Arif (also spelled Aref in Persian, Arabic: عارف‎) is a common male given name in various Muslim countries, such as Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey.

As a term, it was used by Sufi authors like Abu Abd al–Rahman al–Sulami to mean "a gnostic, mystic; a seeker of marifa", similar in meaning to the terms salik, zahid or faqir.

In his work "Waystations of the Gnostics" (Maqamat al–‘arifin), Ibn Sina defines several stages along a mystical path, where the ‘arif occupies an intermediate stage. Mahmoud Shabestari remarks that the true ‘arif sees the inward light of the divine being everywhere. The Tayyibi author al–Khattab b. al–Hasan, delineating the difference between ordinary knowledge (‘ilm) and ma‘rifa, explains that every ‘arif is a knower, but not every knower is an ‘arif. Some Twelver Shi'a authors like Rajab Bursi define an ‘arif as a believer whose love and knowledge (ma‘rifa) of the imams draw him nearer to spiritual perfection.

Leila Forouhar (Persian: لیلا فروهر‎, born 23 February 1954 in Isfahan, Iran) is a singer and actress from Iran. She relocated to Los Angeles after the Iranian Revolution.

Leila is the daughter of the late Iranian actor Jahangir Forouhar, who had already established a solid background in the Iranian entertainment industry by the early 1970s. She speaks of the great influence her father had upon her interviews. She followed her father's career path into movies, beginning with minor roles in various movies that were based mainly on the social issues of the Shah Shah Pahlavi^{[citation needed]}. In time she became known as a child star, and with the release of Soltaneh Ghalbhaa (King of Hearts), her fame had already spread to all three Persian countries Iran, Tajikistan and Dari speaking country Afghanistan. As a teenager, she had begun modeling for top fashion magazines alongside acting, with roles in Ezteraab, Three Sisters and The Thirsty Ones.Leila has more than 47 films.

With the outbreak of war with neighboring Iraq, the Iranian movie and music industry was foundering. Initially Forouhar family decided to stay in Tehran in hopes that the conclusion of the war would signify a return to the pre-revolutionary era^{[citation needed]}. With the war drew stretched on, however, Leila decided to leave the country.