(Mutaqqi). 'The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Allah' (Hadith). There are many levels of fear, the lower being closely related to the fear of punishment and Hellfire. The higher degrees of fear include the fear of 'losing' Allah after having 'fou...
(Nadamat). Contrition or penitence or remorse. The hadith says, "Penitence is the act of returning".
(Nafs). The ego or the self or the soul. The nafs is that dimension of man which stands between the spirit which is light, and the physical body which is darkness. The spiritual struggle or combat is waged against the downward-pulling tendencies of t...
(Nufudh). The power of penetration exercised by the possessors of states, through which they are able to perform the miraculous 'breaking of habits'.
The Arabic letter 'Nun'. Sura 68 begins, "Nun and the Pen", ("Nun wal qalam"). Nun is symbolized by the Inkwell. It is the knowledge of the Universal design without details. The Pen is dipped into the Inkwell. The Pen is the detailed knowledge of eve...
(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 Lig...
(Qabil). Each entity is a receptacle to receive and manifest Being. The extent of this receiving and manifesting depends upon the preparedness of the receptacle, which in turn depends upon the entity's reality.
(Qabul). To receive or to accept (the Self-disclosures of the Real). Such a 'receiving' is not a 'taking'. The spiritual courtesy of this situation demands an extremely high degree of respect, sensitivity, humility and gratitude from the slave. The ...
(Al Qalam). The Pen is dipped in the Ink and writes upon the pages of the Book. Al qalam indicates the knowledge of everything, in full detail, at the primordial level of creation.
(Al Qalam al 'Ala). The first objective individualisation takes place in the Supreme Pen which distinguishes the creatures from the Creator and imprints their forms of existence upon the Preserved Tablet.
(Qamus). A qamus is a book full of definitions and meanings. Each human is a qamus. When man looks within his own self and contemplates the inner signs and meanings he may come to know Allah. To make the Journey into the self, and through the levels ...
(Qawwal). During the 'spiritual concert' (sama') the qawwal may be the means through which the hearer finds Allah in ecstasy. When this occurs it is true sama' because sama' is a bird which flies from Allah to Allah - Allah is the singer and Allah i...
(Qawwali). A Sufi song and music. Through the rhythms of qawwali the listener may be opened to inrushes of knowledge and awareness through which he reaches ecstasy. If he 'finds' Allah within this ecstasy then he has experienced the true 'spiritual c...
(Qishr). The shell or husk or outer covering. The men of rational faculties are people of the shell. They miss the kernel and mistake the means for the end. Reason must be employed as a shell upon a kernel. It must be broken through in order to get t...
The Recitation or The Reading. The Qur'an is the Final Revelation from Allah to humanity. This Sacred Book contains all the keys with which to open the endless unfolding of Knowledge of Allah. The Qur'an is that which brings together (qur'an), and ...
