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

wudd
Love

(Wudd). Connected to the Name al Wadud, The Loving-Kind. There are several terms which indicate love of Allah. The differences in these terms is the difference in the degrees of that love. They range from the simple and pious love of the faithful believers through to the passionate upheaval of love ('ishq) of the ecstatic lovers of Allah. The more love Allah showers upon one of His lovers the greater becomes that lover's love for Allah Himself. This is the affinity which exists between Allah and His lover. Allah Almighty says in a Hadith Qudsi, "Verily I desire them more than they desire Me".


See also: Affinity Beloved of Allah Ecstasy Longing-Intense Love Lover Lover-Passionate Passionate love of Allah Spiritual Concert
(Munasaba) is the mutual attraction, affection and love which exists between Allah and His lover. Of necessity this affinity must be reflected in the sacred relationship between the Murshid and his murid. Without a strong affinity, the progress on the Spiritual Path will be impeded.
(Habibullah). This blessed name is proper only to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). No one reaches Allah by being a lover, only by being the Beloved, and it is for this very reason that 'No one will meet Allah before meeting the Prophet'. The lover must be annihilated in the Beloved of Allah, (fana' fi-rasul) before attaining annihilation in Allah (fana' fillah).
(Wajd). These are the states which come upon the heart unexpectedly. They annihilate it from witnessing itself and others. Ecstasy is the descent of immense spiritual energy upon the slave. It overwhelms the senses, causing extreme physical reactions. Ecstasy is true when body, mind and heart are overcome by this descent. Wajd may manifest as intense joy, when Allah's Beauty dominates, or as intense grief, when His Majesty dominates. It is during the spiritual concert that the lover may experience ecstasy and more ecstasy. Ecstasy is a gift of Allah's Grace upon His lover. Without these gifts of wajd the lover would be unable to bear the intensity of longing and love contained within his heart.
(Shawq). Intense longing and yearning for the Beloved. Shawq is a yearning to behold the Beloved, and a longing for nearness to the Beloved, and a longing for union with the Beloved, and an intense longing for increase in perpetual longing. It is said that breath is a movement of yearning towards the Beloved and within the breathing enjoyment is experienced. The breathing of the ecstatic who is under the pull of the Divine Attraction bears witness to this. The Reality of shawq is that the luminous fire takes over the heart and there is no medicine for it except for meeting of the Beloved. The intense fire in the heart comes about because of the separation between the one who desires and the One who is desired. When the meeting takes place, the fire of longing will be extinguished. In the state of secretness, what increases is the witnessing of the Beloved, and shawq has no place there. One of the lovers of Allah said 'Do you desire Allah?' he answered 'No', because you only desire that which is absent from you and my Beloved is always present with me. The unification of this factor is in the unification of the spiritual resolve towards Allah and the continous journeying to Him - that is 'To worship Allah like you see Him, and if you do not see Him, be certain that He sees you'. He is with you in the present moment, for this reason, you do not desire Him, because you are with Him. Shawq is he need of the heart to meet the Beloved.
(Hubb). Love is the motivating force of Allah's Self-disclosure which is His creation of the creation. This is indicated in the Hadith Qudsi "I was a Hidden treasure and I loved to be known and so I created the creation". It is this love (Hubb) which motivates the lover (Muhibb) to turn towards the Beloved (Mahbub) with a total turning.
(Muhibb) This Name may be applied to Allah Himself when considering His slave to be His beloved, or it may be applied to the slave himself whose Beloved is Allah. In reality there is only one Beloved of Allah and that is the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) and it is only through being annihilated in him that the lover of Allah may be transformed into the beloved of Allah. The lover (Muhibb) is the one who is enraptured by Allah's Beauty in contrast to the knower ('Arif) who remains in sobriety in the face of all of Allah's Self-disclosures (Tajalli). The knower who is also a lover is in a state of Perfection (Kamal) being inwardly intoxicated and outwardly sober. Such a friend (Wali) has attained perfect balance and harmony. He is the Perfect Man.
('Ishq). Intense, overflowing and passionate love of Allah. Some say that 'ishq cannot arise without actual vision of the Beloved. 'Ishq is the highest stage before absorption in Allah. It is as rare as the red sulphur. It burns away everything of the lover ('Ashiq) transforming him into the beloved. After annihilation in Allah and absorption in Allah, where all is blindness and there is no longer any vision, the lover is separated from the Beloved and his 'ishq burns afresh. Passionate love of Allah is without limit.
(Sama'). The spiritual concert or 'audition' or 'listening'. This term refers specifically to the Sufi gatherings where music and song are employed as a means of opening the heart to inrushes of knowledge and awareness. During the spritual concert, the listener may experience ecstasy and find Allah, The Real within that ecstasy. However, before true ecstasy can be experienced the listener must be spiritually mature, having been prepared through discipline and perpetual Remembrance of Allah. Without this initial contraction of spiritual endeavour the expansion of ecstasy will not be real. The Spiritual Concert is not suitable for the novice. True Sama' is a bird which flies from Allah to Allah. Allah is the singer and Allah is the hearer. At this Divine Feast the singer and the hearer become One.

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