Tasawwuf Glossary

عُصْبَة

'Asaba

The osier, a plant winding about the tree. The stubborn arrow of a man...

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اغتاب

Aghtab

Someone: mentioning his faults behind his back, faults that he conceal...

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أنس

Al-ans

Anisa bihi wa ilayhi anasan: he found tranquility in him or her, and h...

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أنثى

Al-anthā

The lower of the two categories of mating animals, according to Al-Hur...

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استعارة المكنية

Al-astʿara al-mknya

It is the implicit comparison of one thing to another in the heart....

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بغض

Al-bghḍ

It is the aversion of the soul from a thing which is shunned. It is th...

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براذين

Al-bradhyn

Plural of baradhun, which is the horse of the non-Arabs....

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بواده

Al-bwadh

That which suddenly strikes the heart from the unseen at first glance,...

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ذبذب

Al-dhbdhb

Dhikr (remembrance of Allah), because it oscillates, meaning it moves,...

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فقه

Al-fiqh

In language: understanding the speaker's intent from his words. In usa...

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فطنة

Al-fṭna

Like understanding, Al-Jawhari said it, and As-Sa'di said: the man sho...

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غرور

Al-ghrwr

It is the soul's settling into what accords with vain desire and towar...

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غشاوة

Al-ghshawa

That which settles on the face of the heart's mirror as rust, blunts t...

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غشي

Al-ghshy

A state in which sensation and movement are suspended due to a weaknes...

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غين

Al-ghyn

Below the rayn, which is rust; for rust is a thin veil that disappears...

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هباء

Al-hbaʾ

It is that in which Allah opened the bodies of the world, while having...

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هيبة

Al-hyba

Awe that induces submission, arising from the perception of an immense...

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إحسان

Al-ihsan

It is the realization of servanthood through witnessing the Presence o...

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إخلاص

Al-ikhlas

In language: abandoning ostentation in acts of worship. In usage: puri...

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إلياس

Al-ilyas

It is used to express constriction, for he is Idris, and due to his as...

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إمامان

Al-imaman

The two persons, one of whom is to the right of the Ghawth, meaning th...

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إيمان

Al-iman

In language: affirmation of the heart. In the Law: belief of the heart...

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إنابة

Al-inaba

Extracting the heart from the darkness of ambiguities. And it has been...

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إنسان الكامل

Al-insan al-kaml

He is the summation of all divine and cosmic worlds, universal and par...

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إسلام

Al-islam

Humility and submission to what the Messenger (may Allah's peace and b...

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إضمار قبل الذكر

Al-iḍmar qbl al-dhkr

It is permissible in five instances: the first is in the pronoun of th...

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إحداث

Al-iḥdath

The bringing into existence of a thing preceded by time....

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جدي

Al-jdy

With a fatha and sometimes a kasra, the male offspring of a goat when ...

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جهل البسيط

Al-jhl al-bsyṭ

It is the absence of knowledge regarding that which one is expected to...

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جرح المجرد

Al-jrḥ al-mjrd

It is that by which a witness is declared corrupt, without necessitati...

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جحد

Al-jḥd

That which is required by lam for the negation of the past, and this c...

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كابوس

Al-kabws

It is when a person imagines in their sleep a vision that weighs upon ...

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خبر نوعان

Al-khbr nwʿan

Mursal (loose) and Musnad (supported). The Mursal is that which the na...

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خشوع والخضوع والتواضع

Al-khshwʿ wal-khḍwʿ wal-twaḍʿ

They have the same meaning, and in the terminology of the people of tr...

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خشوع

Al-khushu'

In language: a masdar taken from khashi'a, which is stillness, serenit...

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خيلاء

Al-khylaʾ

With a damma on the dotted Kha and an elongated alif on the measure of...

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خضر

Al-khḍr

It is used to express expansion and despair of contraction, for his te...

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خصم

Al-khṣm

With the dotted kha vocalized with a fatha, enemy. The plaintiff and t...

