The Language of the Future
Sufi Terminology
by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi
sabab
Secondary Cause
(Sabab). Every existent thing is a secondary cause through which man may come to know Allah and even though the sabab is like a veil over reality, nevertheless, without it we would have no means of access to Knowledge of Allah.
(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.
(Arbab). Lords. 'He who knows his own self, truly, does know his Lord' (Man 'arafa nafsahu 'arafa Rabbah) but because the majority of mankind take the secondary causes as their lords they do not come to know their Lord.
(Al Malamatiyya). These are the Perfect Ones. Their exteriors never disclose the reality of their interiors. They are those who know and are not known. Al malamatiyya are Allah's perfect slaves, Allah's perfect lovers, Allah's perfect knowers. They manifest His All-Comprehensive Name 'Allah', without a trace of Lordship. Allah has placed their 'blaming self' over them as a protection against self-conceit or satisfaction. They are the greatest of the Sufis. They are in constant submission and surrender to the Will of Allah. A Murshid (Spiritual Guide) who is one of the malamatiyya is the perfect Murshid and his murids often attain to Manliness. The Master of the cosmos, the Best of Creation, Muhammad al Mustapha (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace), who is a Malamatiyya, is their Master.
(Asbab). These were established as a means by which man can come to know Allah, yet for the majority of mankind the secondary causes act as veils over Reality.
(Al Muhaqqiqun). These great ones form the highest category of friends of Allah. They follow no one's authority because in themselves they have verified and realized [through unveiling and finding], the truth and reality of all things which is Allah, the Real. They are also known as'The People of Unveiling and Finding'.
