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

al-ghayr
Other

(Ghayr). The 'other'. Allah is the Name that stands for the Unknowable Essence and also the Name that stands for the Divinity. The 'face' of the Unknowable Essence is turned away from creation, but the 'face' of the Divinity is turned towards us. Allah, as the Divinity, demands the existence of the 'other'. His Names bear witness to this reality in that The Powerful (al Qadir) demands the 'other' as an object of power (maqdur). Yet, in Reality, the 'other' is 'He/not He' ('Huwa/la Huwa').

See also: Bewilderment Imagination Knowers

Bewilderment ( hayrah )

(Hayrah). Bewilderment, perplexity or wonderment. Hayrah indicates a moment of utter perplexity, when the mind ceases to function, unable as it is to resolve or find an answer to a particular spiritual impasse. At such a blessed time, for it is by the Grace of Allah that such bewilderment was reached, the murid must attempt not to panic or give up. Out of this knot of bewilderment a spiritual reality is given the opportunity to unravel and reveal itself in shattering clarity. The Ultimate bewilderment is that possessed by the knowers and lovers of Allah. They are utterly bewildered because they have found Allah and in finding Allah they know that He is Unknowable yet in each moment they are opened to a fresh and new Knowledge of Allah! 'So, Glory be to Allah Who is known only through the fact that He is not known!'

Imagination ( khayal )

(Khayal). Imagination indicates a reality that becomes manifest in three different places. Firstly, the Khayal is manifest within the cosmos where existence is the same as imagination. Secondly, the Khayal is manifest within the macrocosm where the isthmus between the spiritual and corporeal worlds is imaginal. Thirdly, the khayal is manifest within the microcosm where the human self is the reality between the body and the spirit. Khayal is synonymous with images. The Realm of Imagination is the isthmus between the World of the Unseen and the Visible World and it is within this khayal that man is given the clearest expression of the 'He, not He' (Huwa, la Huwa) mystery of existence. The human faculty of imagination (khayal) is purely passive with regard to the active conjectural faculty of illusion and with regard to the Spirit which may imprint upon it heralding visions.

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