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كلمات القولية والوجودية

Al-klmat al-qwlya wal-wjwdya

An expression denoting determinations occurring upon the soul; the ver...

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كيفيات النفسانية

Al-kyfyat al-nfsanya

It has been said: They are the qualities specific to the essences of a...

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لغو

Al-lghw

Speech whose consideration is void, and which has no meaning regarding...

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لوامع

Al-lwamʿ

Radiant lights that shine for beginners among those with weak and appa...

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لوح

Al-lwḥ

It is the Manifest Book and the Universal Soul. The Tablets are four: ...

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لطيفة الإنسانية

Al-lṭyfa al-insanya

It is the speaking soul named by them as the heart. In reality, it is ...

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ملامية

Al-mlamya

They are those who do not let what is within their inner selves appear...

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منافسة

Al-mnafsa

Striving to attain a good similar to that which another has reached....

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مقبولات

Al-mqbwlat

These are propositions accepted from someone in whom one trusts, eithe...

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مرتبة الإلهية

Al-mrtba al-ilhya

It is when the reality of existence is taken conditioned upon a thing:...

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موت الأبيض

Al-mwt al-abyḍ

Hunger, because it illuminates the inner self and whitens the face of ...

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موت الأحمر

Al-mwt al-aḥmr

Opposing the desires of the soul....

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معَاد

Al-mʿaad

A verbal noun and a noun of place, meaning the return and the orientat...

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معنوي

Al-mʿnwy

It is that which has no share for the tongue, but is rather a meaning ...

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محادثة

Al-mḥadtha

The discourse of Allah addressed to the knowers from the world of sove...

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محبة

Al-mḥba

It is the veneration of the station of secrets,...

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نفس الأمَّارة

Al-nfs al-amaara

It is that which inclines towards the physical nature, commands sensua...

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نفس الإنساني

Al-nfs al-insany

It is the first perfection of a natural, organic body, inasmuch as it ...

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نفس المطمئنة

Al-nfs al-mṭmʾna

It is the one that has been illuminated by the light of the heart unti...

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نفس الناطقة

Al-nfs al-naṭqa

It is the substance immaterial in its essence while being compared to ...

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نفس النباتي

Al-nfs al-nbaty

It is the primary perfection of a natural organic body in terms of its...

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نفس القدسية

Al-nfs al-qdsya

It is the soul that possesses the faculty to evoke everything possible...

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نفس الرحماني

Al-nfs al-rḥmany

It refers to the general existence extended over entities concretely, ...

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نفس الحيواني

Al-nfs al-ḥywany

It is the first perfection of a natural organic body, inasmuch as it p...

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نسك

Al-nsk

Worship, and every right belonging to Allah the Most High, as stated i...

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قبيح

Al-qbyḥ

It is that which is associated with blame in the immediate and punishm...

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قوامع

Al-qwamʿ

Everything that subdues the human being against the demands of nature,...

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ران

Al-ran

It is the veil that stands between the heart and the realm of holiness...

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ربو

Al-rbw

It is shortness of breath....

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رداء

Al-rdaʾ

In the terminology of the masters: the manifestation of the attributes...

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رفع

Al-rfʿ

To raise. And according to the specialists in arithmetic, it is the ex...

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رقيقة

Al-rqyqa

It is the spiritual subtlety. It may refer to the subtle intermediate ...

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روح

Al-rwḥ

With the people, "tarwihan": he prayed the tarawih prayer with them. T...

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روح الأعظم

Al-rwḥ al-aʿẓm

He who is the human spirit, the manifestation of the divine Essence fr...

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روح الإنساني

Al-rwḥ al-insany

It is the knowledgeable and perceptive subtle entity of the human bein...

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ريب

Al-ryb

A noun meaning doubt and not a verbal noun, although it may be made a ...

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رضا

Al-rḍa

The joy of the heart in the face of bitter decrees....

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سبحة

Al-sbḥa

With the fatha, it designates tasbih, prayer, and dhikr. It is sometim...

