(Adab al suhba). This is the mutual respect and gracious behaviour which exists between the Murshid and his murid. The murid needs the Murshid who needs the murid! The Murshid's adab towards the murid springs from his own intrinsic need of Allah. The...
(Afada) To overflow or emanate. Creation is an overflow or an emanation from the the Breath of the All Merciful. Allah is 'the Giver' and His Beloved Prophet Muhammad (who is the Greatest Teacher) is 'the Distributor'. The Inheritors of the Prophet (...
('Alam al khayal). This is the isthmus in which the friends of Allah encounter each other. Within this World the murid may encounter the Murshid, from whom powerful and decisive lessons are transmitted. It is here that the friends may receive instruc...
(Asas). A house will not stand firm without a solid foundation. Starting from the foundation the murid methodically reconstructs his entire being. The building process starts with his first spiritual practices (awrad). If these are approached and fu...
(Awrad). This is the spiritual work undertaken by the murid with the direct permission of his Murshid. The awrad consists of units of dhikr, in the form of repetition of Divine Names, Qur'anic verses and sacred litanies. Within tariqa it is the actua...
(Bab) Door or gate. Sitting patiently, with total respect and utter humility, at Allah's door, is the work within tariqa. While knocking on Allah's door the murid waits mindfully, never distracted, in readiness for whatever Allah Wills for him. The l...
(Bay'ah). The pledge or rite of initiation into a Sufi Tariqa. This pledge, which in truth is a pledge between Allah and His slave, eternally bonds together the Murshid and his murid. Within the bay'ah there is a sacred moment in which the spiritual ...
(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 mu...
(Fana'). Self-annihilation or self-effacement or dissolution or passing away from self. Through being joined to Allah, the Real; man is annihilated from himself - the 'limited existence' of the traveller is ov...
(Fana fil Murshid/Shaykh). Fallen man cannot, by his own resources, reach Annihilation in Allah.. He requires a Spiritual Guide, a Murshid, who is a pure receptacle for the Divine Outpouring which emanates from the Holy Prophet Muhammad. This Outpou...
(Al Fuqara). The indigents or the poor. This term refers to the spiritual poverty of travellers on the Sufi Path. These travelling murids who are in need of their Spiritual Guide or Murshid, display their poverty towards him, and in so doing, they ma...
(Haqiqat al Fayd). The Reality of Emanation or Outpouring. This is the power through which the Divine Realities are transferred from the Murshid to his murid. It is a direct emanation or overflow from the Great Heart of the Holy Prophet Muhammad hims...
(Haqiqat at Tawajjuh). This is the power which enables the Murshid to turn the heart of his murid towards him, and through him towards the Holy Prophet Muhammad and ultimately towards Allah.
(Hayrah). Bewilderment, perplexity or wonderment. Hayrah indicates a moment of utter perplexity, when the mind ceases to function, unable as it is to resolve or find an answer to a particular spiritual impasse. At such a blessed time, for it is by th...
(Huruf). The letters (of the alphabet). The term 'Ilm al Huruf (Science of the letters) is given to a complex science and symbolism which is based on the letters of the Arabic alphabet. 'The science of letters plays an important role in many of the l...
