1.
Shiraz
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Shiraz is the sixth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province. At the 2011 census, the population of the city was 1,700,665, Shiraz is located in the southwest of Iran on the Roodkhaneye Khoshk seasonal river. It has a climate and has been a regional trade center for over a thousand years. Shiraz is one of the oldest cities of ancient Persia, the earliest reference to the city, as Tiraziš, is on Elamite clay tablets dated to 2000 BC. In the 13th century, Shiraz became a center of the arts and letters, due to the encouragement of its ruler. It was the capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1750 until 1800, two famous poets of Iran, Hafez and Saadi, are from Shiraz, whose tombs are on the north side of the current city boundaries. Shiraz is known as the city of poets, literature, wine and it is also considered by many Iranians to be the city of gardens, due to the many gardens and fruit trees that can be seen in the city, for example Eram Garden. Shiraz has had major Jewish and Christian communities, the crafts of Shiraz consist of inlaid mosaic work of triangular design, silver-ware, pile carpet-weaving and weaving of kilim, called gilim and jajim in the villages and among the tribes. In Shiraz industries such as cement production, sugar, fertilizers, textile products, wood products, metalwork, Shirāz also has a major oil refinery and is also a major center for Irans electronic industries, 53% of Irans electronic investment has been centered in Shiraz. Shiraz is home to Irans first solar power plant, recently the citys first wind turbine has been installed above Babakoohi mountain near the city. The earliest reference to the city is on Elamite clay tablets dated to 2000 BCE, found in June 1970, the tablets written in ancient Elamite name a city called Tiraziš. Phonetically, this is interpreted as /tiračis/ or /ćiračis/ and this name became Old Persian /širājiš/, through regular sound change comes the modern Persian name Shirāz. The name Shiraz also appears on clay sealings found at a 2nd-century CE Sassanid ruin, by some of the native writers, the name Shiraz has derived from a son of Tahmuras, the third Shāh of the world according to Ferdowsis Shāhnāma. Shiraz is most likely more than 4,000 years old, the name Shiraz is mentioned in cuneiform inscriptions from around 2000 BC found in southwestern corner of the city. According to some Iranian mythological traditions, it was erected by Tahmuras Diveband. The oldest sample of wine in the world, dating to approximately 7,000 years ago, was discovered on clay jars recovered outside of Shiraz, in the Achaemenian era, Shiraz was on the way from Susa to Persepolis and Pasargadae. In Ferdowsis Shāhnāma it has said that Artabanus V, the Parthian Emperor of Iran. Ghasre Abu-Nasr which is originally from Parthian era is situated in this area, during the Sassanid era, Shiraz was in between the way which was connecting Bishapur and Gur to Istakhr
2.
Tabriz
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Tabriz is the most populated city in the Iranian Azerbaijan, one of the historical capitals of Iran, and the present capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Located in the Quru River valley between the ridge of the volcanic cones of the Sahand and Eynali mountains, Tabrizs elevation ranges between 1,350 and 1,600 metres above sea level. The valley opens up into a plain that slopes down to the eastern shores of Lake Urmia,60 kilometres to the west. With cold winters and temperate summers, the city is considered a summer resort, Tabriz is named Worlds Carpet and Crafts City, it is also appointed as the exemplary tourism city in 2018 by Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. With a population of 1.6 million, Tabriz is the biggest economic hub, the population consists mostly of Iranian Azerbaijanis and the most spoken language in the city is Azeri Turkish. Tabriz is a heavy industry hub for automobile, machine tools, refineries and petrochemical, textile. The city is famous for its handicrafts including hand-woven rugs and jewelry, local confectioneries, chocolates, dried nuts, and traditional food of Tabriz are recognized all around Iran as some of the best Iranian food. Tabriz is also a hub and a site for some of the most prestigious cultural institutes in the northwest of Iran. The city contains many historical monuments representing the transition of Iranian architecture in its long historical timelines. Most of the historical sites in the city belong to Ilkhanid, Safavid. From the early era, the city was pivotal in the development, movement. From the 19th century, it became the most important city in the country in numerous respects, as the closest Iranian hub to Europe, many aspects of the early modern modernisation in Iran started in Tabriz. During almost the entire Qajar period, it functioned as the seat for the prince as well. According to some sources, including Encyclopædia Britannica, the name Tabriz derives from tap-riz, in AD297, it became the capital of Tiridates III, king of Armenia. However, this story has an origin and no ancient source has recorded such event. This is based on accounts of Vardan, the Armenian historian in 13th century, the early history of Tabriz is not well-documented. The earliest inscription about Tabriz, referring to the city as Tarui or Tauris, is on the Assyrian King Sargon IIs epigraph in 714 BC, Tabriz has been chosen as the capital for some rulers commencing from Atropates era and his dynasty. A recent excavation at the site of the Iron Age museum, in the north of the Blue Mosque site, more likely the city has been destroyed multiple times either by natural disasters or by the invading armies
3.
