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

Sayyidi Ali Zayn al 'Abidin
Sayyidi Ali Zayn al 'Abidin (38AH/659CE to 95AH/713CE)

Sayyidi Ali Zayn al 'Abidin was born in Medina in 38AH/659CE. He was the son of Sayyiduna wa Mawlana al Imam al Hussayn and great-grandson of the Prophet (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). Sayyidi Ali Zayn was self-denying and renounced worldly pleasures, though he did not give way to poverty and feebleness. He is considered to be pious with what Allah prohibited and his asceticism was internal and psychological. All accounts of his life highlight Sayyidi Ali Zayn al 'Abidin as having gracious courtesy, penetrating knowledge, and sincerity in his devotion. A fire once broke out in the house while he was in prostration. He did not raise his head from prostration until after the fire went out. When asked about this, Sayyidi Ali Zayn al 'Abidin said "the other fire kept my mind busy." Once, when circumambulating the Ka'aba, he heard a man asking Allah for patience. Sayyidi Ali Zayn turned to the man and said "You are asking for tribulation. Say 'O Allah, I ask You for wellbeing and gratitude for it.'" He died in Medina in 95AH/713CE and is buried in al-Baqi' cemetery next to his uncle Sayyiduna wa Mawlana al Imam al Hassan. After his death many people discovered that the individual who provided sacks of food for more than one hundred families, always with his face covered to avoid being recognised, was Sayyidi Ali Zayn al 'Abidin.

Silsilat


See also: Spiritual Chain Sayyiduna wa Mawlana al Imam al Hussayn (4AH/626CE or 61AH/680CE) Sayyiduna wa Mawlana al Imam al Hassan (3AH/625CE or 50AH/670CE) Increase the greatness of the Chosen One, May the salutations of Allah be upon Him, and Peace
(Silsilat). The Spiritual Chain of each tariqa descends from the Holy Prophet Muhammad himself (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) down to the present-day Shaykh. It is through his attachment to the silsilat that the newly initiated murid has the means to travel to Allah under Divine Protection.
Sayyiduna wa Mawlana al Imam al Hussayn was born in Medina in 4AH/626CE. He was grandson of the Prophet (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace), son of Sayyiduna wa Mawlana-l Imam Ali and Sayyidatuna as-Sayyida Fatima Zahra. Next to the main door of his mosque in Cairo is a plaque which reminds all who enter that the Prophet (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) said "I am from Hussayn, and Hussayn is from me." Despite expectations of him to take a prominent political role, Imam al Hussayn shunned the grandeur of his genealogical status in favour of breaking bread with the poor and needy. While he suffered persecution at the hands of the political powers, Imam al Hussayn said "I will never give my hand like a man who has been humiliated, nor will I flee like a slave ... I have not risen to spread evil or to show off ... I only desire to enjoin good values and prevent evil." After three days of being denied water in the scorching desert heat, his oppressors attacked. Vastly outnumbered, Imam al Hussayn and his companions resisted the oppressors despite being fatigued, thirsty, and heavily wounded. Imam al Hussayn was the last to be slain and, while he was killed mercilessly, he dies holding firmly to his principles, that of instating an Islamic polity rather than unjust rulers.
Sayyiduna wa Mawlana al Imam al Hassan was born in Medina in 3AH/625CE. He was the eldest grandson of the Holy Prophet (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace), son of Sayyiduna wa Mawlana-l Imam Ali and Sayyidatuna as-Sayyida Fatimatu-z-Zahra, and was the was the fifth caliph, though he abdicated after six or seven months. When negotiating Imam Hassan's abdication, it is reported that he was offered an annual stipend of 1,000,000 dirhams from the treasury Bayt al-mal, along with land taxes. To this Imam Hassan replied "He is trying to appeal to my greed for a matter which, if I desired it, I would not surrender to him" and only asked that safety be granted to the people. After his abdication, Imam al Hassan spent the remainder of his life in Medina, living in seclusion. He died in 50AH/670CE and is buried in the al-Baqi' cemetery in Medina.
Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) is the final Prophet and Messenger and is known as the Seal of the Prophets (khatm al-anbiya). He (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) is the most central figure within the Islamic tradition, in general, and in Sufism, in particular. All Sufi Orders trace their lineage to The Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace), for it was through him that Allah transmitted the final Divine revelation to humanity and it is within him that Allah has granted an incomparably great character. His (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) incomparably great character is the model par excellence for the individual seeking to draw close to Allah.

Go Back