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

(Fasad). Corruption or mischief. When Allah Almighty informed the angels that He was going to create man, they replied, "What, will You place therein one who will do corruption therein, and shed blood?" (The Qur'an 2:30). In being created man was cast down to the "lowest of the low". But, in this lies his Ultimate Bliss and Felicity, because he possesses the one necessary thing which will give him the means to rise from the "lowest of the low" to great heights. And, that one necessary thing is his heart. It has the capacity to contain Allah Almighty and attain to Knowledge of Allah.

(Ikhtiyar). Free choice or spontaneity (as opposed to compulsion). The angels are servants of Allah only by compulsion. They have no choice. Man is a servant of Allah by compulsion through his obligatory works and he is a servant of Allah by free choice through his supererogatory works. And he has been given the free choice as to which Path of Return he takes to his Origin. The 'Arif, the knower of Allah, is the one who knows the present moment and therefore knows that Allah IS the moment. Allah gives to such a knower free choice and spontaneous (ikhtiyar) knowledge in each instant and in each breath. This slave, knower and lover takes his knowledge directly from al Hayy, the Living. He drinks from the Water of Life which is ever fresh and ever renewed.

(Jibreel) The Archangel Gabriel (Peace be upon him), through whom the Final Revelation, The Qur'an, descended into the heart of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). His station is the borderland between The Angelic Realm and World of Dominion. Due to the fixed stations which the angels occupy, Jibreel could travel no further than the 'Lote Tree of the Uttermost Boundary' (Sidrat al Muntaha), through fear of being burned up.

(Al 'Aleen). Those of a higher order. The superior spirits. The angels closest to Allah. 'Aleen are those spiritual beings who, due to their luminous constitution, transcend, by their own essence, being 'elemental'.

The Sacred Centre in Mecca towards which Muslims face for the ritual prayer, bowing and prostrating before Allah. The Ka'aba is the earthly symbol of the Divine Throne (Al 'Arsh), around which the angels circle and it is a symbol of the sanctified heart of the Perfect Man. The Essence itself.

(Nur) is the created light which radiates from the Uncreated Light of Allah. When this light enters the heart it drives away the existent order thereby annihilating the inner eye from witnessing 'other-than-Allah'. For unveiling to take place the Light which comes from Allah must coincide with the light within the heart. If there is darkness within the heart, then it will not be able to match the Light from Allah. In such a case there is no unveiling, and Knowledge of Allah does not arrive in that heart. It is the Remembrance of Allah which polishes the heart and allows it to be filled with light. The Source of this Pure Light is the Absolute Darkness of the Essence Itself. The most complete and penetrating light is the light through which is unveiled what Allah means by the forms seen by the imagination in dreams.

(Nur Muhammadiyya). "Allah took a handful of His Light and said 'Be! Muhammad'". From this pre-existent Light of Muhammad (nur Muhammadiyya) all of the spheres were created. It is the Light of Muhammad that enables the traveller to advance towards the Reality of Muhammad (al haqiqa al Muhammadiyyah). Without the cooling nature of this light the salik would not advance, or if he did advance he would be burned-up. The differentiation between the Light of Muhammad (nur Muhammadiyya) and the Reality of Muhammad (al haqiqat al Muhammadiyyah) is within the degrees of the descent of Being, from the Inward Non-manifestation of the Hidden Treasure to the outward manifestation of the cosmos.

(Nurani). Within the cosmos, which is the realm of opposites, that which is luminous (nurani) stands in opposition to that which is dark (thulmani). All is relative, and while the angels are luminous when compared with corporeal things they are in fact dark and dense in relationship to the Infinite Light of Allah. The lovers of Allah drink a luminous wine which is handed directly to them from the Cupbearer.

(Hadarat al Malakut). This Presence is sometimes referred to as the Second Determination, 'The Lote Tree of the Uttermost Boundary' (Sidrat al Muntaha) and the World of Imagination ('Alam al Khayal.)