Iran
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Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The countrys central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is the countrys capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center. Iran is the site of to one of the worlds oldest civilizations, the area was first unified by the Iranian Medes in 625 BC, who became the dominant cultural and political power in the region. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, under the Sassanid Dynasty, Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world for the next four centuries. Beginning in 633 AD, Arabs conquered Iran and largely displaced the indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism by Islam, Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. During the 18th century, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, through the late 18th and 19th centuries, a series of conflicts with Russia led to significant territorial losses and the erosion of sovereignty. Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a monarchy and the countrys first legislative body. Following a coup instigated by the U. K. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression led to the 1979 Revolution, Irans rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third-largest number in Asia and 11th-largest in the world. Iran is a member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC. Its political system is based on the 1979 Constitution which combines elements of a democracy with a theocracy governed by Islamic jurists under the concept of a Supreme Leadership. A multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are Shia Muslims, the largest ethnic groups in Iran are the Persians, Azeris, Kurds and Lurs. Historically, Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due mainly to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis, meaning land of the Persians. As the most extensive interactions the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, however, Persis was originally referred to a region settled by Persians in the west shore of Lake Urmia, in the 9th century BC. The settlement was then shifted to the end of the Zagros Mountains. In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably
4.
Islam
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Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
5.
Sufism
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Sufism or Taṣawwuf, which is often defined as Islamic mysticism, the inward dimension of Islam, or the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam, is a mystical trend in Islam characterized. These orders meet for sessions in meeting places known as zawiyas, khanqahs. They strive for ihsan as detailed in a hadith, Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, if you cant see Him, Rumi stated, The Sufi is hanging on to Muhammad, like Abu Bakr. Sufis regard Muhammad as al-Insān al-Kāmil, the perfect man who exemplifies the morality of God. The orders largely follow one of the four madhhabs of Sunni Islam, classical Sufis were characterized by their asceticism, especially by their attachment to dhikr, the practice of repeating the names of God, often performed after prayers. According to William Chittick, In a broad sense, Sufism can be described as the interiorization, historically, Muslims have used the Arabic word taṣawwuf to identify the practice of Sufis. In this view, it is necessary to be a Muslim to be a true Sufi. However, Islamic scholars themselves are not by any means in agreement about the meaning of the word sufi, Sufis themselves claim that Tasawwuf is an aspect of Islam similar to Sharia, inseparable from Islam and an integral part of Islamic belief and practice. Classical Sufi scholars have defined Tasawwuf as a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else, two origins of the word sufi have been suggested. Commonly, the root of the word is traced to ṣafā. Another origin is ṣūf, wool in Arabic, referring to the simple cloaks the early Muslim ascetics wore, the two were combined by the Sufi al-Rudhabari, who said, The Sufi is the one who wears wool on top of purity. Scholars generally agree that ṣūf or wool is probably the word of Sufi. This term was given to them because they wore woollen garments, the term labisal-suf meant he clad himself in wool and applied to a person who renounced the world and became an ascetic. Others have suggested that the word comes from the term ahl aṣ-ṣuffah and these men and women who sat at al-Masjid an-Nabawi are considered by some to be the first Sufis. Al-Qushayri and Ibn Khaldun both rejected all other than ṣūf on linguistic grounds. Sufi orders are based on the bayah that was given to the Prophet Muhammad by his Sahaba, by pledging allegiance to the Prophet Muhammad, the Sahaba had committed themselves to the service of God. According to Islamic belief, by pledging allegiance to Prophet Muhammad and it is through the Prophet Muhammad that Sufis aim to learn about, understand and connect with God. Such a concept may be understood by the hadith, which Sufis regard to be authentic, in which Prophet Muhammad said, I am the city of knowledge, eminent Sufis such as Ali Hujwiri refer to Ali as having a very high ranking in Tasawwuf
6.
