“Windows To Spirituality”
What is Sufism?
Sufism (tasawwuf) is the path followed by Sufis to reach the Truth—God. While Sufism usually expresses the theoretical or philosophical aspect of this search, the practical aspect is usually referred to as “being a dervish.”
Sufism, mystical Islamic belief and practice in which Muslims seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God. It consists of a variety of mystical paths that are designed to ascertain the nature of humanity and of God and to facilitate the experience of the presence of divine love and wisdom in the world.
Sufism has been defined in many ways. Some see it as the annihilation of the individual’s ego, will, and self centeredness by God and the subsequent spiritual revival with the light of His Essence. Such a transformation results in the direction of the individual’s will by God in accordance with His Will. Others view it as a continuous striving to cleanse one’s self of all that is bad or evil in order to acquire virtue.
Sufi Poetry Sufi poetry (شعر صوفی) has been written primarily in Persian, both for private devotional reading and as lyrics for music played during worship, or dhikr. Themes and styles established in Punjabi poetry, Sindhi poetry, Arabic poetry and mostly Persian poetry have had an enormous influence on Sufi poetry throughout the Islamic world, and is often part of Sufi...
Who is Al-Ghazali? Al-Ghazali (full name أبو حامد محمد بن محمد الطوسي الغزالي, Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad aṭ-Ṭūsī al-Ġazālī; latinized Algazelus or Algazel; c. 1058 – 19 December 1111) was one of the most prominent and influential philosophers, theologians, jurists, and mystics of Sunni Islam. He was of Persian origin. Some muslims consider him to...
The All-Beautiful Names Of God Since the time of the Last Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, the All-Beautiful Names of God, exalted is His Majesty, have been a right-guiding source for knowing and recognizing the Divine Being in accordance with His Attributes of Majesty and Grace, and for...
God’s Attributes Of Glory Like His Essence, God’s Attributes of Glory are eternal, having neither a beginning nor an end. According to the religious methodology or the basic principles of religion, God’s Attributes consist of certain transcending and blessed concepts—whose transcendence and blessedness come from the Being Whom they describe;...
Putting An End To A Long Journey “Putting An End To A Long Journey” is the last article of Journeying on Sufi Path in Emerald Hills of the Heart book series. Human beings have an exceptional place among creation; they are travelers whose journey of life passes through the Realm of...
Ta‘ayyunat (Identifications) And What Lies Before This article explains the meaning of Ta‘ayyunat (Identifications) and What Lies Before in Sufism. Literally meaning coming forward, emerging and being made specific, in Sufi terminology ta‘ayyun means that the different natures or different essential characteristics inherent in the Divine Being manifest themselves with...
Lawhun Mahfuz (The Supreme Preserved Tablet) and What Lies Before This article explains the meaning of Metaphysical Realms Lawhun Mahfuz (The Supreme Preserved Tablet) and What Lies Before in Sufism. Lawh is literally a board to write on, and the Lawhun Mahfuz is the immaterial board or tablet on which God...
Metaphysical Realms This article explains the meaning of Metaphysical Realms such as The ‘Arsh (The Supreme Throne of God), The Kursiyy (The Supreme Seat of God), Sidratu’l-Muntaha (The Lote-Tree of the Furthest Limit), and Al-Baytu’l-Ma‘mur (The Prosperous House) in Sufism. The ‘Arsh (The Supreme Throne of God) Literally meaning an arbor,...
Haqq (the Truth), Haqiqa (the Genuine) and What Lies Beyond This article is about Haqq (the Truth), Haqiqa (the Genuine) and What Lies Beyond. Literally meaning what is true, established and constant, haqq (the truth) denotes that an utterance, an act, or a creed is totally in agreement with what...
The Horizon Of “the Secret” And What Lies Beyond This article explains the meaning of Metaphysical Realms (The Horizon Of “the Secret” And What Lies Beyond) in Sufism. I am aware that I am not able to write and speak about this topic as it should be written and spoken about. My...
Khushu And Hurma (Reverent Awe And Respect) This article explains the meaning of Khushu And Hurma (Reverent Awe And Respect) in Sufism. It is a significant attainment and Divine favor that one is able to utterly annihilate themselves in respect of their carnality and egotism and traverses the distance originating...
The Initiate From A Different Perspective An initiate is one who follows a way. In Sufi terminology, the word “initiate” denotes one who walks toward God with a certain discipline in order to please Him, thus neutralizing the tendencies in their nature that lead them away from God, or trying...
Talib, Murid, Salik, Wasil (The Seeker, The One Who Wills, The Initiate, The One Who Has Reached) This article explains the meaning of Talib, Murid, Salik, Wasil in Sufism. God is the ultimate goal and human beings are travelers on the road to Him; there are as many paths that...
Khulla (Sincere Friendship) Khulla means sincere friendship. It can also denote brother/sisterhood, or loyal friendship. Some have interpreted khulla as penetrating into the depth of something to change its nature, or enveloping it from all sides so that it gains a second nature. The Prophet Abraham, upon him be peace,...
Waridat And Mawhiba (Gifts And Favor) This article explains the meaning of Waridat and Mawhiba (Gifts and Favor) in Sufism. Mawhiba (favor) literally means benevolence, kindness, and extra Divine bounties, while waridat (gifts) denotes what occurs to or emerges in one’s heart as a Divine gift. The Sufis use them...
Subuhat-i Wajh (The Flood Of God’s Facial Light) This article explains the meaning of Subuhat-i Wajh (The Flood Of God’s Facial Light) in Sufism. The subuhat-i Wajh (the flood of God’s Facial Light) is the flood of light that God Almighty causes to pour out so that He may eliminate...
Nazar And Tawajjuh (Attention And Regard) This article explains the meaning of Nazar and Tawajjuh (Attention and Regard) in Sufism. Even though they appear to have the same meaning and, in fact, suggest certain common feelings and ideas, the concepts of nazar (attention)—which means looking (at), taking into consideration, and...
Karama (Wonder) Before explaining karama (Wonder), since there is a close resemblance between it and miracles (mu‘jiza) in respect to their occurrence, we will first briefly examine miracles. Derived from the root verb A-Ja-Za, meaning “that which people cannot imitate,” a mu’jiza (miracle) is the extraordinary state, event, word or...
‘Aql (Reason) ‘Aql (Reason) means understanding, perception, sober-mindedness and prudence, as a term, ‘aql is a Divine light with which a person can perceive the things that cannot be comprehended with external senses. There have been some who view ‘aql as a faculty abstract of matter but which acts in collaboration...
Wijdan (Conscience) This article covers Wijdan (Conscience) in Sufi terminology. Literally meaning the essence of human existence and a person’s perception of themselves, wijdan (conscience) is a spiritual mechanism composed of the willpower, which chooses between good and evil, the spiritual intellect (fuad), which is the inner, most essential dimension...
