The Language of the Future

Sufi Terminology by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi

nafs al-mulhamma
Self - Inspired

(Nafs al Mulhamma) is the Inspired Self. The Qur'an refers to this Self, "By the Self and the proportion and order given to it" (91:7). This Self has turned away from wrong action and is able to discern that which will take it to felicity. It journeys under the care of Allah. The Nafs al Mulhamma is equated with the third rung on the ladder to Knowledge (perfection) and to the second standing posture of the ritual prayer.

See also: Felicity Inspiration Perfection Prayer Standing

(Sa'ada) is nearness to Allah and the Infinite Expanse of His Mercy. The attainment of ultimate felicity awaits the believer in the Garden, yet he may experience a relative felicity, in this life, when he is engaged in prayer or the Remembrance of Allah. Valuable knowledge leads to deliverance, and deliverance is felicity.
Felicity

(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 spiritual force through which the Friends of Allah speak their words of Wisdom, write their books of Knowledge, sing their songs of Divine Love. Only the purified heart which has been sanctified through the remembrance of Allah is worthy of this inblowing of ilham. The Verified Shaykh can recognise the one into whom it is blown and the work of creative inspiration which results from that inblowing. The Word of Allah descends firstly as Revelation (wahy), secondly as Inspiration (ilham) and thirdly as Incoming Thoughts (khawatir).
Inspiration

(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 one's Lord. 3). To contemplate Allah in all things, at all times and always. Perfection is the third rung on the seven-runged ladder of Knowledge. These seven levels are Islam, Iman; Ihsan; 'Ilm al yaqin; 'Ayn al yaqin; Haqq al yaqin; Islam. (Surrender, Faith, Perfection, Knowledge of Certainty, The Eye of Certainty, The Truth of Certainty and Total Surrender and Submission).
Perfection

(Salat) refers particularly to the ritual prayer. It is a connection between the slave and his Lord. The ritual ablution which precedes the salat symbolizes the separation from the self. The salat itself symbolizes the joining to Allah. The seven bodily postures of the ritual prayer are symbols of the stages on the Spiritual Journey of Return to the Source and also the seven levels of knowledge through which the traveller (salik) passes on his ascent. As 'the one who performs the prayer' (musalli) approaches closer to Allah, the more profound and intense is his salat. The Holy Prophet Muhammad said, "The prayer without you is better than seventy". As his heart is purified through spiritual struggle and the Remembrance of Allah, and as he journeys along the Path of Return, the traveller leaves his lower-self behind. Initially the Divine Light radiates into the heart of the musalli-salik. Gradually this Light increases and spreads, and eventually, through the Infinite Grace of Allah, it infuses and permeates every atom of his being. Then does he pray a prayer which is without himself, because 'None worships Allah but Allah'.
Prayer

(Qiyam). The standing posture of the ritual prayer. This upright position of 'the one who prays' is a symbol of the development of the self in its ascent to knowledge. The first qiyam indicates the first rung on the ladder to Knowledge, which is verbal surrender to Allah's Will, and also 'The self which commands' as it embarks upon the Journey to Allah. The second qiyam indicates the third rung, that of ihsan, and also 'The Inspired Self'.
Standing
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