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

(Dar). House or abode or dwelling. When a murid is engaged in spiritual warfare and struggle his physical body is the 'abode of warfare' (Dar-ul-Harb). Within this abode there reside Allah's enemies; all the infidels, unbelievers and tyrants. They must be subdued. The purified human body (and the sanctified heart which it contains) then becomes the 'abode of Islam' (Dar-ul-Islam) and the 'abode of peace' (Dar-us-Salam). Now it is blessed and worthy of being called Allah's temple. The Sacred City of Medina, the City of the Holy Prophet Muhammad is referred to as 'the Abode' (ad-Dar). And the lover sits and knocks on the door of the Sacred House yearning for a word, a glance or a message from the Beloved. One Great Lover said "For years I thought I was knocking from the outside, but the whole time I was really knocking from the inside!"

(Sharif). The Most Noble One is the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). He is the Noble Sacred Sanctuary (Haram ash-Sharif).

(Hajj). Pilgrimage to the Sacred Mosque, the House of Allah, at the Centre of Mecca. Hajj is the Ultimate Journey to Knowledge of Allah Who dwells in the secret centre of the human heart. Here the treasury of spiritual realities is to be discovered. The pilgrim travels to the Sacred Centre mounted on his spiritual resolve, his overwhelming love and his yearning for the Beloved. Mecca is the place of the House of Allah, where the slave stands alone before his Lord. Mecca is total inwardness and bewilderment. Mecca is Reality. After performing the hajj go to the grave of the Chosen One (Mustapha). After realising The Unity of Allah, after being annihilated in Oneness, return to the Muhammadan Presence, because, once you know Allah, then you will know who Rasulullah is! Visit Holy Mecca and then visit Holy Medina. The Islamic pilgrimage is one of the ethics of the Sufis. It is the goal that they try to achieve. The pilgrimage of the Sufi is in a whole other category from that of the ordinary Muslim. As far as the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, most perform it once in a lifetime, following the method of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Of those who perform the pilgrimage numerous times, many choose to live in the neighbourhood of Mecca and maintain the highest adab and spiritual practices in order to remain there. The real pilgrimage in Sufi terminology is the continuation of seeking nearness to Allah.

(Sajda pl. Sujud). The sajda, which is the culminating position in the ritual prayer, is the supreme symbol of humility, surrender and unconditional love of Allah. The slave and worshipper is annihilated in the One. When the heart prostrates, it never again rises from that prostration. Within each cycle of the prayer there are two prostrations. The first sajda symbolizes the Self at Peace and the fourth stage of knowledge, Knowledge of Certainty. The second sajda symbolizes the Well-pleasing Self and the sixth stage of knowledge, the Truth of Certainty. Through the Infinite Grace of Allah the lover may arrive at the Noble, Sacred Sanctuary. This the Noble Prophet Muhammad himself (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). The lover-slave prostrates before the Noble Sanctuary who is his sole means of attaining the Divine Presence.

(Rak'iun). The raki'un are the friends of Allah who never consider the cosmos in respect of its entity but only as a place of manifestation of Allah, the Real. They are humbled before Allah's Magnificence and Inaccessibility.