Mushahada (Observation) Mushahada (observation) means using insight to see in Divine acts the Divine Names that give existence to them, and to become aware, in the manifestation of the Names, of the All-Holy One Who is called by those Names. In other words, observation denotes that those favored with Divine...
Hayah (Life) Hayah (Life), which can be translated as liveliness and being alive, means that a heart which is already dead because of ignorance, misguidance and disbelief, comes to life through belief, and knowledge and love of God. The verse, He who was dead (in spirit), and We raised him...
Ightirab (Doubled Separation) Ightirab (doubled separation) is a feeling resembling that which arises from falling into error after reform, or night following day, or the darkness of distress that surrounds the heart after exhilaration. Those whom the Messenger praised in His saying, Glad tidings to the outsiders, have always had...
Walaya (Sainthood) Literally meaning a person, a community, or a country that is under the direction and rule of another, walaya (sainthood) denotes annihilation with respect to carnal selfhood and egoism in favor of awareness of being under the dominion of the All-Living, Self-Subsistent One and of the need to...
Istighraq (Immersion) Literally meaning absorption, diving into, becoming deeply involved in, istighraq (immersion) denotes transportation by joy, oblivion of the world, the cleansing of the heart from worldly worries enabling one to turn to God wholeheartedly, and, in consequence, going into such deep ecstasies that one becomes unaware of even...
Ghayra (Endeavor) Ghayra (Endeavor) literally means making every effort of concern, and being alert in striving, for chastity, honor, and esteem. It signifies being on the alert in respect of religious prohibitions. God is limitless in His concern for the purity of His servants and is infinitely pleased with the...
SIR (Secret) This article covers SIR (Secret) in Sufi terminology. Meaning something kept hidden from the knowledge or view of others, sir (secret) is a spiritual faculty deposited in the heart as a Divine trust. As a Divine trust, it has the same significance for the heart as spirit has...
Ghayba (Absence) Literally meaning disappearance and no longer being existent, ghayba (absence) denotes that the heart has cut its relationship with the corporeal world in order to give itself to exclusive devotion to God. Although derived from the word ghayb, which means being not present, ghayba (absence) signifies self-annihilation and...
Waqt (Time) In the language of Islamic Sufism, waqt (time) denotes the time when the Divine gifts pour on a traveler to the Truth in accordance with one’s nearness to Him. These gifts invade the inner world with their Divine quality according to one’s capacity to receive them in the...
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...
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...
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...
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,...