The Language of the Future
Sufi Terminology
by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi

al-qa'il
Speaker

(Al Qa'il). Allah is the Speaker (al qa'il). He is described by Speech. It is through His All Merciful Breath that the Divine Names become manifest, as forms, within the cosmos. When listening to the creatures the knower of Allah knows that Allah is always the Speaker.

See also: Knower Knower of Allah Knowers of Allah Names of the World Nearness of Obligatory Works Nearness of Supererogatory Works Speech

Knower ( 'alim )

('Alim). The one who knows. This term derives from the word 'knowledge' ('ilm). Usually it refers to the exoteric scholars, though sometimes 'alim is used in reference to 'those who know Allah'. The 'one who knows' is the one whom Allah causes to witness his godhead (uluhiyyah) and His Essence. No states manifest to him, knowledge is his condition.

Knower of Allah ( 'arif billah )

('Arif Billah). This Man is the one who has fulfilled his 'reason to be'. He has purified himself in readiness to receive the supreme mystic knowledge which is Knowledge of Allah. It is in knowing Allah that man is drawn closer to Allah. 'The water takes on the colour of its cup'. The clearer the receptacle the greater is its capacity to manifest the Divine.

Knowers of Allah ( 'arifin )

(Al 'Arifin/'Urufa). They see and recognize Allah wherever they look. The knowers are bewildered. But this is not the bewilderment of being lost, rather it is the bewilderment of having found Allah. They know that He cannot be known. The knowers are nothing because they are everything.

Names of the World ( asma' al-'alam )

(Asma al Alam). The names of the world. All of the names of the world derive from the One Source, Allah. Everything in existence has come out from non-existence in the Knowledge of Allah, through the Divine Command "Be!". Everything is from Allah. Everything is returning to Allah. The names of the world are the Names of Allah. This is the 'Oneness of Being' (wahdat al wujud.) A great saint said "For thirty years I have been conversing with Allah, yet people think I am talking to them!"

Nearness of Obligatory Works ( qurb al-fara'id )

(Qurb al fara'id) is the second lowest of the four stations of Perfection. The slave who performs the obligatory works attains this proximity. While retaining his own properties his reality is annihilated in Allah. Allah manifests Himself with His Name, the Outward, so that the lover remains hidden within Allah. The subject and agent is Allah and the lover's hidden presence is manifested by his becoming Allah's faculties. The lover becomes the Beloved's sight, hearing . . .

Nearness of Supererogatory Works ( qurb an-nawafil )

(Qurb an-nawafil) is the lowest of the four stations of Perfection. The slave who performs the supererogatory works attains this proximity. While retaining his own reality he is completely dominated by Allah's Oneness and becomes qualified by His Attributes. Allah manifests Himself with His Name, the Inward, so that He remains hidden within the lover. The agent and subject is the lover and Allah's Presence within him is manifested by Allah becoming the lover's faculties. The Beloved becomes the lover's sight, voice etc.

Speech ( kalam )

(Kalam) is speech or words. The Source, Allah, is the Great Silence. In the process of descent, the Supreme Silence is firstly qualified with letters which then appear as words. The words become a sentence or sign which then appears as a form or book. The world is a book and the human is a book. In these two books we can read the signs of Allah, "on the horizons and within ourselves", which will enable us to ascend, and dwell once again, in the Great Silence.

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