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

'alama
Sign

('Alama). Sign or omen or mark. The cosmos ('alam) is a sign and a mark ('alama) of Allah. It is a proof of Allah. But a mark denotes only that which is limited, so the cosmos does not denote His Essence, only the knowledge that He exists. Every sign, every mark indicates Allah, but the majority of mankind recognize Allah only in that particular mark or sign in which they have limited Allah. The knower and lover never limit Allah. They recognize Allah in every 'alama.


See also: Friends of Allah Knowers of Allah Verifiers
(Awliya). The friends of Allah. These are His Saints. Their knowledge is not derived from reflection. Allah has purified them of that type of knowledge. They possess the opening of unveiling through Allah, the Real, Himself. The awliya are those with unbroken awareness of Allah. These Perfect Men have attained to the highest of all human degrees.
(Al 'Arifin/'Urufa). They see and recognize Allah wherever they look. The knowers are bewildered. But this is not the bewilderment of being lost, rather it is the bewilderment of having found Allah. They know that He cannot be known. The knowers are nothing because they are everything.
(Al Muhaqqiqun). These great ones form the highest category of friends of Allah. They follow no one's authority because in themselves they have verified and realized [through unveiling and finding], the truth and reality of all things which is Allah, the Real. They are also known as'The People of Unveiling and Finding'.

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