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

zawal
Evanescence

(Zawal) is that which is fleeting and vanishing. The cosmos is nothing but a vanishing accident, its ruling property being its evanescence. The possible thing, that which is other-than-Allah, has no fixed reality due to the fact that it depends totally upon Necessary Being for its own existence. The possible things are fleeting (zawal). Only Allah IS.

See also: Accident Being whose existence is necessary by 'the other' Necessary Being Other than Allah Possible

Accident ( 'arad )

('Arad). Accident. The entire cosmos is a collection of accidents and because 'The accident does not remain for two moments' the cosmos undergoes continual change.

Being whose existence is necessary by 'the other' ( wajib al wujud bil ghayr )

(Wajib al wujud bil ghayr). That which is made necessary through another being whose existence is necessary in itself'. This is the possible or contingent thing. Its existence depends totally upon Allah, Who is Necessary Being. The slave of Allah has utter awareness of this situation. Lordship is the most exalted level and slavehood is the lowest level. There is nothing more lowly than to be subject to the locus of nothingness and to stand in need of another for one's own existence. The knower knows that there is only One Existence yet, through his perfect spiritual courtesy towards his Lord, he always clings to his slavehood.

Necessary Being ( wajib al-wujud )

(Wajib al wujud) is that reality which cannot not be, in contrast to the 'possible things' (mumkin) and 'impossible things' (mumtani'). The impossible thing is that which cannot exist within the cosmos but may nonetheless exist within the mind of man. The Realm of Imagination is the place of 'impossible things'. The existence of the 'possible thing' depends totally upon the desire of Necessary Being (wajib al wujud) to turn His Attentiveness towards it and bring it into existence. Wajib al wujud may also mean Necessary Finding. Allah finds Himself and cannot not find Himself. The entity may or may not find itself and Allah. The 'finding' depends upon Allah's giving preponderance to the entity's finding Allah.

Other than Allah ( ghayr Allah )

(Ghayr Allah). 'Other than Allah' is the cosmos and all that it contains. To be 'other than Allah' is to be imperfect, but this 'imperfection' is in itself Perfection!

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