(Amthal). Images or similars. These are 'bodies' which are seen within the World of Imagination. Angels, Prophets, Saints and even Allah Himself may become 'embodied' within this Realm.
(Al aniyyah). 'I-ness' is the Divine subject which is logically opposed to the Divine object (al huwiyyah). It is the outward aspect of Abstract Oneness. In the Descent of the Absolute from 'The Blindness' it passes through three stages of manifestat...
(Ankar al nakirat). This term may be applied to either of two extremes. The Absolute Itself in Its Inconceivable Transcendence and Unknowableness is 'the most indeterminate of all indeterminates'. Through the first manifestation of the Infinite Merc...
(Anqa/Simurgh). The mythical griffon or phoenix which dwells on Mount Qaf. It is the greatest of birds and lives at the world's end. It symbolizes the wind in and with which Allah spiritually opens the material bodies of the world. It is a symbol of ...
(Anwar al 'Arsh). The Lights of the Throne. These celestial Lights, radiating from the Divine Attributes which surround the Throne, are like veils. Only the friend of Allah who is illuminated by the Lights can pass through them to the Throne Itself b...
(Arbab). Lords. 'He who knows his own self, truly, does know his Lord' (Man 'arafa nafsahu 'arafa Rabbah) but because the majority of mankind take the secondary causes as their lords they do not come to know their Lord.
(Al 'Arif). The knower (of Allah). He is the complete and perfect man. The 'arif has been given Divine Knowledge (ma'rifa), and 'Ma'rifa is a light which Allah casts into the heart of whomsoever He Wills'. All is a gift from Allah. The Knower is the ...
('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 t...
('Arsh al Dhat). The Throne of the Essence. This is the Divine Will which relates to nothing but Itself.
('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.
('Assa). The staff of Prophet Musa (Peace be upon him). The staff symbolizes the (corporal) world which it is to be feared when it controls and dominates. However, the knower of Allah can take it up, as did the Prophet Musa, and use it in the Way of ...
(Athar). Remainders or traces or vestiges or effects. The effects of the Divine Names are the phenomena of the cosmos. That is, the things and the forms and the entities which manifest the Names are the effects. When the inner-eye is opened the 'seer...
(Aubat). To return from one's self to Allah. This is the station of the Prophets and friends of Allah.
(Aw adna). This term implies Union and disappearance in Allah. It is the final stage in the ascension to Allah, coming after the stage of Qaba Qawsayn ('Two Bows' Length'). It is purely through the Grace of Allah that the station of 'Or Nearer' is at...
(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...
