Sufi Glossary of Terms
Haqq. By haqq (truth), the Sufis mean God, for haqq is one of the names of God, as He hath said: “This is because God is the Truth” (Qur’an: 22: 6)
Haqiqat:
A man’s dwelling in the place of union with God and the standing of his heart in the place of abstraction.
Khatarat:
Any judgments of separation (ahkam-i tafriq) that occur in the mind
Watanat:
Any Divine meaning that makes it abode in the heart.
Tams:
Negation of a substance of which some trace is left.
Rams:
Negation of a substance together with every trace thereof from the heart
Ala’iq:
Secondary causes to which seekers of God attach themselves and thereby fail to gain the object of their desire.
Wasa’it:
Secondary causes to which seekers of God attach themselves and thereby gain the object of their desire.
Zawa’id:
Excess of lights (spiritual illumination) in the heart.
Fawa’id:
The apprehension by the spirit of what it cannot do without.
Malja’:
The heart’s confidence in the attainment of its desire
Tanzih:
Tanzih may be described as purifying the heart and throwing away from its passion and corrupt thoughts (Kashaf-al-Mahjub: p. 326). Tanzih is the standing of the heart in place of its abstraction from contemplation of God (Kashaf-al-Mahjub: p.384). It is the exemption of his beloved from his vision (Kashaf-al-Mahjub p. 374)
Tasbih:
To infer the existence of God from intellectual proofs is assimilation (Tasbih), and to deny it on the same grounds is (Tatil) assimilation is not admissible; one cannot see God face to face; only His saints may enjoy contemplation of Him in this world. (Kashaf-al-Mahjub: p. 280) Some Sufis have mistakenly supposed that spiritual vision and contemplation represent such an idea (surati) of God as is formed in the mind by the imagination, either from memory or reflection. This is utter anthropomorphism (Tasbih) and a manifest error. God is not finite; the imagination should be able to define Him, and the intellect should comprehend His nature. (Kashaf-al-Mahjub: p. 332)
