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

mahabbah
Love - Pure

(Mahabbah). The lofty, pure and unconditional love of Allah. The attainment of such love transforms the seeker from 'the one who desires Allah' into the murad, 'the one whom Allah desires'. Nothing is greater than this. The spiritual intoxication arising from the wine of pure love comes from regarding only the Beloved. The truth of mahabbah is that every atom of the lover (muhibb) bears witness to the intensity of his Love for Allah. Out of such pure love develops the passionate and ceaseless yearning for Allah ('Ishq).

See also: Drink Love - Passionate Lover - Passionate Lover Passionate love of Allah Spiritual Concert

Drink ( sharab )

(Sharab). The Wine of Divine Love is poured by the Cupbearer. Once the lover has tasted its inexpressible sweetness he is lost in It. The drop fell into the Ocean and disappeared!

Lover - Passionate ( 'ashiq )

('Ashiq). Lover. The 'ashiq is the one who searches for Allah with intense yearning and longing, never allowing himself rest in his pursuit of the Beloved. The perfect lover of Allah loves Allah in every Self-disclosure.

Lover ( muhibb )

(Muhibb) This Name may be applied to Allah Himself when considering His slave to be His beloved, or it may be applied to the slave himself whose Beloved is Allah. In reality there is only one Beloved of Allah and that is the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) and it is only through being annihilated in him that the lover of Allah may be transformed into the beloved of Allah. The lover (Muhibb) is the one who is enraptured by Allah's Beauty in contrast to the knower ('Arif) who remains in sobriety in the face of all of Allah's Self-disclosures (Tajalli). The knower who is also a lover is in a state of Perfection (Kamal) being inwardly intoxicated and outwardly sober. Such a friend (Wali) has attained perfect balance and harmony. He is the Perfect Man.

Passionate love of Allah ( 'ishq )

('Ishq). Intense, overflowing and passionate love of Allah. Some say that 'ishq cannot arise without actual vision of the Beloved. 'Ishq is the highest stage before absorption in Allah. It is as rare as the red sulphur. It burns away everything of the lover ('Ashiq) transforming him into the beloved. After annihilation in Allah and absorption in Allah, where all is blindness and there is no longer any vision, the lover is separated from the Beloved and his 'ishq burns afresh. Passionate love of Allah is without limit.

Spiritual Concert ( sama' )

(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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