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سفاهة

Al-sfaha

Derived from as-safah (lightness), which originally means lightness of...

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سفر الأول

Al-sfr al-awl

It is the lifting of the veils of multiplicity from the face of onenes...

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شَّاة

Al-shaaa

Pertains to sheep, if Allah the Most High wills....

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شجرة

Al-shjra

The perfect man, governing the structure of the total body: he gathers...

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شلل

Al-shll

Inability of the hand and leg to function due to an affliction affecti...

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شحناء

Al-shḥnaʾ

Animosity with which the soul is filled. Al-Fayyumi said: hostility an...

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سكينة

Al-skyna

What the heart experiences as tranquility upon the descent of the unse...

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تواضع

Al-twaḍʿ

Deeming great the merits of those who are below one in wealth and stat...

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توبة النصوح

Al-twba al-nṣwḥ

It is a strict commitment never to return to the like of it. Ibn Abbas...

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توقي

Al-twqy

To avoid a thing....

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وَدْي

Al-wady

With a sukun on the unmarked letter, and al-Jawhari reported: a kasrah...

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ورقاء

Al-wrqaʾ

The universal soul, which is the Preserved Tablet, the tablet of decre...

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وُقُوف القلبي

Al-wuquwf al-qlby

Among the Sufis, an expression denoting the awakening and presence of ...

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ياقوتة الحمراء

Al-yaqwta al-ḥmraʾ

It is the universal soul, due to the mixture of its luminous nature wi...

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ياس

Al-yas

It is used to express constriction (al-qabd), because Idris, due to hi...

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يسر

Al-ysr

The thing: became soft and compliant. The pregnant woman: her delivery...

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يتم

Al-ytm

With damma and fatha, and sukun on the second letter. Damma on the fir...

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زمرد

Al-zmrd

The Universal Soul, when potentiality multiplied both from the aspect ...

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زيتون

Al-zytwn

It is the soul disposed to ignite with the light of holiness due to th...

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عمرية

Al-ʿmrya

Similar to the Wasilites, except that they declared both factions to b...

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عقل الهيولاني

Al-ʿql al-hywlany

It is the pure readiness to perceive intelligibles, and it is a pure f...

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عقل بالملكة

Al-ʿql bal-mlka

It is the knowledge of necessities, and the soul's readiness thereby t...

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ضياء

Al-ḍyaʾ

The vision of others by the eye of reality, for reality in itself is l...

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حَالَات

Al-ḥaal-aat

These are the non-entrenched psychological dispositions, such as writi...

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حمد الحالي

Al-ḥmd al-ḥal-y

It is that which pertains to the spirit and the heart, such as being c...

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حملة

Al-ḥmla

The transition of the human soul to its possible perfection according ...

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حس المشترك

Al-ḥs al-mshtrk

It is the faculty in which the forms of particular sensible perception...

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حسرة

Al-ḥsra

It is reaching the extreme in intense sorrow, such that the heart rema...

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حضور

Al-ḥḍwr

Absence from creation due to the dominance of the remembrance of Allah...

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صدر

Al-ṣdr

It is the first part of the first hemistich in a poetic verse....

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صِّفَات النفسية

Al-ṣifaat al-nfsya

There is a disagreement in their definition. Those who believe in stat...

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طب الروحاني

Al-ṭb al-rwḥany

It is the science of the perfections of hearts, their flaws, their dis...

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طبيب الروحاني

Al-ṭbyb al-rwḥany

He is the shaykh well-versed in that medicine, capable of guiding and ...

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طرف

Al-ṭrf

With two fathas — language: a part of a thing, its side and end; it is...

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عبادة الصحيحة

Alabada alshyha

Among the Shafi'is: that which nullifies the ruling. Al-'abd: the huma...

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اضطراب

Aladtrab

In matters, hesitation....

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احتلام

Alahtlam

What the sleeper sees in dreams. A name for what the sleeper sees rega...

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علامة البلوغ

Alama alblwgh

In the Hanafi school: for the boy, wet dreams and emission of fluid. F...

