The Language of the Future
Sufi Terminology
by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi
jaras
Ringing
(Jaras). The ringing or pealing of bells. Jaras applies to the descent of a divine message upon the slave. Its arrival is overpowering because it comes with divine force.
(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.
(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.
(Ilham). Divine inspiration or effusion. Ilham is an blowing in of the Holy Spirit into the heart of a Prophet or a Friend of Allah. Ilham is distinct from Revelation which is specific only to the Prophets of Allah. The Divine Ilham is the immense spiritual force through which the Friends of Allah speak their words of Wisdom, write their books of Knowledge, sing their songs of Divine Love. Only the purified heart which has been sanctified through the remembrance of Allah is worthy of this inblowing of ilham. The Verified Shaykh can recognise the one into whom it is blown and the work of creative inspiration which results from that inblowing. The Word of Allah descends firstly as Revelation (wahy), secondly as Inspiration (ilham) and thirdly as Incoming Thoughts (khawatir).
