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

(Wajd). These are the states which come upon the heart unexpectedly. They annihilate it from witnessing itself and others. Ecstasy is the descent of immense spiritual energy upon the slave. It overwhelms the senses, causing extreme physical reactions. Ecstasy is true when body, mind and heart are overcome by this descent. Wajd may manifest as intense joy, when Allah's Beauty dominates, or as intense grief, when His Majesty dominates. It is during the spiritual concert that the lover may experience ecstasy and more ecstasy. Ecstasy is a gift of Allah's Grace upon His lover. Without these gifts of wajd the lover would be unable to bear the intensity of longing and love contained within his heart.

('Iyan). This term suggests that there are still two faces to have vision of each other. The lover is not yet lost in the Beloved, absorbed by the camphor or drowned in the Ocean. He is still looking.

(Jam' u tafriqa). Jam' is collectedness and tafriqa is separation. Tafriqa is a state when the mystic becomes conscious of himself as an individual and returns to himself after the ecstasy of intoxication with the Beloved. The highest degree of knowledge (Ma'rifa) is the combining of union (Jam') with separation (Tafriqa). Gatheredness in separation is the very truth.

(Warid). An inrush of knowledge and awareness. Every affair which enters the heart from any Divine Name is called a warid. During the collective dhikr and spiritual audition of the Sufi gatherings the dhakir and listener may be opened to powerful inrushes of knowledge and awareness. The effect of the warid depends upon the preparedness and capacity to receive it. A warid may produce absence or madness. The Great friends of Allah, those whose capacity is great, can receive a constant flow of these inrushes without the onlooker perceiving any external change.

(Junun). Temporary madness can arise due to the force of an 'inrush' which overpowers the senses. Majnun's longing and love for Layla, which rendered him 'insane', is one of the Sufis best-loved symbols of the lover's obsession with the Beloved. The lover who has been intoxicated by the Beloved's Name is good for nothing else! It appears to the world that he has lost his wits, but in truth he has become wise.

(Kibrit Ahmar). This term is used to indicate a highly personal spiritual realization or a vision of great rarity. The Red Sulphur is the sought-after and rare working principle which turns base metal into gold. Finding one's Spiritual Guide/Murshid is often referred to as 'finding the red sulphur'. Finding the hidden treasure within one's own secret is the Red Sulphur. Finding the Red Sulphur is rare, yet some of the great friends of Allah have found it in abundance! The universal meaning of Sulphur is the Divine Command.

('Ishqi Haqiqi). This is the stage of the First Descent of Being and is also known as 'Or Nearer', The Veil of Glory and the Reality of Muhammad. Only the Love of Allah is True Love. It is the Love which made manifest the Hidden Treasure. True Love is Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace).

(Jam' al Jam'). Gathering of the gathering. Jam' al jam' is the experience of union devoid of all distinctions, even of the idea of being one with Allah. This is the station of 'Two Bows' Length', the station of Perfection which is attained only by the greatest Perfect Men, who are the Prophets and the great saints. The Gathering of the gathering is also known as 'The Station of Great Glory'. This is also Unity in Multiplicity. Annihilation in totality in Allah – in the Presence of the Divine Beauty. This is the opposite of farq (separation). This is Unity without separation. To gather that which belongs to Allah within you and surrender all of it to Him is real surrender. In the cosmos, there is nothing but Allah, His Names and His attributes. In short, this is called jama’. When we say jam’, it is the centre of multiplicity.