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

(Inhiraf). All spiritual illness are based upon an inner disequilibrium which has its root in the base character traits of the individual. Through spiritual struggle and the sincere turning to the Remembrance of Allah the base character traits may be transformed into noble ones. With the assuming of the noble character traits, equilibrium and harmony will be attained.

Nar - see 'Hellfire'.

(Jahannam) is distance (bu'd) from, and forgetfulness of, Allah. Man finds himself in Hell when he imagines that there actually is a real chasm between Allah and himself.

(Mutsawwif). The one who pretends to have mystic knowledge. Through such pretence the mutsawwif becomes a danger to himself and others. While being held firmly in the grip of his own lower self, this pretender alleges that he can guide others to their Higher Self. The seeker must be on the alert when searching for an authentic Spiritual Guide. When the actions and words of the mutsawwif are weighed in the Scale of the Sacred Law and when his conduct is measured against the 'beautiful model' of the Holy Prophet Muhammad it is easy to discern that he is a fraud.

(Iblis). This is the personal name of Satan (shaytan). Symbolically Iblis is the fancy of 'otherness' from Allah.

(Nafs). The ego or the self or the soul. The nafs is that dimension of man which stands between the spirit which is light, and the physical body which is darkness. The spiritual struggle or combat is waged against the downward-pulling tendencies of the nafs which seduce the heart away from Allah. The nafs is also the domain of imagination. Allah is within our own selves, yet we do not see Allah. The work of the higher teaching is directed towards transforming the 'Lower Self' into the Higher 'Perfect Self' and 'seeing' Allah everywhere. There are seven stages of the self, seven postures in the ritual prayer, seven verses or 'signs' in the opening chapter of The Qur'an, and seven levels of knowledge, all of which are finely interconnected. Shaykh Mahmoud Taha of Sudan writes concerning the self: "This soul is immortal in essence despite the changes that befall it through different forms and at different times and places. At no time does the soul cease its quest for immortality - to be immortal in form as it is in essence. This story is . . . the story of every human being. However, we all have forgotten it. By 'forgetting' it is meant that it settled at the bottom of the unconscious and was then covered by a thick layer of illusions and fears that we inherited from the times of ignorance and superstition. There is no way that we can achieve our happiness unless we break through this thick layer. . . which prevents the forms of the unconscious to be reflected in the mirror of the conscious and hence reveal the greater truth, the truth of truths that is shrouded by the veils of light. This long story that flows from the unconscious is made of the same stuff as that of dreams. The Qur'an is made out of the same stuff. It was brought into existence only to remind us of our extraordinary story. He who remembers it will acquire knowledge beyond which there is no ignorance and an immortality beyond which there is no perishing".