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

(Awliya). The friends of Allah. These are His Saints. Their knowledge is not derived from reflection. Allah has purified them of that type of knowledge. They possess the opening of unveiling through Allah, the Real, Himself. The awliya are those with unbroken awareness of Allah. These Perfect Men have attained to the highest of all human degrees.

('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.

(Al Malamatiyya). These are the Perfect Ones. Their exteriors never disclose the reality of their interiors. They are those who know and are not known. Al malamatiyya are Allah's perfect slaves, Allah's perfect lovers, Allah's perfect knowers. They manifest His All-Comprehensive Name 'Allah', without a trace of Lordship. Allah has placed their 'blaming self' over them as a protection against self-conceit or satisfaction. They are the greatest of the Sufis. They are in constant submission and surrender to the Will of Allah. A Murshid (Spiritual Guide) who is one of the malamatiyya is the perfect Murshid and his murids often attain to Manliness. The Master of the cosmos, the Best of Creation, Muhammad al Mustapha (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace), who is a Malamatiyya, is their Master.

(Sirr). The secret or mystery is a subtle substance of Allah's Grace. It is the innermost consciousness, the point of secret communication between the Lord and His slave. It is the hidden place where Allah manifests His mystery to Himself.

(Sirr al Khususiyyah). The mystery or secret of election. This sirr is the innermost reality of the friends of Allah. Through Allah's jealousy towards His elect He keeps their reality hidden. 'My saints are under My dome. No one knows them but Me'.

(Sirr al sirr). The Mystery within the Mystery. The Breath within the Breath. This is the greatest subtlety through which Allah isolates Himself from His slave.

(Asrar). The asrar are hidden within the depths of the inner consciousness. They pass between the purified centre of the emancipated soul (who is a true slave!) and his Lord. All of the secrets derive from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) and the Divine Lights abound according to the purity of one's inner secret.

('Abd). The slave (and worshipper) is the one who is in a state of total and utter submission to the Will of Allah. After having been annihilated in Allah where all duality vanished and distinctions were erased, he returns to creation with perfect courtesy and with the Truth of Certainty that 'the Lord is the Lord and the slave is the slave'. When 'abd is translated as 'servant' it carries the implication that the servant can leave the service of his Master, if he so desires. However, the 'slave' is in total bondage, being utterly dependent upon his Master. All buying and selling transactions have been terminated. The slave belongs to Allah, completely, perfectly and unconditionally.