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

wird
Spiritual exercise or work

(Wird pl. Awrad). A specific spiritual exercise which is comprised of litanies and Divine Names. The wird is given to the murid by his Murshid and is to be performed daily. The wird may also descend, without the direct mediation of the Murshid, upon the blessed travellers who are very close to Allah Almighty.

See also: Dream vision Isthmus Permission Similitude Spiritual work World of Imagination

Dream vision ( ru'yah )

(Ru'yah) It is within a dream vision that much of the Sufi Teaching may be transmitted, from a higher realm, to the dreamer. Within a dream vision meanings become clothed in forms. The knower is the one who knows what Allah means by the observed image in the vision. He is true to his vision and gives it its due. The learner is the one who does not know what Allah means but he has the aptitude and capacity to advance to the level of knowledge. His ru'yah must be interpreted for him because he deems the vision to be true. In other words, he takes the observed images as veridical and corresponding to the external world, until Allah teaches him and he knows the meaning.

Isthmus ( al-barzakh )

(Barzakh). Barrier or isthmus or separating partition. The barzakh is the symbol of an intermediate state. It is something which separates two other things while never going to one side. It is the barrier between the known and the unknown, the existent and the non-existent. Imagination is the most excellent barzakh in that it is 'neither this nor that', or 'both this and that', or the realm of 'He/not He' (Huwa/la Huwa). "It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: One palatable and sweet, and the other salt and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them, a partition that is forbidden to be passed" (25:53) .

Permission ( idhn )

(Idhn). Permission of one in authority. It is always the higher authority that gives permission to that which is lower. Therefore within the Spiritual Path this permission always comes from The Highest Authority - Allah. Permission (idhn) for the murid to undertake spiritual practices is given by his Murshid. In reality this permission descends from Allah Almighty through His Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) and then into the hearts of the Noble Mashayekh of the Spiritual Paths. It is this Supreme Permission that permeates the spiritual practices and infuses them with their powerful barakah.

Similitude ( mithal )

(Mithal). Image or form or analogy or symbol. This term is synonymous with Imagination (khayal). The Mithal is the isthmus between the World of the Unseen and the Visible World and it is within this Realm of Imagination that man is given the clearest expression of the 'He, not He' mystery of existence.

Spiritual work ( awrad )

(Awrad). This is the spiritual work undertaken by the murid with the direct permission of his Murshid. The awrad consists of units of dhikr, in the form of repetition of Divine Names, Qur'anic verses and sacred litanies. Within tariqa it is the actual doing of the awrad which results in a gradual and beautiful inner transformation. However the degree of spiritual transformation depends, firstly and ultimately upon the Grace of Allah, but also upon the purity of intention and sincerity of the murid. The Murshid distributes the awrad, but it is the murid who is required to do the awrad.

World of Imagination ( 'alam al-khayal )

('Alam al khayal). This is the isthmus in which the friends of Allah encounter each other. Within this World the murid may encounter the Murshid, from whom powerful and decisive lessons are transmitted. It is here that the friends may receive instructions and directions from the saints of the Sufi hierarchy and even from the Holy Prophet Muhammad himself (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace).

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