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بابية

Albabya

A religion whose followers claim to be Muslims, attributed to Mirza Al...

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بيت المقدس

Albyt almqds

The heart pure from attachment to anyone other than Allah....

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جان

Aljan

Al Jinn. And in the Noble Quran: (And on that Day neither man nor jinn...

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مشهور في الشهادة

Almshhwr fy alshhada

Among the Ibadis: the testimony of the people of the ensemble is three...

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صاحب بالجنب

Alsahb baljnb

(See s-h-b.) Al-junub: the distant one. In the noble Quran: "and she s...

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أمر بالمعروف

Amr bil-ma'ruf

Guidance to the saving orientations, and forbidding the blameworthy: r...

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أرش

Arsh

It is a name of wealth due for what is below life....

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أسكن

Askn

Such a one: he inhabited. The mobile: stopped its movement. A such a o...

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تقوى

At-taqwa

In language: the state of one who shields himself, that is, who takes ...

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توحيد

At-tawhid

In language: the judgment that a thing is one, and the knowledge that ...

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زكاة

Az-zakat

In language: increase. In the Law: it denotes the obligation of a port...

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بَراءَةُ

Bara'a

Lexically: exiting a thing and parting it; the root al-bara’, cutting’...

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بسيط

Basit

Three kinds: the real simple, having no part at all: the Creator, tran...

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بيت

Bayt

In the dwelling, if Allah wills....

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بكاء

Buka

Abundant, coming of grief sometimes and joy sometimes; the difference ...

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دِيَة

Diya

Verbal noun of wada when the killer handed the slain’s guardian the we...

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فساد

Fasad

The departure of form from matter after being established therein. Amo...

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غَفْلة

Ghafla

That is, they were heedless of guarding their station and of facing th...

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هوى

Hawa

The soul’s leaning toward what allures it of pleasures, without the La...

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حياء

Haya'

The soul’s contraction before a thing and leaving it warily of the bla...

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حفظ

Hifz

The retention of perceived forms....

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حمى

Humma

The thing for so-and-so, in protection: barring it and warding it. Sai...

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ابن

Ibn

A male being generated of another individual’s seed of its kind....

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ابنُ السَّبيلِ

Ibn as-sabil

It is the traveler; the way the road; the traveler named way-son for h...

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إذعان

Idhan

The heart’s resolve. Al-’azm: settling the will without hesitation....

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إحياء الأرض الموات

Ihya alard almwat

According to the majority of jurists: that a person goes to a land no ...

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إمام

Imam

He who holds the general leadership in religion and world alike....

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إنكار

Inkar

The contrary of avowal. The hamza is sometimes used for reproving nega...

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اعتقاد

Itiqad

Verbal noun of a’taqada you’taqidou; the root is ’aqada. Ibn Faris sai...

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اعتراض

Itirad

It is coming amid speech, or between two connected speeches, with a me...

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جرس

Jars

The summarizing of divine address arriving upon the heart with a form ...

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جهة الكعبة

Jha alkaba

In terminology: The direction of the Sacred House, and its airspace ex...

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جناية

Jinaya

Every forbidden act involving harm to the person or to other than her....

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خشية

Khashya

The heart’s paining by expecting a dreaded thing in the future, someti...

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خدر

Khudr

A side of the house where a curtain is left, where the free maiden dwe...

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ماء

Ma'

Cool and moist. Its plural almiyah attests its hamza a ha inverted. Th...

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مخيلات

Makhayat

Propositions imagined, by which the soul is affected of contraction or...

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مسجد الحرام

Masjid al-haram

The Sacred Mosque was so named for its surroundings’ inviolability: it...

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مفهوم المخالفة

Mfhwm al-mkhal-fa

What is understood from speech by way of implication, and it has been ...

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مُؤَلَّفَة

Mu'allafa

Those whose will is weak in islam, or nobles hoped islam of their peop...

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محاضرة

Muhadara

The heart’s presence with the Truth in the flowing of His names, trans...

