(Qabul). To receive or to accept (the Self-disclosures of the Real). Such a 'receiving' is not a 'taking'. The spiritual courtesy of this situation demands an extremely high degree of respect, sensitivity, humility and gratitude from the slave. The ...
(Qadam ar Rasul). The Qadam Rasul, a sacred relic, is the impression or trace left on a rock by the footprint of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). Not only does an immense spiritual energy, or baraka, ema...
A Persian word meaning 'pure gold'. The Qalandariyyah were a sect of roaming Sufi dervishes, the most famous being Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (1177-1274), a sufi saint, philosopher, poet, and qalandar, was born as Syed Usman Shah Marwandi. He also ...
(Qalb). The human heart is the place of constant change and fluctuation. It is the supra-rational organ of intuition where the Transcendent Realities enter into contact with man. The heart is the isthmus between this world and the next. The battlefie...
(Al Qamar) is a symbol for the heart which transmits the light of the Spirit to the darkness of the self.
(Qamus). A qamus is a book full of definitions and meanings. Each human is a qamus. When man looks within his own self and contemplates the inner signs and meanings he may come to know Allah. To make the Journey into the self, and through the levels ...
The Distributor. The Holy Prophet Muhammad al Mustapha (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) is The Distributor. The Light of Muhammad is from the Light of Allah and all of creation is from Muhammad's Light. He is the Master and Teach...
(Qawl). The first connection between mankind and Allah was His Speech (qawl) and our listening to It. It is this very connection which gives the spiritual concert (sama') its immense spiritual power. The one who is worthy of the sama' is the one who ...
(Qawwal). During the 'spiritual concert' (sama') the qawwal may be the means through which the hearer finds Allah in ecstasy. When this occurs it is true sama' because sama' is a bird which flies from Allah to Allah - Allah is the singer and Allah i...
(Qawwali). A Sufi song and music. Through the rhythms of qawwali the listener may be opened to inrushes of knowledge and awareness through which he reaches ecstasy. If he 'finds' Allah within this ecstasy then he has experienced the true 'spiritual c...
(Raqs) is the rhythmic motion or whirling which may occur under the powerful influence of the spiritual concert. It is an outward sign which comes from submersion in the Remembrance of Allah.
(Riya'). Ostentation or hypocrisy or showing-off. Spiritual states are gifts from Allah and spiritual stations are earned. The descent of the states and the acquiring of the stations is through Allah's Grace and His Mercy. Riya' is one of the greates...
(Riyada). Throughout the initial stages of the Journey of Return to Allah, when the traveller is in a condition of disequilibrium, he is required to exert himself in spiritual struggle and ascetic discipline (riyada). By applying himself to the disci...
(Riyasa). There are knowledges, such as the sciences of the mystery, which cannot be made manifest. When certain travellers come to know these sciences they seek leadership (riyasa) and superiority over others, desiring to display these sciences and...
(Ruh). The Ruh is that centre within man which is attracted and drawn back to its Source. The spirit endeavours to pull the heart towards Allah, while the lower self exerts a downward pull on the heart. The human spirit is also Allah's Spirit becaus...