Mathematics in medieval Islam
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Mathematics during the Golden Age of Islam, especially during the 9th and 10th centuries, was built on Greek mathematics and Indian mathematics. Arabic works also played an important role in the transmission of mathematics to Europe during the 10th to 12th centuries, the study of algebra, the name of which is derived from the Arabic word meaning completion or reunion of broken parts, flourished during the Islamic golden age. Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, a scholar in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, is along with the Greek mathematician Diophantus, known as the father of algebra. In his book The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing, Al-Khwarizmi deals with ways to solve for the roots of first. He also introduces the method of reduction, and unlike Diophantus, Al-Khwarizmis algebra was rhetorical, which means that the equations were written out in full sentences. This was unlike the work of Diophantus, which was syncopated. The transition to symbolic algebra, where symbols are used, can be seen in the work of Ibn al-Banna al-Marrakushi. It is important to understand just how significant this new idea was and it was a revolutionary move away from the Greek concept of mathematics which was essentially geometry. Algebra was a theory which allowed rational numbers, irrational numbers, geometrical magnitudes. It gave mathematics a whole new development path so much broader in concept to that which had existed before, another important aspect of the introduction of algebraic ideas was that it allowed mathematics to be applied to itself in a way which had not happened before. Several other mathematicians during this time expanded on the algebra of Al-Khwarizmi. Omar Khayyam, along with Sharaf al-Dīn al-Tūsī, found several solutions of the cubic equation, omar Khayyam found the general geometric solution of a cubic equation. Omar Khayyám wrote the Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra containing the solution of cubic or third-order equations. Khayyám obtained the solutions of equations by finding the intersection points of two conic sections. This method had used by the Greeks, but they did not generalize the method to cover all equations with positive roots. Sharaf al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī developed an approach to the investigation of cubic equations—an approach which entailed finding the point at which a cubic polynomial obtains its maximum value. His surviving works give no indication of how he discovered his formulae for the maxima of these curves, various conjectures have been proposed to account for his discovery of them. The earliest implicit traces of mathematical induction can be found in Euclids proof that the number of primes is infinite, the first explicit formulation of the principle of induction was given by Pascal in his Traité du triangle arithmétique
7.
Astronomy
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Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It applies mathematics, physics, and chemistry, in an effort to explain the origin of those objects and phenomena and their evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and comets, while the phenomena include supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, more generally, all astronomical phenomena that originate outside Earths atmosphere are within the purview of astronomy. A related but distinct subject, physical cosmology, is concerned with the study of the Universe as a whole, Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history, such as the Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Nubians, Iranians, Chinese, during the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of astronomical objects, theoretical astronomy is oriented toward the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two fields complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the results and observations being used to confirm theoretical results. Astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can play an active role, especially in the discovery. Amateur astronomers have made and contributed to many important astronomical discoveries, Astronomy means law of the stars. Astronomy should not be confused with astrology, the system which claims that human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects. Although the two share a common origin, they are now entirely distinct. Generally, either the term astronomy or astrophysics may be used to refer to this subject, however, since most modern astronomical research deals with subjects related to physics, modern astronomy could actually be called astrophysics. Few fields, such as astrometry, are purely astronomy rather than also astrophysics, some titles of the leading scientific journals in this field includeThe Astronomical Journal, The Astrophysical Journal and Astronomy and Astrophysics. In early times, astronomy only comprised the observation and predictions of the motions of objects visible to the naked eye, in some locations, early cultures assembled massive artifacts that possibly had some astronomical purpose. Before tools such as the telescope were invented, early study of the stars was conducted using the naked eye, most of early astronomy actually consisted of mapping the positions of the stars and planets, a science now referred to as astrometry. From these observations, early ideas about the motions of the planets were formed, and the nature of the Sun, Moon, the Earth was believed to be the center of the Universe with the Sun, the Moon and the stars rotating around it. This is known as the model of the Universe, or the Ptolemaic system. The Babylonians discovered that lunar eclipses recurred in a cycle known as a saros
8.
