Sufi

A 'mini' glossary of Sufi terms (Arabic words unless otherwise noted.)

Awliya – saints. Plural of wali.

Bab – Muslim saint (lit. gate)

Baba – saint (lit. father)

Dargah (darbar) - tomb of a Sufi saint.

Faqir – Sufi disciple

Ghazals - verses (Persian/Urdu)

Gnosis – Wisdom (Greek)

Hadith - the oral tradition of the life and sayings of the Prophet and his companions.

Haj – the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Imam – Muslim leader

Ittihad – union with God.

Lataif - spiritual centres in the subtle body.

Madrasa – traditional Islamic college.

Mathnavi (Masnavi) - lengthy narrative work in verse. (Persian). The best known example is by Rumi.

Mazar – tomb of a Sufi saint.

Murad – Sufi spiritual master

Murid – Sufi disciple

Muraqaba – saint

Murshid – Sufi spiritual master

Nubuwwa – prophecy

Pir – spiritual elder (lit. old man) (Persian)

Qasida (qasideh) – a form of rhythmic poetry, originally in Arabic, and developed further in Persian.

Qawwali – performance of Sufi songs

Quatrain – a poem of four lines. (Persian)

Qur'an – the sacred scripture of Islam.

Ribat - Sufi building

Ruh – Spirit

Sama – Sufi ecstatic event

Sawiya – Sufi building

Sharia – Islamic law

Shaykh (Shaikh) – Arabic word for elder. In Sufism the term refers to a spiritual mentor or guide.

Shaykha – feminine form of shaykh

Shi’a – branch of Islam descended from Ali.

Shruiks – verses (Kashmiri)

Sura – chapter of the Qur’an.

Tafsir – commentary on the Qur’an.

Tariqa – A Sui order (lit. a path)

Tasawwuf – Sufi practice and discipline.

Tawhid – divine unity

Tekke – Sufi buildings. (Turkish)

Ulama (‘alim) – orthodox clerics, lawyers.

Umma – the Muslim community.

Wali – Sufi saint (lit. friend)

Wilayat – Muslim sainthood

Zawiya – Sufi building

Ziyarat – pilgrimage (lit. visit) to a Sufi dargah.

[from Sahaja Studies]