“Windows To Spirituality”
History Of The Latter Day Saint Movement The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement within Christianity that arose during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century and that led to the set of doctrines, practices, and cultures called Mormonism, and to the existence of numerous Latter Day Saint churches....
Faqr And Ghina (Poverty and Richness) This article covers Faqr And Ghina (Poverty and Richness). For Sufis, poverty means that an initiate claims possession of nothing and is freed from all kinds of attachment toward worldly things, and that one feels total neediness and destitution before God in one’s relationship...
A Partial Glossary Of Sufi Terms This article covers A Partial Glossary of Sufi Terms. It is from “Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism” by M. Fethullah Gulen. Annihilation in God: A saint’s seeing himself or herself as engulfed in the lights of God’s Existence and as directed by...
Riyada (Austerity) Riyada (austerity), which we can describe as disciplining life, appetite and thirst, and sleeping and waking only in order to develop the feelings of praise for and thankfulness to God and balancing these by keeping them within the limits of needs, has been used in the terminology of...
Hurriya (Freedom) The realization of every lawful desire without hindrance, Hurriya (freedom) from any pressure, confinement, or subservience, the right to elect, to be elected, and to enjoy certain basic rights in political life-these are some of the definitions of “freedom,” which has become one of the most widely concepts...
I’thar (Altruism) I’thar (Altruism), preferring others to oneself when doing a good deed, is, according to the moralists, giving precedence to the common interests of the community over one’s own interests; according to Sufis, it is devoting oneself to the lives of others in complete forgetfulness of all concerns of...
Heavenly Or Elevated Realms This article covers Heavenly or Elevated Realms. Just as the Creator has limitless Names, so too do these Names and the Attributes in which the Names originate possess the realms of manifestation in the greatest degree, the secondary degree, the third degree, and so on. The...
Sidrat al-Muntaha The Sidrat al-Muntaha (Sidraṫ al-Munṫahā,سِـدْرَة الْـمُـنْـتَـهَى; lit. “Lote-Tree of the Utmost Farthest Boundary”) is a large enigmatic lote tree or Sidr tree that marks the end of the seventh heaven, the boundary which no creation can pass, according to Islamic beliefs. During the Isra and Mi’raj, Muhammad, being...
Plan Of Salvation In Latter Day Saints The plan of salvation in Latter Day Saints (also known as the plan of happiness) is a plan that God created to save, redeem, and exalt humankind, through the atonement of Jesus Christ. The elements of this plan are drawn from various sources, including the...
Heaven In Judaism This article covers Heaven in Judaism. Shamayim (שָׁמַיִם), the Hebrew word for “heaven” (literally heavens, plural), denotes one component of the three-part biblical cosmology, the other elements being erets (the earth) and sheol (the underworld). Shamayim is the dwelling place of God and other heavenly beings, erets is the home of the living, and sheol is the realm of the dead, including, in post-Hebrew Bible literature...
Baptism For The Dead Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism, or proxy baptism today commonly refers to the religious practice of baptizing a person on behalf of one who is dead—a living person receiving the rite on behalf of a deceased person. Baptism for the dead is best known as a doctrine of...
What Is Mormonism? Mormonism is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 30s. The word Mormon originally derived from the Book of Mormon, a religious text published by Smith, which he said he translated from golden plates with divine assistance....
Exaltation In Mormonism Exaltation or Eternal Life is a belief among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) that mankind can return to live in God’s presence and continue as families. Exaltation is believed to be what God desires for all humankind. The Church teaches that through exaltation...
Catholic Spirituality Catholic spirituality includes the various ways in which Catholics live out their Baptismal promise through prayer and action. The primary prayer of all Catholics is the Eucharistic liturgy in which they celebrate and share their faith together, in accord with Jesus’ instruction: “Do this in memory of me.” The Catholic bishops at the Second Vatican...
Qurb And Bu’d (Nearness And Remoteness) This article explains the meaning of Qurb and Bu’d (Nearness and Remoteness) in Sufism. Nearness (qurb) means that one transcends corporeality in order to acquire perfect spirituality and proximity to God. Some interpret it as God’s proximity to His servants; however, this is not...
Ma’rifa (Spiritual Knowledge Of God) Ma’rifa (Spiritual Knowledge of God) literally denotes skill or talent, a special capacity belonging to certain people, means and knowing by means of something. According to travelers on the path of God, it is the station where knowing is united with the one who knows,...
Mahabba (Love) Mahabba means fondness, tender and kind feelings, inclination, and love. Love that affects and invades one’s feelings is called passion; love that is so deep and irresistible that it burns for union[1] is called fervor and enthusiasm. Sufis have defined love as the relation of the heart with...
‘Ashq (Passion or Intense, Ecstatic Love) ‘Ashq (Passion or Intense, Ecstatic Love) means intense love of and fondness for perfection, beauty, or physical charm. Sufis usually call this sort of love figurative or metaphorical love, such as love for the opposite sex. Real love, the love of the Eternal Monarch,...
Shawq And Ishtiyaq (Joyful Zeal And Yearning) This article covers Shawq and Ishtiyaq (Joyful Zeal and Yearning). Literally meaning strong desire, excessive wishing, joy issuing from knowing, delight, and longing, shawq (joyful zeal) is used by Sufis to express the heart’s overwhelming desire to meet with the Beloved, Who cannot be...
Jadhb And Injidhab (Attraction and the Feeling of Being Attracted Toward God) This article covers Jadhb and Injidhab (Attraction and the Feeling of Being Attracted Toward God) in sufi terminology. In the language of Sufism, jadhba (attraction) means that a servant is attracted toward God by God Himself, purified thereby of human...
