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

la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi al-'Ali, al-'Azim
There is no power nor strength except with Allah. . .

(La howla wa la Quwatta illa billah al 'Aly al Atheem). There is no power and no strength except in Allah, the Most High, the Tremendous'. Recitation of, and contemplation upon this dynamic phrase act as reminders to the murid that 'the slave is the slave and the Lord is the Lord'. Insight into the reality of these words brings the murid closer to the condition of Taslim - total and unconditional surrender to the Will of Allah.

See also: Concentration Inner eye Islam (B) Islam -Total Servitude Slave

Concentration ( muraqabah )

(Muraqabah). This term applies to the vigilant concentration, with all the power of mind and thought and imagination, and the examination through which the slave carefully keeps guard over himself. During his muraqabah the slave observes how Allah becomes manifest both in the cosmos and within himself.

Inner eye ( basirah )

(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.

Islam (A) ( al-islam )

The Surrender. The Journey of Return to Allah is from the first Islam which is merely verbal submission, through the levels of ascent to the second and Real Islam, which is total and unconditional surrender with knowledge and love to the Will of Allah. The seven levels of knowledge through which the traveller must pass are Surrender; Faith; Perfection; Knowledge of Certainty; Eye of Certainty; Truth of Certainty and Surrender.

Servitude ( 'ubuda )

('Ubada). Servitude and bondage. This is the fulfilment and consummation of slavehood ('ubudiyya) when the slave loses himself in the Will of his Lord. 'Ubada is 'the Nearness of obligatory works' which is one of the four stations of Perfection. To realize 'ubuda is to be gifted with a very high degree of Knowledge of Allah. To know that 'the slave is the slave and the Lord is the Lord' is the supreme form of spiritual courtesy towards Allah. The Holy Prophet Muhammad al Mustapha (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) is the Beloved of Allah and His Chosen One. No one is more perfect than him. No one can attain to his Knowledge. Yet Allah says in The Qur'an, "Glory be to Him Who carried His slave by night" (17:1). The slave is in bondage ('ubuda). Bondage is Perfection. Bondage is Knowledge.

Slave ( al 'abd )

('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.

Islam (B) ( islam )

Islam means peace and the person who follows this peace is called the Muslim. From another root meaning of the word, Islam means complete submission and surrender, and the person who submits and surrenders himself to the will of his Lord is the person who has accepted Allah as his Creator, Sustainer, Lord and the Master of the Day of Judgement.

So from both the definitions Islam means a way of life for people who have opted to follow peace as opposed to chaos, order as opposed to disorder, discipline as opposed to indiscipline, submission as opposed to refusal, surrender as opposed to insolence, obedience as opposed to disobedience etc. All these things combined together to define Islam as away of life by which a person becomes a follower of peace and not a follower of chaos. And the followers of peace are the Muslims whose duty it is: "to establish peace and what is good, and to prevent chaos and what is evil, and they are the best people." (Al-Qur'an 3:110)



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