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

QASIM
Qasim

The Distributor. The Holy Prophet Muhammad al Mustapha (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) is The Distributor. The Light of Muhammad is from the Light of Allah and all of creation is from Muhammad's Light. He is the Master and Teacher of all of creation to whom he distributes his Light. And Light is Knowledge. The Holy Prophet prayed, "O! Allah, make me into Light!" and he also prayed, "My Lord! increase me in Knowledge". Each one of the Masters of the higher teaching, who are his Inheritors and spiritual family, receive directly from him their portion of Divine Knowledge. They, in their turn, distribute their portion amongst their murids. If the murid advances beyond annihilation in his Murshid to annihilation in the Messenger, he too will receive his portion of Divine Knowledge directly from Qasim, the Distributor, the Holy Prophet himself.


See also: Annihilation in the Messenger Annihilation in the Spiritual Guide Emanation-Reality of Light of Muhammad Overflow Reality of Muhammad Spiritual Guide
(Fana fi Rasul). Annihilation in the Messenger, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). 'No one will meet Allah before meeting the Prophet'. After annihilation into the Self of the Murshid, the seeker journeys, through the Infinite Grace of Allah, to the next annihilation, which is Fana fi Rasul - annihilation in the Messenger. At this point the seeker is pervaded by an overwhelming love for the Holy Prophet Muhammad. This is a love which is greater than anything he has yet experienced. The Holy Prophet becomes dearer to him than life itself.
(Fana fil Murshid/Shaykh). Fallen man cannot, by his own resources, reach Annihilation in Allah.. He requires a Spiritual Guide, a Murshid, who is a pure receptacle for the Divine Outpouring which emanates from the Holy Prophet Muhammad. This Outpouring comes through his Teaching, and from the Divine Book of Allah, the Qur'an, which contains all the mysteries of life and which was brought to all of creation by the Holy Prophet. Annihilation in the Spiritual Guide occurs when this Teaching of the Prophet Muhammad, which is passed on by the Murshid, enters the murid's heart and becomes firmly established. The murid becomes absorbed by the Teaching, through constant meditation and contemplation of Allah. What is the meaning of Annihilation in one’s Spiritual Guide? We would have to say that the seeker will be absorbed. This is far beyond the way of respect, honouring the wishes of and following the teaching of the Murshid; which is the normal standard in any field of life when we are learning a trade, regardless of what that trade is. In the higher teaching, Fana fil Murshid is a very serious and powerful experience and is one of the keys to developing the higher stages of awareness. The murid, besides the standard way of feeling the Murshid’s presence and keeping his thoughts on the Murshid - in his contemplations may experience the engulfing of himself by the Murshid through certain powerful conditions. Literally, he feels that he is within the physical body of the Murshid. It is not sentimental thinking or respect or being obedient to the requests of the Murshid, but there is a powerful link – as the saying goes “Ruhi ruhaak ya Ruhi”. The two become one. The murid, in his spiritual practices, will experience that he is within the Murshid to the highest degree, so that even when looking in the mirror, he may experience that he is looking with the eyes of the Murshid. This is a brief indication to the meaning of fana fil Murshid. This experience opens the door to the realities of the Holy Prophet and the accessibilities to the Universal Man, or you could say, The Reality of Muhammad. This transition is very necessary - if one does not experience this; to a certain degree he will always be alienating himself from a part of the teaching - this overpowering experience of Fana fil Murshid.
(Nur Muhammadiyya). "Allah took a handful of His Light and said 'Be! Muhammad'". From this pre-existent Light of Muhammad (nur Muhammadiyya) all of the spheres were created. It is the Light of Muhammad that enables the traveller to advance towards the Reality of Muhammad (al haqiqa al Muhammadiyyah). Without the cooling nature of this light the salik would not advance, or if he did advance he would be burned-up. The differentiation between the Light of Muhammad (nur Muhammadiyya) and the Reality of Muhammad (al haqiqat al Muhammadiyyah) is within the degrees of the descent of Being, from the Inward Non-manifestation of the Hidden Treasure to the outward manifestation of the cosmos.
(Afada) To overflow or emanate. Creation is an overflow or an emanation from the the Breath of the All Merciful. Allah is 'the Giver' and His Beloved Prophet Muhammad (who is the Greatest Teacher) is 'the Distributor'. The Inheritors of the Prophet (the Spiritual Masters, the Perfect Men) receive their knowledge as a direct overflow or emanation from the vast and immense heart of the Prophet himself. This endless overflow then passes to the murids.
(Al Haqiqat al Muhammadiyya). This is 'The Reality of realities'. It is the first descent of Being from the Beyond of the Beyond. It is the Station of True Love and the stage of 'Or Nearer'. Just as man is unable to look directly into the physical sun because its brilliance would burn away his sight, so too is he unable to look at the Divine Sun because Its Pure Radiance would burn away his very existence. And just as the sun can only be viewed through a thin covering of cloud, so too the Divine Sun can only be seen through the Greatest Veil which is the Reality of Muhammad. The heart which has been infused with knowledge of The Reality of Muhammad soars to Allah Almighty. It takes the lover on the wings of overwhelming love ('Ishq) and longing (Shawq) to the Divine Presence. When Prophet Noah saw the condition of the flood and he was afraid of the sinking of the ark, he used the intercession of Allah for the safety of the Ark (al Wasila). Allah told him to write on the mast the mixing of the Name of Allah and Muhammad (Alif Mim Lam)
(Murshid/Shaykh/Pir). The Murshid is a True Inheritor of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). After having been taken to the Divine Presence during his ascension the slave has been returned, by Allah, to the creation to guide and perfect the still imperfect ones. He was taken up as a slave and returned as a slave and Murshid. The qualities of an authentic Murshid are those of his own Master and Teacher, the Holy Prophet himself. The sacred connection between a Murshid and his murids was established in Pre-Eternity and continues into Eternity. Because of the Murshid's own spiritual attainments his murids have the possibility of becoming travellers. The perfect Murshid is of The People of Blame and his murids sometimes also attain Perfection. For the murid, the Murshid is one of the 'signs on the horizons', the outward of his own inward. What he sees in the mirror of his Murshid is a reflection of what is within his own self. He may also see within the Murshid the good qualities and excellent character traits which are yet latent in himself.

Go Back