The Language of the Future

Sufi Terminology by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi

huda
Guidance

(Huda). It is Allah Who guides whoever He wants to Himself. The journey from the circumference to the Centre is under Divine Guidance and is specific to the people of yearning who travel the Spiritual Path. When He wants to join someone to Himself He guides them to His saints.


See also: Annihilation Beautiful Model Boy Breath Chain Friends of Allah Green Prophet Misguidance Overflow Pledge of Initiation Seeker Spiritual Guide Traveller Uwaysi

(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 overpowered by the 'absolute existence' of Allah, so that the traveller becomes unaware of his own self and the creation. Fana' is the last stage on the ascent to Allah. When travelling to the Source, the seeker passes through different levels of fana', each of which brings him closer to his Goal. There are hundreds, even thousands, of fana's. Every time a form of ignorance is removed to be replaced by knowledge, the murid has experienced fana'. He has tasted the annihilation of an ignorance. And, every moment of existence is in fact a moment which is pregnant with its own particular knowledge. So, for the aware one, each moment can be a fana'. However, within the higher teaching of Tasawwuf  there are three major types of fana', through which the murid must travel if he is to reach the Absolute. These are Annihilation in the Murshid/Spiritual Guide, Annihilation in the Messenger and Annihilation in Allah.
Annihilation

(Uswa hasana). The Holy Prophet Muhammad al Mustapha (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) is the beautiful model. Through his perfect example man is given the means of drawing closer, and yet closer, to Allah. The degrees of such nearness depend upon the manner and attitude in which one follows the beautiful model. Those who love Allah and His Messenger more than anything, more than life itself, are the slaves who follow Muhammad al Mustapha in their outer lives and in their inner realities. To approach Allah, the slave must first meet the Holy Prophet Muhammad. This meeting is a Mystery. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, the beautiful model, becomes the slave's inner reality through the unveiling of the Reality of Muhammad. The hadith says, "Who has seen me has seen Allah".
Beautiful Model

(Nafas). Breath or instant. Nafas is the indivisible moment in which every existent in the cosmos undergoes a new creation. The spiritual energy (barakah) of the Sufi Path is transmitted on the breath of the Murshid. It is only through receiving the bay'ah, the Pledge of Initiation, face-to-face from the Murshid that the full power of this Divine Breath can start working within the murid. The Murshid, who himself has received this transmission of the breath from his own Murshid, then passes the breath to his murids. Contemplation upon his own breath can bring the murid to knowledge of 'the renewal of creation in each instant'.
Breath

(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 unbroken awareness of Allah. These Perfect Men have attained to the highest of all human degrees.
Friends of Allah

(Khidr). The Green Prophet who drank the Water of Life and still appears to initiate the holy ones into the Great Mysteries. He is still in this world. He was given 'insight of the heart' which is God-given knowledge from Allah's Presence.
Green Prophet

(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 friends. But, he can be prevented from making the journey in this life due to Misguidance (Idlal) which is manifested in Satan and his friends.
Misguidance

(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 (the Spiritual Masters, the Perfect Men) receive their knowledge as a direct overflow or emanation from the vast and immense heart of the Prophet himself. This endless overflow then passes to the murids.
Overflow

(Murid). The one who desires Allah. The murid is the seeker of Reality who is under the direction of a Spiritual Guide (Murshid). He has entered the company of those who concentrate upon Allah through the Remembrance of His Most Holy Name 'Allah'.
Seeker

(Murshid/Shaykh/Pir). The Murshid is a True Inheritor of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). After having been taken to the Divine Presence during his ascension the slave has been returned, by Allah, to the creation to guide and perfect the still imperfect ones. He was taken up as a slave and returned as a slave and Murshid. The qualities of an authentic Murshid are those of his own Master and Teacher, the Holy Prophet himself. The sacred connection between a Murshid and his murids was established in Pre-Eternity and continues into Eternity. Because of the Murshid's own spiritual attainments his murids have the possibility of becoming travellers. The perfect Murshid is of The People of Blame and his murids sometimes also attain Perfection. For the murid, the Murshid is one of the 'signs on the horizons', the outward of his own inward. What he sees in the mirror of his Murshid is a reflection of what is within his own self. He may also see within the Murshid the good qualities and excellent character traits which are yet latent in himself.
Spiritual Guide

(Musaffir) is the traveller (salik) who understands invisible things through the analogy of visible ones, thereby swimming from the shore of this world to the further shore.
Traveller

This refers to the mystic who has attained to Knowledge of Allah without any formal initiation into a Spiritual Path and without the guidance of a Shaykh. He is said to be directly under the Divine Guidance.
Uwaysi
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