Glossary 

Ahiret —the next world

Ahlak —morality, moral behavior or conduct

Alhamdulillah (Elhamdulillah) —praise to God

Allahu Alim —Allah knows

Arif (arifi billah) —gnostic; one who knows

Ashk —Divine love; a love with no end; ashkullah -the love of Allah

Ashure —tenth day of Muharrem, the day of Hz. Huseyn’s martyrdom; also, a kind of sweet soup or pudding traditionally made of forty ingredients including nuts, legumes, grains, and fruit, first made from all the foods that were left in the storage bins when the ark of the Prophet Nuh, Noah, landed

Aya (pl. ayet) —a single verse of the Quran

Basir —the One who sees

Batin —the Hidden One; one of the 99 Names or attributes of Allah

Bayram —holiday; in Sufism, the joining of the hearts of the mureed and the murshid

Beka (Baqa)—eternal; the eternal world; the annihilation of self or of self-seeking by an eternal union with Allah, together with service towards humankind

Bereket (barakat)—blessing, abundance

Beste —melody

Beytigahi subhan  —the house in which Allah is remembered; the heart of the human being

Beytullah —the house of Allah; the first special house of worship built by the Prophet Ibrahim; kible, the direction that all Muslims must turn toward for worship; in Tasawwuf, the heart of the Murshid

Biat —to take hand from your Murshid; to take an oath of allegiance; the reaffirmation of the ikrar, the promise that was given in the ezel, the time before creation, through the Murshid

Dede —grandfather; a term of respect for an elder or mature teacher

Dem —the moment

Dervish —a student of Tasawwuf; a person who has eliminated duality in his heart and is trying to live the system of Allah's oneness

Din —religion; the rules and regulations established to protect Tasawwuf

Divan —a collection of spiritual writings

Dost —The Beloved; a term used among friends tied by spiritual bonds

Dua —prayer

Edeb (adab) —ethics; the system of living with good and beautiful ahlak; good manners

Efal —action

Effendi —master; a term of respect

Ehli beyt —the household of the Prophet Muhammed, Hz. Ali, Hz. Fatima, Hz. Hasan, Hz. Huseyin; also, the descendents from this lineage are sometimes called ehli beyt

Elhamdulillah (Alhamdulillah) —praise to God

Esma —names; Divine Names; usage here is both singular and plural

Esahb —the companions of the Prophet who attended his sohbets

Evliya —saint; Friend of Allah

Eyvallah — “I accept everything as it comes”

Ezel  —the moment before time or creation, in which we were all one with Allah

Fana —annihilation

Fazilet —enlightenment

Futuaat —salvation; the opening of the heart to Allah.

Gaflet —unawareness

Garip  —stranger; one away from his own country; poor, needy, strange; in Tasawwuf,  "We have come from the world of beka, so in this world we are garip"

Gönül —enlightened heart

Güfte —lyrics

Hadis Sherif —the honored hadis; the words used by the Prophet Muhammed to open up verses of the Quran; the words, action, and behavior of the Prophet Muhammed which came from the understanding of particular events;

Hadisi Kudsi  —Allah's words through the Prophet Muhammed outside of the Quran

Hak —Righteousness; Truth; the known and visible values and realities that Allah has created; everything that is deserved through working with loyalty

Hakikat —Reality; Truth; Divine Truths which are realized

Hal —state of being

Halk —created

Halife (khalifa) —representative

Halil —sincere friend

Halilullah —friend of Allah

Hamd —praise

Haram —prohibited; forbidden to people because harmful to spiritual and physical well-being

Hazreti —saint; a term of respect denoting the attribute of sainthood

Helal (halal)—permitted, lawful; spiritually and physically beneficial

Hidayet —spiritual guidance; the spiritual path of Islam

Hijret —the migration of Hz. Muhammed from Mecca to Medina

Hikmet —Divine wisdom

Himmet —blessing

Hu —personal pronoun of Allah; the symbol of Allah’s being or essence; often used as a greeting among dervishes.

Huda —another name of Allah, primarily used in Farsi

Hutbe —a sermon given at juma, or Friday congregational prayers

Huzur —inner peace, serenity, tranquility; when the mind and idrak combine, the Divine Pleasure is called huzur

Ibadet —worship, prayer

Idrak —awareness, consciousness

Iftar —the meal which breaks the fast

Ikrar —commitment; the declaration or promise that was made in the ezel, the time before creation, when Allah asked all the souls if He was their Lord, and they all answered "Yes";  the tie of love between Allah and ourselves

Ilahi —hymn, spiritual song

Ilim —knowledge

Ilmi ledün —inner knowledge, the infinite knowledge of Allah; knowledge directly from the presence of God

Imtisal —to take one as an example; to follow that example through your condition; to    take on the attributes of that example

Irfan —experiential knowledge; spiritual knowledge; the gain that is arrived at through the application of knowledge to one's life

Iman —faith

Insani kamil —the perfect (matured) human being

Insha’Allah  —if Allah wills

Isra —those who walk in the night, bringing light to the hidden

Jami —the One who gathers together; one of the 99 Names or attributes of Allah

Jehennem —Hell

Jelal —divine majesty

Jemal —divine beauty

Jenab —one of the attributes of greatness

Jennet —Paradise

Juma —Friday; congregational prayers held on Friday

Kader —fate, destiny.

