(Shaytan). Satan represents the base faculties. He is lurking within the lower self and constantly trying to pull man downwards, away from the Divine. The Greater Holy War is waged against all lower tendencies.
(Shuhud). The knowers and lovers of Allah, the great Sufis, know Allah through their witnessing of Allah in all of His Self-disclosures. Allah possesses All-inclusive Being and the great Sufis possess all-inclusive witnessing of Allah. And because Se...
(Al Sidrat al Muntaha). This tree marks the boundary of the intellect. It is located at the extreme verge of the created universe. Beyond it is nothing but the Pure Selfhood.
(Sifat). An Attribute or Quality by which Allah reveals Himself in a relative manner. A sifat is a radiation from the Divine Essence through which man can approach Knowledge of Allah. The Essence has no manifestation without the manifestation of Attr...
(Sifat-i-bashariyya). The fleshly attributes of the lower self which must be transformed in order for man to travel on the Spiritual Path.
(Sifat nafsiyya thubutiyya ). The Positive Attributes of the Self. Knowledge of the 'positive attributes' is impossible, because the Essence is beyond definition and therefore beyond positive Attributes. Such an attribute would define and limit the E...
(Silsilat). The Spiritual Chain of each tariqa descends from the Holy Prophet Muhammad himself (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace) down to the present-day Shaykh. It is through his attachment to the silsilat that the newly initiated...
(Sirr). The secret or mystery is a subtle substance of Allah's Grace. It is the innermost consciousness, the point of secret communication between the Lord and His slave. It is the hidden place where Allah manifests His mystery to Himself.
(Sirr al sirr). The Mystery within the Mystery. The Breath within the Breath. This is the greatest subtlety through which Allah isolates Himself from His slave.
(Sitr). Curtain or veil or covering or concealment. That which veils you from that which will make 'you' disappear. Also known as the 'wrapping of the universe'. In reality, Allah does not place anything behind a curtain. That which covers the Truth...
Purified One. The name Sufi applies to the man or woman who has purified his heart through the Remembrance of Allah, travelled the Path of Return to Allah, and arrived at True Knowledge. There are many seekers of Wisdom and Truth, but only the Realiz...
(Sujud/ Sajda). Sujud is the outward symbol of the self-effacement of the slave in his Lord. It is the lover's annihilation in the Beloved. If it is Allah Who you want, get down in the dust. Prostrate before the One and Only.
(Sukr) is spiritual intoxication. It is an absence from self-awareness brought about through a powerful spiritual influence such as immersion in the Remembrance of Allah, finding Allah within the spiritual concert, or the glance of a friend of Allah....
(Sunnah). The profound Science of Beautiful Moral Behaviour based upon the beautiful model of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). Following the form of, and contemplating the meaning within, the sunna are t...
(Sura). The outer form of an entity or thing is what conceals its inner meaning. Revelation is the outer form whose meaning is Allah's Knowledge of Himself and His creation. Tearing away the veil of form to reveal the meaning within is the work of t...
