Sufism, also known as Tasawwuf, is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, asceticism, and esotericism.
A tariqa is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking haqiqa, which translates as "ultimate truth".
Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, also known as Bawa, was a Tamil-speaking teacher and Sufi mystic from Sri Lanka who came to the United States in 1971, established a following, and founded the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship in Philadelphia. He developed branches in the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK — adding to existing groups in Jaffna and Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is known for his teachings, discourses, songs, and artwork.
The Azeemi Sufi Order, known in Urdu as Silsila Azeemiyya , known in Arabic as Al-Ṭarīqah al-Aẓeemiyyah
Qutb, Qutub, Kutb, Kutub or Kotb means 'axis', 'pivot' or 'pole'. Qutb can refer to celestial movements and be used as an astronomical term or a spiritual symbol. In Sufism, a Qutb is the perfect human being, al-Insān al-Kāmil, who leads the saintly hierarchy. The Qutb is the Sufi spiritual leader that has a divine connection with God and passes knowledge on which makes him central to, or the axis of, Sufism, but he is unknown to the world. There are five Qutbs per era, and they are infallible and trusted spiritual leaders. They are only revealed to a select group of mystics because there is a "human need for direct knowledge of God".
Haqiqa is one of "the four stages" in Sufism, shari’a, tariqa, haqiqa and marifa.
Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili also known as Sheikh al-Shadhili was an influential Moroccan Islamic scholar and Sufi, founder of the Shadhili Sufi order.
Murshid is Arabic for "guide" or "teacher", derived from the root r-sh-d, with the basic meaning of having integrity, being sensible, mature. Particularly in Sufism it refers to a spiritual guide. The term is frequently used in Sufi orders such as the Naqshbandiyya, Qādiriyya, Chishtiya, Shadhiliya and Suhrawardiyya.
Fanaa in Sufism is the "passing away" or "annihilation". Fana means "to die before one dies", a concept highlighted by famous notable Persian mystics such as Rumi and later by Sultan Bahoo. There is controversy around what Fana exactly is, with some Sufis defining it as the absolute annihilation of the human ego before God, whereby the self becomes an instrument of God's plan in the world (Baqaa).
Sufi philosophy includes the schools of thought unique to Sufism, the mystical tradition within Islam, also termed as Tasawwuf or Faqr according to its adherents. Sufism and its philosophical tradition may be associated with both Sunni and Shia branches of Islam. It has been suggested that Sufi thought emerged from the Middle East in the eighth century CE, but adherents are now found around the world.
A ḥāl is a special-purpose, temporary state of consciousness, generally understood to be the product of a Sufi's spiritual practices while on his way toward God.
Yaqeen is generally translated as "certainty", and is considered the summit of the many stations by which the path of walaya is fully completed. This is the repository of liberating experience in Islam. In relation to the exoteric religious life, certainty is the sister of religious life in its perfection (ehsân), that is, to say the adoration of Allah according to the visionary way; through this channel it is the pillar of Islam in the accomplishment of its external practices, as it is the foundation of faith (iman) in its internal dogma. It is, in fact, ihsân which gives the external religion its true meaning and the domain of faith its real values. It occurs in the Quran about certainty, "And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty". Certainty (yaqeen) comprises three degrees.
Tazkiyah is an Arabic-Islamic term alluding to tazkiyat al-nafs, meaning 'sanctification' or 'purification of the self'. This refers to the process of transforming the nafs from its state of self-centrality through various spiritual stages towards the level of purity and submission to the will of God. Its basis is in learning the shariah and deeds from the known authentic sunnah and applying these to one's own life, resulting in spiritual awareness of God. Tazkiyah is considered the highest level of ihsan, one of the three dimensions of Islam. The person who purifies themself is called a zaki.
In Sufism, maʿrifa is the mystical understanding of God or Divine Reality. It has been described as an immediate recognition and understanding of the true nature of things as they are. Ma'rifa encompasses a deep understanding of the ultimate Truth, which is essentially God, and extends to the comprehension of all things in their connection to God. Sufi mystics attain maʿrifa by embarking on a spiritual journey, typically consisting of various stages referred to as "stations" and "states." In the state of ma'rifa, the mystic transcends the temptations of the self and is absorbed in God, experiencing a sense of alienation from their own self.
A Sheikh or shaykh, of Sufism is a Sufi who is authorized to teach, initiate and guide aspiring dervishes in the Islamic faith. He has laid all his worldly desires to rest thru the one intense desire for knowing the love of God his beloved. The sheik is vital to the path of the novice Sufi, for the sheik has himself travelled the path of mysticism. Viewed as the spiritual master, the sheik forms a formal allegiance (bay'a) to the disciple of Sufism and authorizes the disciple's travels and helps the disciple along the mystical path. Islamic tradition focuses on the importance of chains and legitimization. In Sufism, sheiks are connected by a continuous spiritual chain. This chain links every previous Sufi sheik, and eventually can be traced back to the Successors, and in later times to the Prophet himself. As Sufism grew, influential shayks began to acquire spiritual centers and waypoints known as khanqah, ribat, and zaouia. Sheikhs duplicate the Prophetic realities, and are also expected to perform and act as an intermediary between the Creator and the created, since the sheikh has arrived close to God through his meditations and spiritual travels. There are several types of such sheikh.
There are three central ideas in Sufi Islamic psychology, which are the Nafs, the Qalb (heart) and the Ruh (spirit). The origin and basis of these terms is Qur'anic and they have been expounded upon by centuries of Sufic commentaries.
Kashf "unveiling" is a Sufi concept dealing with knowledge of the heart rather than of the intellect. Kashf describes the state of experiencing a personal divine revelation after ascending through spiritual struggles, and uncovering the heart in order to allow divine truths to pour into it. Kashf is etymologically related to mukashafa "disclosure"/ "divine irradiation of the essence", which connotes "gain[ing] familiarity with things unseen behind the veils". For those who have purified their hearts, and who come to know the Divine Names and Attributes to the fullest of their individual capacities, the veils in front of the purely spiritual realms are opened slightly, and they begin to gain familiarity with the unseen. In Sufism, an even further revelatory capacity exists by which the Divine mysteries become readily apparent to the seeker through the light of knowledge of God. This is called tajalli "manifestation".
Tajalli is the appearance and disclosure of God as truth in Sufism. Tajalli is believed to be a process by which God manifests himself in concrete forms.
Abū al-Ḥasan Sarī (al-Sirrī) bin al-Mughallis al-Saqaṭī also known as Sirri Saqti was one of the early Muslim Sufi saints of Baghdad. He was one of the most influential students of Maruf Karkhi and one of the first to present Sufism (tasawwuf) in a systematic way. He was also a friend of Bishr al-Hafi. He was the maternal uncle and spiritual master of Junayd of Baghdad.
In Sufism, the Hijab is the divine veil that covers the qalb (heart) of the murid before reaching the maqāmāt (stages) of the tajalli and nūr manifestation of Allah's mercy. It is not a physical entity.
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