Sayyid Abdulhakim bin Mustafa Arwasi 'rahmatullahi 'alaih' says in one of his letters:

All of the waridat-i ilahiyya happens within the 'adat-i ilahiyya. That is, Allahu ta'ala creates everything under some causes. He has given these causes the effect, the power to act. We call such powers natural forces, laws of physics, chemistry and biology. For doing something, for obtaining something, we have to hold fast to these causes. For example, to obtain wheat it is necessary to plough the field, to sow the seeds and to reap. All the actions of men happen within these laws of Allahu ta'ala. In order to do favors, to bestow gifts upon His beloved slaves and to deceive His unbridled enemies, Allahu ta'ala suspends His laws and creates for them things without causes. For example: 1- Phenomena that happen from prophets 'alaihimussalam' beyond the Divine laws of causation but within the Divine power are called mujiza. Prophets have to exhibit mujizas.

2 - Phenomena which happen beyond the laws of causation through the Awliya of the ummats of prophets 'alaihimussalam' are called karamat. Ibni Abidin says in the chapter dealing with 'murtads,' people who left Islam, "Mutazila and Wahhabi did not believe in miracles, that is karamat. Imam-ul-haramain, Imam-i 'Umar Nasafi and many other Islamic scholars 'rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain' prove that karamat is something permissible." The Awliya do not have to exhibit karamats. They do not want to exhibit karamats. Rather, they feel embarrassed towards Allahu ta'ala.

3 - Among any ummat, phenomena that happen beyond the laws of causation from those who are not Awliya are called firasat.

4 - If they happen from fasiqs, from those whose sins are many, they are called istidraj, which means to degrade, demote them gradually.

5 - Those that happen from disbelievers are called sihr, that is, magic.