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Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge. The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where it signifies a spiritual knowledge or insight into humanity's real nature as divine, leading to the deliverance of the divine spark within humanity from the constraints of earthly existence.
Sufism is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism.
Inayat Khan Rehmat Khan was an Indian professor of musicology, singer, exponent of the saraswati vina, poet, philosopher, and pioneer of the transmission of Sufism to the West. At the urging of his students, and on the basis of his ancestral Sufi tradition and four-fold training and authorization at the hands of Sayyid Abu Hashim Madani of Hyderabad, he established an order of Sufism in London in 1914. By the time of his death in 1927, centers had been established throughout Europe and North America, and multiple volumes of his teachings had been published.
Tawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam. Tawhid is the religion's central and single most important concept, upon which a Muslim's entire religious adherence rests. It unequivocally holds that God is indivisibly one (ahad) and single (wahid).
Mansour al-Hallaj or Mansour Hallaj was a Persian mystic, poet, and teacher of Sufism. He is best known for his saying, "I am the Truth" ("Ana'l-Ḥaqq"), which many saw as a claim to divinity, while others interpreted it as an instance of annihilation of the ego, allowing God to speak through him. Al-Hallaj gained a wide following as a preacher before he became implicated in power struggles of the Abbasid court and was executed after a long period of confinement on religious and political charges. Although most of his Sufi contemporaries disapproved of his actions, Hallaj later became a major figure in the Sufi tradition.
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.
Junayd of Baghdad was a Persian mystic and one of the most famous of the early Islamic saints. He is a central figure in the spiritual lineage of many Sufi orders.
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. 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).
Abū Saʿīd Abū'l-Khayr or Abusa'id Abolkhayr, also known as Sheikh Abusaeid or Abu Sa'eed, was a famous Persian Sufi and poet who contributed extensively to the evolution of Sufi tradition.
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.
Nūr is a term in Islamic context referring to the "cold light of the night" or "heatless light" i.e. the light of the moon. This light is used as a symbol for "God's guidance" and "knowledge", a symbol of mercy in contrast to Nar, which refers to the diurnal solar "hot light" i.e. fire. In the Quran, God is stated to be "the light (Nūr) of the heavens and the earth". Many classical commentators on the Quran compare this to God illuminating the world with understanding, not taken literally. The first and foremost to representatively stand to the concept of nūr muḥammadī being the quintessence of everything was Sayyid Abdul Qadir Gilani, who described this idea in his book Sirr ul Asrar. This concept was then preached by his disciples. One of Sayyid Abdul Qadir Gilani's disciples was the Andalusian scholar Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, who categorized nūr into different levels of understanding from the most profound to the most mundane. Shias believe nūr, in the sense of inner esoteric understanding, is inherited through the Imams, who in turn communicate it to the people.
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.
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".
Sahl al-Tustarī or Sahl Shushtarī according to Persian custom, born Abū Muḥammad Sahl ibn ʿAbd Allāh, was a Persian Sunni Muslim scholar and early classical Sufi mystic. He founded the Salimiyah Muslim theological school, which was named after his disciple Muhammad ibn Salim.
Kashf al-Mahjub was the first formal treatise on Sufism, compiled in the 11th century by the Persian scholar al-Hujwiri. The work contains a complete system of Sufism with its doctrines and practices. Mystical controversies and current opinions are illustrated where many are clarified by presenting his experiences. The book with its Persian flavor of philosophical speculation and fiction is itself a piece of the identity of al-Hujwiri.
The concept of the logos exists in Islam, where it was definitively articulated primarily in the writings of the classical Sunni mystics and Islamic philosophers, as well as by certain Shi'a thinkers, during the Islamic Golden Age. In Sunni Islam, the concept of the logos has been given many different names by the denomination's metaphysicians, mystics, and philosophers, including wasilah, ʿaql ("Intellect"), al-insān al-kāmil, kalimat Allāh, haqīqa muḥammadiyya, and nūr muḥammadī. Throughout Islamic history, there have existed several different metaphysical concepts that have been understood to correspond "in many respects" to the logos Christology of Christianity and to the use of the term logos in late Greek philosophy. The concept has been documented as early as the 8th-9th century.
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.
References
- ↑ Gardet, L. Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ↑ Ansari, Ali (30 July 2015). Sufism and Beyond: Sufi Thought in the Light of Late 20th Century Science. Mapin Publishing PVT LTD. ISBN 9788185822723.
- ↑ "Mushahadah, Encyclopædia Britannica". britannica.com.
- ↑ Chaturvedi, B.K. (30 July 2015). "Agni Purana". Ghalib's Poetry on Mushahida (Witnessing). ISBN 9788128801457.
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