('Ibada). Worship and service of Allah with absolute obedience and love. Man was created in order to 'know' Allah. Therefore the essential meaning of worship is Knowledge of Allah. Allah says in The Qur'an, "I created jinn and men only to worship (kn...
(Iblis). This is the personal name of Satan (shaytan). Symbolically Iblis is the fancy of 'otherness' from Allah.
('Eid). Festival or feast day. For the lover of Allah this festival is the recurrent celebration of the arrival of the Beloved. When Allah enters the courtyard of His lover's heart that moment is the moment of bliss. The hunger, thirst, pain and orde...
('Eid al Adha). This Great Feast Day is celebrated after the slave has stood in the Presence of His Oneness, (symbolised by the standing at the Mount of Mercy on the Plain of Arafat outside of Holy Mecca). When the lower self has been reduced to nau...
(Idafa). Correlations or relationships. The Divine Names demand relationships because the Divine Names are what make the cosmos manifest. The Powerful (Al Qadir) demands the object of power (Maqdur). The Merciful (Ar Rahman) demands an object of merc...
(Idbar). 'Transmit' or 'turn away'. When Allah created the Intellect He said to it 'Receive' (iqbal) (or 'turn towards [Me]'). When it had received He said to it 'Transmit' (idbar) (or 'turn away [from Me]') and it transmitted. The First Intellect is...
(Idhn). Permission of one in authority. It is always the higher authority that gives permission to that which is lower. Therefore within the Spiritual Path this permission always comes from The Highest Authority - Allah. Permission (idhn) for the mur...
(Idlal). Man has been given the choice as to which path he takes on the return journey to his Origin. In this life he can make the Journey of Return to his Sacred Centre under Divine Guidance which is manifested in the Prophets of Allah and His frie...
(Idrak). "Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth" and it is through the Light of Allah that all perception takes place. "Allah took a handful of His Light and said to it, "Be! Muhammad'". The creation, which is the outward manifestation of ...
(Ihsan). Excellence or perfection or sanctifying virtue or spiritual beauty. Ihsan has three degrees: 1).To do the good that should be done with one's property, words, acts and states. 2). To worship with total presence like one was actually seeing ...
(I'jaz). The Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) was given inimitability (i'jaz) through The Qur'an, which is Allah's Word. Through The Qur'an he acts as Allah's spokesman and therefore he cannot be imitated.
(Ijtihad). Outwardly this takes the form of individual endeavour to learn knowledge of the Sacred Law (shari'a). Inwardly the efforts of the individual are directed towards self-purification in order to gain Knowledge of Allah. Such a striving (ijti...
(Ikhlaas). Sincerity and purity of intention. Without this noble quality man is unable to advance towards his Lord or live in harmony with the creation. With it he is able to traverse great distances and attain to great heights of knowledge. The core...
(Ikhtisas). This term applies to those who are the chosen ones of Allah and His elect.
(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 sp...
