Women In Islam: Fethullah Gülen’s Perspective The intellectual debates in Turkey on the status of women in Islam have not been different than the rest of the Islamic world. As in any Muslim intellectual circle, feminism and its critics were the topics of many debates among the Turkish intellectuals. Western...
Fethullah Gulen Quotes Born in Erzurum, in eastern Turkey, in 1941, M. Fethullah Gulen is an Islamic scholar and thinker, and a prolific writer and poet. He was trained in the religious sciences by several celebrated Muslim scholars and spiritual masters. Gülen also studied the principles and theories of modern...
Wasil (One Who Has Reached) Wasil (One Who Has Reached) denotes a hero of spirituality who has reached the final point in the journey made to attain perfect knowledge of God and is meticulously careful to follow His decrees in parallel with the profundity of that knowledge. A wasil has...
Wasil (The One Who Has Reached) Wasil (The One Who Has Reached)13; literally meaning one who has reached the final point in a journey or who has met with the one or the thing that one intends to reach, wasil, in Sufi terminology, denotes one who, having been saved from...
Fana Fi’llah (Annihilation In God) This article covers the answer to the question: “What is Fana Fi’llah (Annihilation In God)?” Fanâ fi’llah (annihilation in God) has connections with some of the other concepts that we have discussed. For example, sincere repentance requires annihilating one’s resistance to acknowledging sin, asceticism requires...
Fasl And Wasl (Parting and Reunion) This article covers the answer to the question: “What is Fasl And Wasl (Parting and Reunion)” In the language of Sufism, fasl (parting) denotes renunciation of the world and the hereafter with respect to their own being in themselves, but not to their aspects...
Sakr And Sahw (Intoxication And Sobriety) This article covers Sakr and Sahw (Intoxication and Sobriety). In the language of Sufism, sakr (intoxication) means that an initiate is enraptured by the rays of the manifestations of God’s “Face.” His/her returning to his/her former, normal state is sahw (sobriety). These two terms...
Ma’rifa (Knowledge Of God) Ma’rifa (Knowledge of God) is a special knowledge that is acquired through reflection, sincere endeavor, using one’s conscience and inquiring into one’s inner world. It is different from (scientific) knowledge (‘ilm). (Scientific) knowledge is acquisition reached through study, investigation, analysis, and synthesis, while ma’rifa is the...
Baqa Bi’llah (Subsistence with God) Baqa Bi’llah (Subsistence with God) denotes that the servant of God regards all existence, including him or herself, as being non-existent in and of itself, and discovers in his or her consciousness that every being, living and non-living, is a manifestation or shadow of the...
Tahqiq (Verification) In the language of Sufism, tahqiq (verification) means that not only does an initiate who has almost come to the final step of the journey know the Unique Being that is Eternally-Besought-of-All with His Existence and Perfect Attributes in accordance with the Qur’anic presentation of Him, but also...
Talbis (Self-Concealment) Talbis (self-concealment) means that the perfected servants of God who attribute to God whatever good or virtues that they may have, try to be known as ordinary people by constantly keeping secret the special blessings and extraordinary attainments with which the Eternally Generous One favors them, and the...
Wajd and Tawajud (Ecstasy and Willful Rapture) This article explains the meaning of Wajd and Tawajud (Ecstasy and Willful Rapture) in Sufism. Wajd (ecstasy) is overflowing with spiritual joy and enthusiasm, and rather than using reason, logic, or will, one follows the spiritual state in which one is. It consists...
Dahsha and Hayman (Amazement and Stupor) While discussing ecstasy and willful rapture, we have mentioned the states of dahsha (amazement) and hayman (stupor). Although amazement and astonishment were written about in the first volume of this book, a few more words will be said here concerning amazement alongside stupor; this...
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...
Dahsha and Hayra (Utmost Astonishment and Amazement) This article covers Dahsha and Hayra (Utmost Astonishment and Amazement), Every traveler journeying in valleys of love and zeal sometimes burns with the fire of love, and sometimes overflows with joy owing to the “wine of immortality” offered by the Beloved. While burning,...
Qabd and Bast (Contraction and Openness) Qabd (contraction) and bast (openness), felt by almost every-one during their lives, relate especially to those who live their lives consciously. Literally meaning being caught, being in straits or distressed, and being grasped by hand, Sufis use qabd to mean that the link between...
Spiritual Journey “Spiritual Journey” is an agreeable luminous joyful and spiritual sacred truth. This truth has been proclaimed taught and described in thousands of books written by the scholars among the people of illumination and those who have had unfolded to them the reality of creation who have told us...
Balance Between Physicality And Spirituality We have collected and put the best quotes about Balance Between Physicality And Spirituality. Enjoy reading these insights and feel free to share this page on your social media to inspire others. True life is the one lived at the spiritual level. The person, who...
Key Concepts In The Practice Of Sufism The aspect of Fethullah Gülen’s “mission” or personality as a trainer of the human soul may be seen most profoundly and comprehensively in Emerald Hills of the Heart or Key Concepts In The Practice Of Sufism, a four-volume compilation of his writings that...
Ihsan (Perfect Goodness) Ihsan (Perfect Goodness) has two literal meanings, doing something well and perfectly and doing someone a favor, and is sometimes used in the Qur’an and the Sunna with either meaning. At other times, as pointed out in the reflections on Heart while describing the Prophet Joseph’s consciousness...