Kader i-mubram —unknowable destiny

Kafir —unbeliever; the one who covers Hakikat; in Old Arabic, a farmer was called kafir because he covered the seeds with earth

Kamilat —state of evolution; maturity

Kanaat —contentment, acceptance of everything

Kerbela —the place in Iraq where Hz. Imam Huseyin was martyred

Khidr (Khizr, Hizir) —the Green Man; the symbol of the attribute of Prophethood that is immortal; the inner meaning of Khidr is the essential body that one prepares for Allah

Kible  (qibla) —the direction of Beytullah; the city of Mecca toward which Muslims turn in prayer

Kudret —Divine Power, manifesting Kadir, one of the 99 asma

Kurban (qurban) —sacrifice

Kutb (qutb) —chief center of spiritual influence; most imminent person; chief of Allah's  saints on earth; each kutb influences knowledge according to the times; there is only one kutb at a time, and each kutb has three helpers who are called kutb ul-aktab, or scribes

Latif vujud —the subtle body

Lutuf —grace

Makam —spiritual station or level; also, a musical term

Marifet —the fourth Divine door in Tasawwuf; the station at which your spiritual knowledge finds its value inside you

Mash’Allah  —a term used as a wish for the protection of something that is good or beautiful

Mejnun —legendary lover in the story of Leylah and Mejnun; crazy

Mekâr ul-ahlak —the most beautiful ahlak; the best of beautiful behavior

Melamet —the condition of hiding one's spiritual maturity; the station of nothingness; in the presence of Allah, the knowledge that one does not exist

Merhaba —the greeting “welcome”

Merkez —the center

Meshk —putting thoughts to work; Meshk is used to refer to elevating spiritual states through music, and by extension to practicing ilahis

Mevla —Lord, master

Meydan —public square or circle; in Tasawwuf, the spiritual gathering place

Miraj —Hazreti Muhammed’s spiritual ascent

Mubarek —blessed

Muhabet —sharing of love

Muhasebe (muhasibi, muhasaba) —accounting; Nefs muhasebe —the accounting of the nefs; self-analysis

Munafiq —hypocrite

Murshid, Murshidi Kamil —spiritual master or teacher

Muslim —one who has submitted

Nasib —allotment, what is provided for one by Allah

Namaz —ritual prayer; salat

Nazargâh —the place from which the nazar, the look that transmits Allah's power, comes

Nefs (nafs) —the soul

Nefes —breath

Noktayi  süeyda —a black point located right underneath the bottom side of the heart, where hidden knowledge gathers in the human being's body

Nur —Divine light; one of the 99 Names or attributes of Allah

Pir —elder, great one; in Tasawwuf, the name given to the one who establishes an Order

Qul —servant

Qurani Kerim —the generous Quran

Quran Sherif —the honored Quran

Rabita —tie, connection; heart connection with the murshid

Rabb —Lord; the teaching or training attribute of Allah

Rahim —the Beneficent, the Compassionate; one of the 99 Names of attributes of Allah

Rahman —the Merciful; one of the 99 Names or attributes of Allah

Rahmet —Allah’s mercy, compassion, forgiveness and grace

Raqib —the One who watches; one of the 99 Names or attributes of Allah

Resul —messenger; all of the prophets who were given Divine books are called resul.

Resulu Ekrem —the Prophet of Perfection; one of the names and attributes of the Prophet Muhammed

Riza —contentment; in Tasawwuf, the understanding that everything that comes is from Allah; acceptance without complaint

Rububiyat —the attribute of lordship

Ruh —spirit

Ruh ul-kuddus -the Holy Spirit

Sabur  —patience; one of the 99 Names or attributes of Allah

Sami —the One who hears; one of the 99 Names or attributes of Allah

Seha —generosity; sehavet: generosity

Sejda —prostration in ritual prayer

Selam —peace; one of the 99 Names or attributes of Allah

Shariat —rules to protect people; foundation for living in balance, created by Divine power; the universal system of life

Shiar —essential identity; spiritual calling

Shukur  —thankfulness and generosity

Sifat —attributes

Silsile (silsila)—lineage, genealogy; in Tasawwuf, the list of the succession of saints and shaikhs  from Hz. Muhammed to the present, in a particular Order

Sirat ul mustakim -the straight path

Sirr —mystery, secret

Sirra kadem —the living of an eternal, timeless state

Sohbet —spiritual discourse

Sunnet —traditional examples of the Prophet

Surah –a chapter of the Quran

Taj —crown; in Tasawwuf, the headpiece worn by the Pir and the shaikhs in the lineage of that Order; each Order attaches its own symbolic value to the taj

Takva (taqwa) —virtue

Tarikat —the Sufi orders are called tarikat; Tarike, singular; tarikat, plural

Tasawwuf —Sufism

Tawakkul —faith in God

Tawwab —awareness of mistakes; repentence

Teffekur —contemplative meditation

Tenzih —the knowledge that all that the Creator has created is free from defects

Teravi —twenty cycles of namaz or ritual prayer done during Ramadan to bring physical comfort after the iftar

Teslim —submission; in Tasawwuf, where the nefs and the ruh, spirit, have come to an accord; teslimiyet is the connection that arises from such an accord

Tevhid —union, oneness

Veli —Saint; Friend of Allah

Vuslat —union with the Beloved

Yaqin —closeness

Zahir —the Manifest One; one of the 99 Names or attributes of Allah; external; the outward visibility of the characteristics of Allah's creation

Zat —essence

Zekat (zakat)—charity (in shariat, donated to the poor annually as 2.5% of one’s savings)

Zikr (dhikr) —divine remembrance; meditation through movement and chanting

Zulfikar —the double-pointed sword of Ali