(Dhikr). Remembrance, invocation or glorification of Allah, through the repetition of one of His Names or a phrase to His Glory. True dhikr is a spiritual state in which the one who remembers (dhakir) concentrates all of his physical and spiritual po...
(Dhikr al ruh). The remembrance of the spirit when the dhakir perceives the Lights of the Attributes.
(Diwan). The dynamic and living poetry of the Great lovers of Allah. Diwani poetry acts as a vehicle for the descent of spiritual realities into the heart of the 'listener'. Coming as it does, from the Direct Knowledge (unveiling, taste, opening) and...
(Du'a'). Du'a is the private and personal supplication of the slave to his Lord. "Your Lord has said Call upon Me and I will answer you" (The Qur'an 2:260). "Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman (the Merciful), By whatever name ye call upon Him, (it ...
(Fana'). Self-annihilation or self-effacement or dissolution or passing away from self. Through being joined to Allah, the Real; man is annihilated from himself - the 'limited existence' of the traveller is ov...
(Fana fil Murshid/Shaykh). Fallen man cannot, by his own resources, reach Annihilation in Allah.. He requires a Spiritual Guide, a Murshid, who is a pure receptacle for the Divine Outpouring which emanates from the Holy Prophet Muhammad. This Outpou...
(Faqd). Losing. There is an agitation and bewilderment experienced by the lover when he 'loses' Allah after having 'found' Allah. During the 'spiritual audition' (sama') the lover of Allah may 'find' Allah when he is overwhelmed by ecstasy. After the...
(Faqr). Indigence and spiritual poverty and destitution and neediness. True poverty is to own nothing, not even one's own self. Spiritual Poverty is to 'know' that Allah is the Independent One Who is in need of nothing. Spiritual Poverty is to belong...
(Farq-i-thani). The second separation. After experiencing alternating states of spiritual intoxication and sobriety, effacement and affirmation, individuality passes away and permanent conscious oneness with Allah is reached. This is also called the ...
(Fatrah). Langour is the extinguishing of the burning fire of desire and aspiration which accompanies the initial stages of the spiritual search. Due to his lack of patience and lack of knowledge and lack of trust, the seeker may lose his original in...
(Al Fuqara). The indigents or the poor. This term refers to the spiritual poverty of travellers on the Sufi Path. These travelling murids who are in need of their Spiritual Guide or Murshid, display their poverty towards him, and in so doing, they ma...
(Futuh).Openings or victory. Futuh are accesses to direct spiritual experience and are generally grouped as the opening of clear explanation or 'verbal expression' in the outer world, the opening of sweetness in the inner world and the opening of Div...
(Ghaflah). To be negligent or heedless or unconscious of Allah. From the viewpoint of the higher teaching, al ghaflah indicates a state which, at times, may overcome some of the lesser knowers. In this state they succumb to such a state of heedlessne...
(Al Haba). 'The fine dust suspended in the air'. Al haba is a symbol of the universal plastic substance or the prima materia. This symbolism illustrates the double nature of the Spirit. Dust becomes visible only when a beam of light is refracted off ...
(Al Hadarat). These are the five universal planes, levels of existence or finding, or worlds of Entified Being. 1. The World of the Essence (dhat), The World of the Absolute Non-manifestation (al ghayb al mutlaq), or the Mystery of Mysteries (ghayb ...
