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

uns
Intimacy

(Uns) is a spiritual state in which the heart becomes permeated by Love and contemplates the Beauty of Allah and His Gentleness, Mercy and Forgiveness. The state of intimacy is ineffably sweet and indescribable. It may descend upon the listener at the 'spiritual concert' causing him to fall into an ecstasy in which he finds Allah. The People of hearing experience this intimacy because they hear only Allah, at all times and in all sounds. During the Journey the traveller may initially experience brief periods of such intimacy. But through the Grace of Allah, after much journeying and purification and after many unveilings and tastings, the lover will always feel close to Allah, even when Allah keeps him at a distance!


See also: Absence Distance from Allah Finding Jealousy Longing-Intense Love Nearness Passionate love of Allah People of the Essence People of hearing People of unveiling and finding Lover-Passionate Those who are brought near
(Ghaybah). This indicates the heart's absence from knowledge of what is happening in human situations because the senses are totally occupied with what is influencing them. Absence also refers to the manner in which the Beloved keeps Himself absent from the lover. This absence is for the sake of imparting knowledge and teaching courtesy in love.
(Bu'd). Distance from Allah. There can be two aspects to bu'd. One is the distance which comes about through forgetfulness of, or even disbelief in, Allah. Such a distance is Hell in this life and in the Hereafter. The other distance is in fact a profoundly sweet distance. It occurs when the slave truly knows, through unveiling, that 'the slave remains the slave and the Lord remains the Lord'. Such a distance as this is one of the means by which the slave attains nearness to Allah. And nearness to Allah is Paradise here and now.
(Wijdan) comes from the same root as wujud (finding). It could be said that wujud is finding the Real in ecstasy.
(Ghayrah). There is a jealousy for the sake of the truth which is directed towards the overstepping of limits. And there is a jealousy which is the concealment of inner and outer secrets. The Jealousy of Allah is His tenaciousness in holding His friends (awliya) who are His precious possessions.
(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.
(Hubb). Love is the motivating force of Allah's Self-disclosure which is His creation of the creation. This is indicated in the Hadith Qudsi "I was a Hidden treasure and I loved to be known and so I created the creation". It is this love (Hubb) which motivates the lover (Muhibb) to turn towards the Beloved (Mahbub) with a total turning.
(Qurb). Proximity or nearness to Allah. Qurb is the reality of the Station of Perfection, 'Two Bows' Length'. It is the limit of the slave's ascent before annihilation in Allah. One of the bewilderments of the Journey is that through having knowledge of his distance from Allah the slave is actually brought near. Slavehood indicates this distance which brings nearness. The slave must cling to perfect courtesy by honouring and respecting the Truth that, 'the slave remains the slave and the Lord remains the Lord'.
('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.
(Al Dhatiyun). 'Those who have realised the Essence' are the slaves of Allah who drink directly from the Fountain of Camphor in Paradise. They are the People of Solitude of the Absolute Essence. Their love of Allah, being total and utter, remains constant in the face of opposites, because for them the opposites are joined. There is only Unity. There is only Allah as He is in Himself.
(Ahl as-sama'). The people of hearing who hear only Allah within the creatures and the creation. When they listen to the 'spiritual concert', (be it within the sama' or within each moment of existence) it is Allah who they are hearing. They hear Allah in the song of the Sufi singer (qawwal). They hear Allah in the sound of the wind. They hear Allah in the voices of their companions.
(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.
(Muqarrabun). Those who are brought close or near to Allah and are His favoured friends. Al muqarrabun are those perfect slaves who know that 'the Lord is the Lord and the slave is the slave'. They have beautiful moral courtesy with Allah, never overstepping the limits of their own limitedness and slavehood. Their love of and devotion to Allah is total. They see nothing but Allah. They see Allah before, in, with and after the creation. They are the pure followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). They endeavour always to emulate his perfection and in so doing they cling to their own slavehood as he did. For all of this Allah draws them nearer to Himself in each moment. Their Bliss is never-ending because they dwell perpetually in His Presence. They are the People of Solitude. His perfect slaves and lovers and knowers. He guards them through His jealousy for them. They are not known except by those who also are brought near.

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