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

mujahadah
Spiritual Struggle

(Mujahadah). The spiritual struggle and endeavour against the passions and downward-pulling tendencies of the lower self. Mujahadah is the ceaseless combat called the Greater Holy War. The war is fought with the celestial weapons of the Remembrance of Allah. The mature ones of the Path, those who 'know Allah', say that mujahadah is child's play! The real work of Men is Divine Knowledge.

See also: Death Greater Holy War Remembrance of Allah Spiritual work Travel

Death ( maut )

(Mawt). This refers to that type of death which is the removal of oneself from one specific condition to another condition. Within the higher teaching there are four deaths which the traveller (salik) must undergo on his Journey to Allah. These are the red death which is connected to controlling one's anger and refraining from retaliation; the white death which is connected to hunger, asceticism and a moderate way of life; the green death which is connected to the discarding of outward self-adornment and the assumption of inner adornment through the beautiful character traits (husn al akhlaq); and the black death which is connected to a selfless attitude of love and compassion to all of the creation, regardless of their ingratitude or hostility. All of these deaths take place through the spiritual struggle of the traveller.

Greater Holy War ( jihad al-akbar )

(Jihad al Akbar). This is the constant and vigilant inner warfare against ignorance, the passions and the vices of the lower self which drag man downwards away from Allah. It is the real struggle against the inner enemies, the inner unbelievers and the inner tyrants. The celestial weapon used in the Greater Holy War is the Remembrance of Allah.

Remembrance of Allah ( dhikrullah )

(Dhikrullah). Invocation of Allah through one of His Names or through His Words. The perfect dhikrullah, in which Allah becomes the seeing, the hearing, the speaking, the grasping of the one who remembers, is attained when every atom of the dhakir's being is absorbed and annihilated in the Remembrance of Allah. The dhakir becomes internally unified with the Absolute. Only then does Allah sit totally with the one who remembers Allah.

Spiritual work ( awrad )

(Awrad). This is the spiritual work undertaken by the murid with the direct permission of his Murshid. The awrad consists of units of dhikr, in the form of repetition of Divine Names, Qur'anic verses and sacred litanies. Within tariqa it is the actual doing of the awrad which results in a gradual and beautiful inner transformation. However the degree of spiritual transformation depends, firstly and ultimately upon the Grace of Allah, but also upon the purity of intention and sincerity of the murid. The Murshid distributes the awrad, but it is the murid who is required to do the awrad.

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