('Abd). The slave (and worshipper) is the one who is in a state of total and utter submission to the Will of Allah. After having been annihilated in Allah where all duality vanished and distinctions were erased, he returns to creation with perfect co...
(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...
(Ahadiyyat al 'ayn). This is the Unity of Allah in being completely independent of His creation and even of His Names.
(Ahl al Haqiqat). The People of spiritual realities are engaged in endless travelling in which each moment opens new and fresh realities. There is no stopping for them and there is no rest.
(Ahl al Sunna). These are the sincere and truthful followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). They endeavour to apply the Prophet's Practice to each moment of their existence. In knowing that he is th...
(Anqa/Simurgh). The mythical griffon or phoenix which dwells on Mount Qaf. It is the greatest of birds and lives at the world's end. It symbolizes the wind in and with which Allah spiritually opens the material bodies of the world. It is a symbol of ...
(Al 'Aqab). This symbolizes the Pen which is the First Intellect . It is the first and highest creation of Allah. It is sometimes referred to as the Light of Muhammad.
('Aql al Awwal). The First Intellect has two faces; the one that is turned towards Allah receives from Allah, while the one that is turned towards the world transmits from Allah. Al 'aql al awwal is analogous to the Supreme Pen.
(Al 'Arif). The knower (of Allah). He is the complete and perfect man. The 'arif has been given Divine Knowledge (ma'rifa), and 'Ma'rifa is a light which Allah casts into the heart of whomsoever He Wills'. All is a gift from Allah. The Knower is the ...
(Asma Dhatiyyah). These are the Names which express the Pure Transcendence of the Essence. They are distinct from the Qualitative Names (Asma Sifatiyyah). The Names expressing the Essence include The One (al Ahad), The Most Holy (al Quddus) and The I...
(Athar). Remainders or traces or vestiges or effects. The effects of the Divine Names are the phenomena of the cosmos. That is, the things and the forms and the entities which manifest the Names are the effects. When the inner-eye is opened the 'seer...
(Awliya). The friends of Allah. These are His Saints. Their knowledge is not derived from reflection. Allah has purified them of that type of knowledge. They possess the opening of unveiling through Allah, the Real, Himself. The awliya are those with...
(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...
('Ayn al basirah or 'Ayn al Qalb). The 'inner eye'. Spiritual eyesight. The opening of this 'inner eye' is a mystery and a miracle which can only be brought about through the Infinite Mercy of the All Merciful.
('Ayn al Yaqin). The Eye of Certainty. In the triad of the Knowledge of Certainty the Eye of Certainty the Truth of Certainty, the Eye of Certainty could be likened to actually seeing the light of the flames of a fire, after having merely heard a des...
