(Warid). An inrush of knowledge and awareness. Every affair which enters the heart from any Divine Name is called a warid. During the collective dhikr and spiritual audition of the Sufi gatherings the dhakir and listener may be opened to powerful inr...
(Wasat). The middle or the intermediate. Creation is the Middle (al wasat). It is situated between Sheer Light and utter darkness. The human heart is situated in the middle between the spirit which longs for its celestial home and the downward-pulli...
(Wasila) indicates the means through which man can come close to Allah. "Seek the means of approach to Him" (The Qur'an 5:35). The one and only wasila is the Holy Prophet Muhammad al Mustapha (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). Ther...
(Wasita). The intermediary or the mediator. The Mediator is the Holy Prophet Muhammad himself, from whose light all existence became manifest, may the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace. He is the Perfect man who stands as the isthmus between...
(Waswas). The satanic suggestions and whisperings which enter into the heart of man in order to distract him from the Remembrance of Allah. The waswas is sneaky and cunning. He is not easily located or quietened. The struggle against satanic suggesti...
(Wadhifa) are general spiritual practices taken from the Holy Qur'an and the practices of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may the salutations of Allah be upon him and peace). These daily practices can be chosen by the person himself for spiritual and mate...
(Wazn). Allah has set-up the Scale in order to weigh things. There are many such Scales - the Scale of Justice, the Scale of the Revealed Law, the Divine Scale, the Fundamental Scale. Everything pertaining to Allah Almighty, to knowledge, to spirit...
(Wird pl. Awrad). A specific spiritual exercise which is comprised of litanies and Divine Names. The wird is given to the murid by his Murshid and is to be performed daily. The wird may also descend, without the direct mediation of the Murshid, upon ...
(Yaqub). The Prophet Jacob (Peace be upon him) through whose Word descended the Wisdom of Spirituality (al hikmat al ruhiyyah).
(Zahid). An ascetic or pious renouncer. In the initial stages of Self-purification the murid, whose condition is one of imbalance, is required to develop an ascetic approach to his spiritual work and his daily existence. He is required to take up asc...
(Thahir) is the one who regards the exterior of things without seeking knowledge of the interior reality. For example, the Thahir performs his ritual prayer in a mechanical manner, without seeking knowledge of the symbolism of the bodily postures or...
(Zawj). On the Spiritual Journey of Return to Allah there are certain moral and spiritual attributes which are paired. It is necessary for these pairs to be experienced and assimilated by the traveller (salik). Such pairs are hope and fear, expansio...
(Zawiyyah). The transmission of the Divine Wisdom which flows from the Murshid to his murids traditionally takes place in a space or room or building, which is set aside specifically for that sacred purpose. Such a place is called a zawiyyah, which ...
(Zindeeq). Due to their ecstatic utterances some of the great lovers of Allah were regarded as heretics by the orthodox. The statements which they made, while spiritually intoxicated or lost in union or annihilated in Allah were misinterpreted. Stat...
(Ziyarat). Because the sacred tombs of the Sufi saints are sites abounding in barakah, they become visiting places for both devotees and the pious believers who seek to benefit from the spiritual power and grace of these exalted lovers of Allah. Afte...