Medicine in the medieval Islamic world
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Islamic medicine preserved, systematized and developed the medical knowledge of classical antiquity. During the post-classical era, Islamic medicine was the most advanced in the world, integrating concepts of the ancient Greek, many aspects of their writings are still worth reading even today, and their memory is held in high respect by the physicians of today. Medicine was a part of medieval Islamic culture. The works of ancient Greek and Roman physicians Hippocrates, Galen, ophthalmology has been described as the most successful branch of medicine researched at the time, with the works of Ibn Al-Haitham remaining an authority in the field until early modern times. Early on, the study and practice of medicine was understood as an act of piety, founded on the principles of Imaan and Tawakkul. Muhammads opinions on issues, and habits with regard to leading a healthy life, were collected early on. Anas writes about two physicians who had treated him by cauterization and mentions that the wanted to avoid this treatment and had asked for alternative treatments. Later on, there are reports of the caliph ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān fixing his teeth with a made of gold. He also mentions that the habit of cleaning ones teeth with a wooden toothpick dates back to pre-islamic times. The Prophetic medicine was mentioned by the classical authors of Islamic medicine. In his Kitab as-Ṣaidana from the 10. /11, century, Al-Biruni refers to collected poems and other works dealing with, and commenting on, the materia medica of the old Arabs. The most famous physician was Al-Ḥariṯ ben-Kalada aṯ-Ṯaqafī, who lived at the time as the prophet. He is supposed to have been in touch with the Academy of Gondishapur and he reportedly had a conversation once with Khosrow I Anushirvan about medical topics. The translation of the capital of the emerging Islamic world to Damascus may have facilitated this contact, the names of two Christian physicians are known, Ibn Aṯāl worked at the court of Muawiyah I, the founder of the Umayyad dynasty. The caliph abused his knowledge in order to get rid of some of his enemies by way of poisoning, likewise, Abu l-Ḥakam, who was responsible for the preparation of drugs, was employed by Muawiah. His son, grandson, and great-grandson were also serving the Umayyad and these sources testify to the fact that the physicians of the emerging islamic society were familiar with the classical medical traditions already at the times of the Umayyads. The medical knowledge likely arrived from Alexandria, and was transferred by Syrian scholars, or translators. Very few sources provide information about how the expanding Islamic society received any medical knowledge, a physician called Abdalmalik ben Abgar al-Kinānī from Kufa in Iraq is supposed to have worked at the medical school of Alexandria before he joined ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīzs court
9.
