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

al-ilahiyyat
Divine things

(Al Ilahiyyat). The root and origin of every existent thing is Allah. Each entity comes from within Allah's Knowledge. The cosmos itself is nothing but the manifestation of the Hidden Treasure. It is the manifestation of Allah's Names. Even though the existent things reflect the Names the Divine Face or Aspect is not clearly reflected in all the existents. Every existent thing is a face of the Absolute, but only the Pure and Perfect Men reflect the Divine Face. The one whose inner-eye has been opened, the knower, can easily discern the Face of the Divine from the Face of the Absolute.


See also: Affinity Divine Root Face Face of Allah Face - Specific Inner eye Knower of Allah Names Perfect Man Sesame seed 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.
(Al Asl al Ilahi). The Divine root. Everything in the cosmos comes from its Divine root. He is the One and Only Source.
(Wajh). The face or special aspect of a thing. This is its reality. The knower and lover sees only Allah. When looking at the creatures he sees either the Faces of the Absolute or the Divine Faces. Every existent thing is a face of the Absolute. Everything our sight falls upon is an aspect of the Absolute, be it a reflection of Allah's Majesty or His Beauty. But only the Purified and Perfect Men reflect the Divine Face, and only the purified lover and knower perceives the Divinity in such faces.
(Wajh Allah). This is the Transcendent Essence of everything or the inner reality of each entity. "Wherever you turn, there is the Face (Reality) of Allah" (The Qur'an 2:115).
(Basirah). Insight. The basirah is the inner eye which perceives the World of the Unseen. Man's basirah is veiled and covered with a rust which can only be removed through the sincere practising of the Remembrance of Allah. Insight is one of the forms of direct knowledge of Reality.
('Arif Billah). This Man is the one who has fulfilled his 'reason to be'. He has purified himself in readiness to receive the supreme mystic knowledge which is Knowledge of Allah. It is in knowing Allah that man is drawn closer to Allah. 'The water takes on the colour of its cup'. The clearer the receptacle the greater is its capacity to manifest the Divine.
(Asma). Names. The Names designate permanent 'aspects' of the Essence. Every Name has a meaning and a form. The meaning of every Name is Allah. It is only through the Names, all of which are Allah's, that we have access to Knowledge of Allah. The Divine Names seek the Perfect Man (Insan al Kamil) to be their perfect locus of manifestation. Through their seeking him and their requiring his existence the knower comes to understand the nobility and grandeur of the Perfect Man.
(Al Insan al Kamil). He is the viceregent of Allah, through whom Allah contemplates His Own Name-derived Perfection. The Perfect Man has actualized the divine form and in carrying the Trust has fulfilled his reason for being. It is through the Perfect Man that Allah enters the world. Al Insan al Kamil is also one of the names given to the Supreme Isthmus. Man consists of a body and a spirit which governs it. The cosmos also consists of a body and a spirit which governs it. Its spirit is the Perfect Man. Without him the cosmos is likened to a discarded body.
(Simsimah) indicates a spiritual realization of such subtlety and delicacy that it is beyond verbal expression. It can only be understood, through heart to heart communication, by the one who also has realized that Truth.
(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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