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

al-ma'bud
Worshipped

(Ma'bud). The worshipped. That which is worshipped, the ma'bud, of necessity demands a worshipper. Without the worshipper there cannot be the worshipped. The Worshipped is only and always Allah. The worshipper is the entire cosmos.


See also: All Praise be to Allah Slave
(Alhamdulillah). It is not possible for man to praise Allah as He should be praised, for He is "the Lord of Inaccessibility, above what they describe" (The Qur'an 37:180). Our inability to praise Allah is our praise of Allah.
('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.

Go Back