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

sabr
Patience

(Sabr). Perfect patience is to surrender unconditionally, to the Will of Allah, accepting whatever becomes manifest in each indivisible moment. Sabr is a supreme virtue because it requires total and knowing surrender. The man who combines patience (sabr) with gratitude is the man of wisdom.


See also: Beautiful character traits Gratitude Islam (B) Spiritual courtesy Surrender-Pure and Total Wisdom
(Husn al Akhlaq). The beautiful character traits with which the Holy Prophet Muhammad was sent and of which he is the perfect embodiment. The assuming of these beautiful character traits is the alchemical work of the Islamic Spiritual Path. Under the direction of a qualified Master (Murshid, Shaykh, Pir) the disciple (murid/seeker) is given the means by which he can transform his base character traits into the beautiful and noble ones and, in so doing, fulfill his 'reason for being'.
(Shukr). Gratitude or thankfulness. The station of gratitude indicates an all-pervading awareness of the immensity of Allah's Grace upon His slave. The man who combines gratitude with patience is the man of wisdom.
The Surrender. The Journey of Return to Allah is from the first Islam which is merely verbal submission, through the levels of ascent to the second and Real Islam, which is total and unconditional surrender with knowledge and love to the Will of Allah. The seven levels of knowledge through which the traveller must pass are Surrender; Faith; Perfection; Knowledge of Certainty; Eye of Certainty; Truth of Certainty and Surrender.
(Adab) is spiritual courtesy and gracious behaviour of the Path and perfect refinement of words and deeds. Adab is giving each thing and each moment its proper due. The science of the higher teaching is based upon adab, which encompasses all of human life. It extends from right behaviour with regard to the Sacred Law (Shari'a), right behaviour with one's fellow travellers, proper conduct towards the teaching and one's teacher, and reaches to unceasing spiritual courtesy to Allah Himself. The proper courtesy towards the Law is to stay within its boundaries, the proper conduct with regards to good actions is to complete the action and disconnect from it. Adab with regard to the Real is knowing what belongs to oneself and what belongs to Allah. Each moment and each situation has it's own adab. It has been said that the higher teaching is all adab and the greater your understanding and implementation of proper conduct is, the higher you are in the teaching.
(Hikma). Justice ('Adl) is 'putting everything in its proper place'. Wisdom (Hikma), which is closely connected to justice, is 'to act as is proper to each situation'. To be able to act in such a manner it is necessary to have discernment of relationships. Wisdom is the perfect balance of knowledge and practice. It is the sign of the perfect friends of Allah and is possessed, in its highest degree, by the People of Blame (Al Malamatiyya).

Islam means peace and the person who follows this peace is called the Muslim. From another root meaning of the word, Islam means complete submission and surrender, and the person who submits and surrenders himself to the will of his Lord is the person who has accepted Allah as his Creator, Sustainer, Lord and the Master of the Day of Judgement.

So from both the definitions Islam means a way of life for people who have opted to follow peace as opposed to chaos, order as opposed to disorder, discipline as opposed to indiscipline, submission as opposed to refusal, surrender as opposed to insolence, obedience as opposed to disobedience etc. All these things combined together to define Islam as away of life by which a person becomes a follower of peace and not a follower of chaos. And the followers of peace are the Muslims whose duty it is: "to establish peace and what is good, and to prevent chaos and what is evil, and they are the best people." (Al-Qur'an 3:110)



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