In Sufism , a divinely inspired statement that a practitioner utters in a mystical state.
The Sufis claim that there are moments of ecstatic fervour when they are overwhelmed by the divine presence to such a degree that they lose touch with worldly realities. In such moments they utter statements that may seem incoherent or blasphemous if taken literally, so the statements must be interpreted symbolically. Since the state of mystical trance is normally brief, the statements rarely exceed six or seven words, but the Sufis regard all their writings, particularly their poetry, as possessing an element of shaṭḥ .