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مجتهد

Mujtahid

He who possesses the knowledge of the Book and the faces of its meanin...

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مخالفة

Mukhalafa

The word being contrary to the law deduced from examining the Arabs’ t...

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نوم

Nawm

A natural state, the powers halting with it, by the vapors’ rising to ...

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نظر

Nazar

(Seeing - regarding reflectively). And reading, transiting by fi: said...

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نظري

Nazari

What whose obtaining depends on regarding and acquiring, as conceiving...

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نعمة

Ni'ma

It is that for which benevolence and profit are intended, without aim ...

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قول

Qawl

It is the composed wording in the voiced proposition, or the composed ...

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قيام الليل

Qiyam al-layl

Qiyam al-layl’s principle: applying to night-occupation by prayer with...

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قدرة الميسرة

Qudrat al-maysara

What makes ease binding upon performance; it exceeds the possible capa...

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قطب

Qutb

Sometimes called ghawth, for the distressed’s recourse to him: the Uni...

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قوة

Quwwa

It is the animal’s aptitude for arduous acts. The vegetative soul’s po...

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رعونة

Ra'una

Halting at the soul’s desires and what its temperament demands....

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رَّحْمَة

Rahma

It is an affective state ordinarily befalling him of heart tenderness,...

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رجاء

Raja'

Lexically: hope. As a term: the heart’s attachment to gaining a belove...

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رأي

Ray

The soul’s conviction of one of the two contraries, by preponderant co...

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رياضة

Riyada

It is the schooling of the psychic morals; their schooling is their sc...

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رق

Ruq

Lexically: weakness; hence the heart’s tenderness. In fiqh, among the ...

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شهامة

Shahama

It is the eagerness for accomplishing grand matters drawing the fine f...

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شهوة

Shahwa

A movement of the soul seeking the fitting....

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شيء

Shay'

In the tongue: what can be known and reported of, by Sibawayh’s accoun...

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شركة الأبدان

Shrka alabdan

Originally: partnership of bodies. The letter ba was deleted, then the...

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شُّحُّ

Shuhh

Avarice’s extreme: the farthest of withholding among avarice. Said: av...

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شكر

Shukr

It is a gratitude answering the favor, whether by tongue, hand or hear...

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صلى

Sla

The horse in the race: it arrived as a musalli. It is the second in th...

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سكوت

Sukut

It is leaving speech while holding the capacity....

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طبيعة

Tabia

It is the force running through bodies, whereby the body reaches its n...

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تفكر

Tafakkur

The heart’s moving through the senses of things, to grasp the sought....

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تجلِّي

Tajalli

What unveils to the hearts of the lights of the unseens; the unseens p...

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تجريد

Tajrid

Removing the all-other and the world from secret and heart: for no vei...

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تَخْصِيص الْإِثْبَات وَتَخْصِيص الثُّبُوت

Takhṣiyṣ al-iithbaat watakhṣiyṣ al-thubuwt

The first: it is specification by mention, as in the statement Zayd is...

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تناسخ

Tanasukh

It is the soul’s attaching to a body after parting another body, no ti...

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تعريض

Tarid

Among the scholars of sarf: making the object presented to the essence...

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طب

Tibb

A science whereby health’s keeping and illness’s curing known: the old...

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تنقيح المناط

Tnqyḥ al-mnaṭ

It is to clarify the nullification of the difference....

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وَالرَّابِع

Waal-raabiʿ

The breadth divided into two directions, which is the surface. It is s...

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وحي

Wahy

Wahi’s origin is swift indication; for the swiftness it holds, a matte...

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وجد

Wajd

What the heart encounters and befalls it without effort nor affectatio...

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وارد

Warid

All arriving at the heart of unseen senses, without the servant’s inte...

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وأرسطو

Warsṭw

He said in Anologia: I chose spiritual retreat and ascetic exercise, I...

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يمين الصبر

Ymyn alsbr

According to the Hanafis, Shafiis, and Zaidis: it is the oath that a p...

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