The Language of the Future
Sufi Terminology
by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi

Order by: Arabic English

u

'ubbadu'l waqt
Worshippers of the moment

('Ubbad ul waqt). These are the knowers who worship Allah in every moment of Time. Self-disclosure never repeats itself. In each moment Allah reveals Himself anew. Therefore the worshippers of the moment never limit or restrict Allah in any moment of...

'ubuda
Servitude

('Ubada). Servitude and bondage. This is the fulfilment and consummation of slavehood ('ubudiyya) when the slave loses himself in the Will of his Lord. 'Ubada is 'the Nearness of obligatory works' which is one of the four stations of Perfection. To...

'ubudiyya
Slavehood

(Ubudiyya). What is slavehood? To leave that which is yours and to be steadfast upon that which you have been commanded. Slavehood is the state of the one who is drawing near to Allah through acts of devotion. 'Ubudiyya is 'the Nearness of supereroga...

'ulama
Scholars

('Ulama). These are the learned masters or the men of outward knowledge. The 'ulama are the scholars of exoteric Islam while the knowers of Allah are the Masters of esoteric Islam. However, at times 'ulama can also indicate the inward knowers.

ulfa
Familiarity

(Ulfa). This is one of the waystationson the Journey of Return. In this waystation the traveller is joined to a group of the Messengers from whom he receives certain sciences and knowledge. Through these newly unveiled knowledges he is able to distin...

al-uluhiyya (al-ulaha)
Divinity

(Uluhiyya/al Ulaha). The Level to which the Name 'Allah' refers is the Divinity while the Entity to which the Name 'Allah' refers is the Essence. Level and Entity are two distinct aspects of the Supreme Name 'Allah'. Al uluhiyya is the highest Level...

'uluww
Sublimity

('Uluww). Sublimity and transcendence. 'Uluww is the Sublimity and the Transcendence which belong to Allah Alone.

'ulwi
High

('Ulwi). This is the opposite pole to low (sufli). In making his descent, from the state of non-manifestation within the Knowledge of Allah to the state of manifestation within the cosmos, man was cast down to the "lowest of the low'". This is the pl...

al-umana'
Trustworthy Ones

('Umana). This is another name for the exalted Men of Allah, the People of Blame.

al-umm al-'aliyat al-kubra
Mother - the highest and greatest

(Umm al 'aliyat al kubra). This term refers to Nature as the Isthmus (al barzakh). She is the one who gives birth to all things.

umm al-kitab
Mother of the Book

(Umm ul Kitab). This is the Eternal Prototype of the Revealed Book. It is the unfathomable depth of the Divinity and the endless unfolding of Knowledge of Allah. The Perfect Man is a book. He is the epitome of the Mother of the Book.

umma
Community

(Umma) refers specifically to the community of the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). He is the Seal of the Prophets. The Message which he delivered to the humanity, through the Final Revelation The Q...

ummi
Unlettered

(Ummi) indicates the knower who, possessing a heart which is empty of outward intellectual learning, is a pure vessel ready to receive 'God-given' knowledge or 'unlettered knowledge'. His heart is untainted. His love of Allah is total. His bondage i...

umur 'adamiyya
Non-manifested realities

(Umur 'adamiyya). Such realities, though non-existent within the cosmos, are nevertheless existent within the Knowledge of Allah. Through the Divine Command they become manifest. But it is their own yearning for such manifestation which turns Allah's...

al-umur al-kulliyah
Universal Realities

(Umur al Kulliyah) which remain interior with respect to individual existence, yet determine that existence.