God’s Attributes of Glory 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; these describe God Almighty and are, in one sense, regarded as the veils of the Divine...
Putting an End to a Long Journey Human beings have an exceptional place among creation; they are travelers whose journey of life passes through the Realm of the Transcendental Manifestation of Divine Commands; their eyes are fixed on the Realm of the Transcendental Manifestation of Divine Attributes and Names, and...
Ta‘ayyunat (Identifications) and What Lies Before 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 different wavelengths and ranks and infinitely expand in the All-Existence, the All-Life, and the...
Lawhun Mahfuz (the Supreme Preserved Tablet) and What Lies Before Lawh is literally a board to write on, and the Lawhun Mahfuz is the immaterial board or tablet on which God has prerecorded everything, material and spiritual, animate and inanimate, or it is another name for the Divine Knowledge Which relates...
Metaphysical Realms The ‘Arsh (The Supreme Throne of God) Literally meaning an arbor, throne, roof, or the horizon of something, the word ‘Arsh is the title of an elevated realm that envelops all the heavens and the earth, surrounds all systems, and which is the arena of the first manifestation...
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 is originally true, real, and genuine. Its opposite is batil (falsehood). In addition, haqq...
The Horizon of “the Secret” and What Lies Beyond I am aware that I am not able to write and speak about this topic as it should be written and spoken about. My pen and words also tell me this. I suffer from keeping silent and not writing anything, while...
Khushu And Hurma (Reverent Awe And Respect) 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 in oneself and realizes “meeting with God” and “intimacy with Him.” However, it should not...
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) God is the ultimate goal and human beings are travelers on the road to Him; there are as many paths that lead toward God as there are breaths taken by living creatures. The facts...
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) 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 to signify God Almighty’s special attention and consideration for those who travel toward Him,...
Subuhat-i Wajh (The Flood of God’s Facial Light) 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 all else but Him from the hearts of the travelers who are on the way to...
Nazar and Tawajjuh (Attention and Regard) 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 complimenting—and tawajjuh (regard)—used to mean turning to, feeling nearness to, and showing sympathy 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) Literally meaning 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) 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 of the heart, the inner power of perceptiveness...
Fayd and Tajalli (Effusion and Manifestation) Fayd literally means the effusion of blessings, profusion, abundance, and increase. Giving existence to something and equipping it with all the particularities and necessities of being existent, and favoring a person with inspirations and spiritual gifts to deepen him or her spiritually are also...
‘Ilm Ladun (The Special Knowledge from God’s Presence) What is meant by ‘ilm ladun, or the special knowledge from God’s Presence, is knowledge of the Unseen or knowledge of mysteries, or knowledge which God imparts into one’s heart and the truths occurring to it. Primarily included is the knowledge of...
Wahy and Ilham (Revelation and Inspiration) Revelation and inspiration are two subjects that have been much discussed in Islamic religious sciences, as well as by Sufis, as they are each an important dimension of effusion and manifestation. The Sufis have mostly recollected Revelation and inspiration when manifestation is discussed, and...