The Language of the Future
Sufi Terminology
by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi
talib Allah
Seeker of Allah
(Talib Allah). He who seeks Allah. The one who knows seeks nothing but Allah. His love, his yearning, his worship, his life, his death are purely, totally and unconditionally for Allah Almighty. He is the slave of Allah.
(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.
('Arif Billah). This Man is the one who has fulfilled his 'reason to be'. He has purified himself in readiness to receive the supreme mystic knowledge which is Knowledge of Allah. It is in knowing Allah that man is drawn closer to Allah. 'The water takes on the colour of its cup'. The clearer the receptacle the greater is its capacity to manifest the Divine.
(Hayat). The Spiritual Journey is the growth and development of the self as it travels from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge, from death to life (hayat). This is the finding of Life in Allah.
(Shawq). Intense longing and yearning for the Beloved. Shawq is a yearning to behold the Beloved, and a longing for nearness to the Beloved, and a longing for union with the Beloved, and an intense longing for increase in perpetual longing. It is said that breath is a movement of yearning towards the Beloved and within the breathing enjoyment is experienced. The breathing of the ecstatic who is under the pull of the Divine Attraction bears witness to this.
The Reality of shawq is that the luminous fire takes over the heart and there is no medicine for it except for meeting of the Beloved. The intense fire in the heart comes about because of the separation between the one who desires and the One who is desired. When the meeting takes place, the fire of longing will be extinguished. In the state of secretness, what increases is the witnessing of the Beloved, and shawq has no place there. One of the lovers of Allah said 'Do you desire Allah?' he answered 'No', because you only desire that which is absent from you and my Beloved is always present with me. The unification of this factor is in the unification of the spiritual resolve towards Allah and the continous journeying to Him - that is 'To worship Allah like you see Him, and if you do not see Him, be certain that He sees you'. He is with you in the present moment, for this reason, you do not desire Him, because you are with Him. Shawq is he need of the heart to meet the Beloved.
('Ishq). Intense, overflowing and passionate love of Allah. Some say that 'ishq cannot arise without actual vision of the Beloved. 'Ishq is the highest stage before absorption in Allah. It is as rare as the red sulphur. It burns away everything of the lover ('Ashiq) transforming him into the beloved. After annihilation in Allah and absorption in Allah, where all is blindness and there is no longer any vision, the lover is separated from the Beloved and his 'ishq burns afresh. Passionate love of Allah is without limit.
('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 realize 'ubuda is to be gifted with a very high degree of Knowledge of Allah. To know that 'the slave is the slave and the Lord is the Lord' is the supreme form of spiritual courtesy towards Allah. The Holy Prophet Muhammad al Mustapha (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) is the Beloved of Allah and His Chosen One. No one is more perfect than him. No one can attain to his Knowledge. Yet Allah says in The Qur'an, "Glory be to Him Who carried His slave by night" (17:1). The slave is in bondage ('ubuda). Bondage is Perfection. Bondage is Knowledge.
('Ibada). Worship and service of Allah with absolute obedience and love. Man was created in order to 'know' Allah. Therefore the essential meaning of worship is Knowledge of Allah. Allah says in The Qur'an, "I created jinn and men only to worship (know) Me" (51:56). The Holy Prophet Muhammad said, "Perfection is to worship (know) Allah like you see Him". Worship should penetrate every aspect of a man's existence. The rites and rituals of Islam are the outer forms containing the inner meanings which will enable the worshipper to become a knower.
