَإِنَّ فَرِيقًا مِّنْهُمْ لَيَكْتُمُونَ ٱلْحَقَّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

Those to whom We gave the Scripture know him as they know their own sons. But indeed, a party of them conceal the truth while they know [it].

Surah Al-Baqara (2), ayah 146 · Saheeh International

Why this ayah: «يَعْرِفُونَهُۥ كَمَا يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَآءَهُمْ», "know him as they know their own sons": knowing as recognising. Ghazali quoted the second half of this ayah on V1 p9 ¶13a.

In the Ihya

معرفة: 563 times in the Ihya.