The Language of the Future
Sufi Terminology
by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi
'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.
(Ma'rifa) is a light which Allah casts into the heart of whomsoever He Wills. This is the true knowledge which comes through unveiling, witnessing and tasting. This knowledge is from Allah, it is not Allah Himself, because He Is Unknowable in His Essence. The triad on the Sufi Path of Return is comprised of Fear, Knowledge and Love. Fear leads to Knowledge which leads to Unconditional Love of Allah. It is said that spiritual struggle is child's play while ma'rifa is men's work.
(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.
(Ahl al Kashf wal Wujud). These are the knowers. They have passed beyond the veils which stand between themselves and their Lord and they stand perpetually in His Presence.
