Firasa (Discernment) Firasa (discernment) can be defined as profundity, productivity and coherence in thought and the forming of opinions, the ability to penetrate the meaning of existence, and acting on conscious insight. It is a light that God puts into a person when they have purified their heart of spiritual...
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...
Barq (Lightning) Barq (lightning) is a light that flashes in an initiate during the first steps of the journey toward sainthood. This is the first invitation to those seeking nearness to God. The scholars of truth have related the emergence of lightning to the verse (20:9-10), Has there come to...
Zawq And ‘Atash (Pleasure And Thirst) This article explains the meaning of Zawq and ‘Atash (Pleasure and Thirst) in Sufism. Meaning the feeling of happiness and satisfaction, and enjoyment and amusement, zawq (pleasure) in Sufi terminology is one of the first breezes of Divine manifestation and one of the first...
Jahannam Jahannam (جهنم) in Islam refers to an afterlife place of punishment for evildoers. The punishments are carried in accordance with the degree of evil one has done during his life. In Quran, Jahannam is also referred as an-Nar النار (“The Fire”), Jaheem جحيم (“Blazing Fire”), Hutamah حطمة (“That which Breaks to Pieces”), Haawiyah هاوية (“The...
What Is Akhirah? Akhirah (الآخرة) is an Islamic term referring to the afterlife. It is repeatedly referenced in chapters of the Quran concerning the Last Judgment, an important part of Islamic eschatology. Traditionally, it is considered to be one of the six main beliefs of Muslims, the others including: Tawhid (unitarianism), belief...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Barzakh Barzakh designates a place between hell and heaven, where the soul resides after death, and experiences its own heaven or hell, until the resurrection on Qiyamah (Judgement Day). In Islamic eschatology, although largely up to interpretation, al-Barzakh is generally viewed as the barrier between the physical and spiritual worlds. Barzakh may, according to Ghazali, also be...