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

(Safsaf al Akhlaq). These are the ugly vices within man which prevent him from being with his Lord. It is through the spiritual alchemy of the Remembrance of Allah that the base character traits may be transformed into noble ones.

(Nash'a).The human being is the most perfect of all configurations in the cosmos due to the fact that Allah breathed into him of His Spirit and gave him the potential to manifest the All-Comprehensive Name 'Allah'. The configuration (nash'a) of man's soul cannot be changed into a new configuration but it may be brought into equilibrium by the divine physician. The divine physician is a Prophet or a Spiritual Master who is an Inheritor of a Prophet.

(Munaza'a) exists between opposites and the root of such a conflict goes back to the diversity of the Divine Names. Man's inner condition is one of conflict and disequilibrium. Only through spiritual endeavour under the direction of a Spiritual Guide can the conflict be transformed into harmony and the disequilibrium into perfect balance. Within the Perfect Man all of the Divine Names are in equilibrium. No one Name dominates over another because the Perfect Man is the locus of manifestation for the All-Comprehensive Name 'Allah'.

(Inhiraf). All spiritual illness are based upon an inner disequilibrium which has its root in the base character traits of the individual. Through spiritual struggle and the sincere turning to the Remembrance of Allah the base character traits may be transformed into noble ones. With the assuming of the noble character traits, equilibrium and harmony will be attained.

(I'tidal). Equilibrium and balance. Spiritual equilibrium is attained through assuming the noble character traits which were perfected in the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). Under the direction of the Murshid, who is a divine physican, the murid's constitution may be brought into harmony and (I'tidal); equilibrium and balance. Perfection is an equilibrium in which all of the Divine Names are in balance. No one Name predominates over another. This is the perfect balance of the Perfect Man, who is a locus of manifestation for the All-Comprehensive Name 'Allah'. The Name 'Allah' contains all the Divine Names.

(Shifa'). The divine physician dispenses the correct dosage of medicine to bring his patients (murids) to a state of spiritual equilibrium and restore their harmonious constitution. This is the True Healing.

(Salam). In the salutations on the Prophet (salawat), greetings of Peace (salam) are given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, after the invocation of Blessing. This is to confer stability and safety upon Allah's Beloved after the manifestation of Divine Glory has been poured forth upon him, May the Blessings of Allah be upon him and Peace. Peace cannot be secured in the land until all the disruptive elements have been subdued. Without the struggle of the Greater Holy War, man's body, self, heart and spirit cannot live in peace.

(Mizan). The scale or the balance. The Sacred Law is the scale in which must be weighed everything pertaining to Allah, to knowledge, to spiritual realization, to love and to the human state. The traveller on the Path of Return is required to purify himself, through spiritual endeavour, in order to achieve this balance which Allah has established.

(Murshid/Shaykh/Pir). The Murshid is a True Inheritor of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). After having been taken to the Divine Presence during his ascension the slave has been returned, by Allah, to the creation to guide and perfect the still imperfect ones. He was taken up as a slave and returned as a slave and Murshid. The qualities of an authentic Murshid are those of his own Master and Teacher, the Holy Prophet himself. The sacred connection between a Murshid and his murids was established in Pre-Eternity and continues into Eternity. Because of the Murshid's own spiritual attainments his murids have the possibility of becoming travellers. The perfect Murshid is of The People of Blame and his murids sometimes also attain Perfection. For the murid, the Murshid is one of the 'signs on the horizons', the outward of his own inward. What he sees in the mirror of his Murshid is a reflection of what is within his own self. He may also see within the Murshid the good qualities and excellent character traits which are yet latent in himself.