The Language of the Future

Sufi Terminology by Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi

san'a
Art

(San'a).The Sufis are often referred to as the People of the Art. Their art is the art of Divine Knowledge. And Divine Knowledge is a light which Allah throws into the heart of whomsoever He Wills. The perfect slave and lover of Allah is himself a work of art in that he is the shining mirror reflecting Allah's Perfection within the cosmos. But, such a work of art is only known and valued by the one who is destined to attain to a high degree of Knowledge of Allah.

See also: Divine knowledge Perfect Man Poetry Spiritual Guide Sufi Singer

(Ma'rifa) is a light which Allah casts into the heart of whomsoever He Wills. This is the true knowledge which comes through unveiling, witnessing and tasting. This knowledge is from Allah, it is not Allah Himself, because He Is Unknowable in His Essence. The triad on the Sufi Path of Return is comprised of Fear, Knowledge and Love. Fear leads to Knowledge which leads to Unconditional Love of Allah. It is said that spiritual struggle is child's play while ma'rifa is men's work.
Divine knowledge

(Al Insan al Kamil). He is the viceregent of Allah, through whom Allah contemplates His Own Name-derived Perfection. The Perfect Man has actualized the divine form and in carrying the Trust has fulfilled his reason for being. It is through the Perfect Man that Allah enters the world. Al Insan al Kamil is also one of the names given to the Supreme Isthmus. Man consists of a body and a spirit which governs it. The cosmos also consists of a body and a spirit which governs it. Its spirit is the Perfect Man. Without him the cosmos is likened to a discarded body.
Perfect Man

(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 inspiration of the mystic poet, the diwan contains an overflowing spiritual energy. It is this energy which may cause inrushes of knowledge and awareness to descend upon the one who has the preparedness to receive it. This is another form of 'spiritual concert'. Through the barakah emanating from the reciter of the diwan, which is like the barakah which emanates from the Sufi singer, the listener may experience spiritual 'tasting' 'drinking' and 'intoxication'.
Poetry

(Murshid/Shaykh/Pir). The Murshid is a True Inheritor of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (May the Salutations of Allah be upon him and Peace). After having been taken to the Divine Presence during his ascension the slave has been returned, by Allah, to the creation to guide and perfect the still imperfect ones. He was taken up as a slave and returned as a slave and Murshid. The qualities of an authentic Murshid are those of his own Master and Teacher, the Holy Prophet himself. The sacred connection between a Murshid and his murids was established in Pre-Eternity and continues into Eternity. Because of the Murshid's own spiritual attainments his murids have the possibility of becoming travellers. The perfect Murshid is of The People of Blame and his murids sometimes also attain Perfection. For the murid, the Murshid is one of the 'signs on the horizons', the outward of his own inward. What he sees in the mirror of his Murshid is a reflection of what is within his own self. He may also see within the Murshid the good qualities and excellent character traits which are yet latent in himself.
Spiritual Guide

(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 is the hearer. The barakah surrounding and emanating from the qawwal and his musicians is extremely potent. Its effect upon an audience can be profound even when the members of that audience are ignorant of, and oblivious to, the reality within the singer and the music. For the one who has been prepared and purified, through spiritual struggle and the Remembrance of Allah, the speech of the qawwal can send his heart soaring towards the spiritual realm, where a thousand subtleties and delicacies are opened to him.
Sufi Singer
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