Science in the medieval Islamic world
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Science in the medieval Islamic world was the science developed and practised during the Islamic Golden Age under the Abbasid Caliphate. Islamic scientific achievements encompassed a range of subject areas, especially astronomy, mathematics. Other subjects of scientific inquiry included alchemy and chemistry, botany, geography and cartography, ophthalmology, pharmacology, physics, in the 8th century, scholars had translated Indian, Assyrian, Sassanian and Greek knowledge, including the works of Aristotle, into Arabic. These translations became a wellspring for advances by scientists from Muslim-ruled areas during the Middle Ages, major religious and cultural works of the empire were translated into Arabic. The culture inherited Greek, Indic, Assyrian and Persian influences, an era of high culture and innovation ensued. Islamic scientific achievements encompass a range of subject areas, especially mathematics, astronomy. Other subjects of scientific inquiry included physics, alchemy and chemistry, ophthalmology, alchemists supposed that gold was the noblest metal, and that other metals formed a series down to the basest, such as lead. They believed, too, that an element, the elixir. Jabir ibn Hayyan wrote on alchemy, based on his own experiments and he described laboratory techniques and experimental methods that would continue to be used when alchemy had transformed into chemistry. Ibn Hayyan identified many substances including sulfuric and nitric acids and he described processes including sublimation, reduction and distillation. He utilized equipment such as the alembic and the retort stand, there is considerable uncertainty as to the actual provenance of many works that are ascribed to him. Astronomy was one of the disciplines within Islamic science. Al-Battani accurately determined the length of the solar year and he contributed to numeric tables, such as the Tables of Toledo, used by astronomers to predict the movements of the sun, moon and planets across the sky. Some of his tables were later used by Copernicus. Al-Zarqali developed a more accurate astrolabe, used for centuries afterwards and he constructed a water clock in Toledo. He discovered that the Suns apogee moves slowly relative to the fixed stars, nasir al-Din al-Tusi wrote an important revision to Ptolemys celestial model. When he became Helagus astrologer, he was given an observatory and gained access to Chinese techniques and he developed trigonometry as a separate field, and compiled the most accurate astronomical tables available up to that time. The study of the world extended to a detailed examination of plants
10.
Islamic philosophy
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Islamic philosophy is the systematic investigation of problems connected with life, the universe, ethics, society, and so on as conducted in the Muslim world. Early Islamic philosophy began in the 2nd century AH of the Islamic calendar and this period began with al-Kindi in the 9th century and ended with Averroes at the end of 12th century. Ibn Khaldun, in his Muqaddimah, made important contributions to the philosophy of history, Interest in Islamic philosophy revived during the Nahda movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and continues to the present day. Islamic philosophy refers to philosophy produced in an Islamic society and it is not necessarily concerned with religious issues, nor exclusively produced by Muslims. Nor do all schools of thought within Islam admit the usefulness or legitimacy of philosophical inquiry, some argue that there is no indication that the limited knowledge and experience of humans can lead to truth. It is also important to observe that, while reason is sometimes recognised as a source of Islamic law, Islamic philosophy is a generic term that can be defined and used in different ways. In its broadest sense it means the view of Islam, as derived from the Islamic texts concerning the creation of the universe. In another sense it refers to any of the schools of thought flourished under the Islamic empire or in the shadow of the Arab-Islamic culture. The historiography of Islamic philosophy is marked by disputes as to how the subject should be properly interpreted, Islamic philosophy as the name implies refers to philosophical activity within the Islamic milieu. Many of the philosophical debates centered around reconciling religion and reason. Some Muslims oppose the idea of philosophy as un-Islamic, but the fact of the matter is that philosophy is an alien entity in the body of Islam. Ibn Abi al-Izz, a commentator on al-Tahhaawiyyah, condemns philosophers as the ones who most deny the Last Day, in their view Paradise and Hell are no more than parables for the masses to understand, but they have no reality beyond people’s minds. In early Islamic thought, which refers to philosophy during the Islamic Golden Age, the first is Kalam, which mainly dealt with Islamic theological questions, and the other is Falsafa, which was founded on interpretations of Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism. In Arabic, the word literally means speech, one of first debates was that between partisans of the Qadar, who affirmed free will, and the Jabarites, who believed in fatalism. At the 2nd century of the Hijra, a new movement arose in the school of Basra. A pupil of Hasan of Basra, Wasil ibn Ata, left the group when he disagreed with his teacher on whether a Muslim who has committed a major sin invalidates his faith and he systematized the radical opinions of preceding sects, particularly those of the Qadarites and Jabarites. This new school was called Mutazilite, the Mutazilites looked in towards a strict rationalism with which to interpret Islamic doctrine. Their attempt was one of the first to pursue a rational theology in Islam and they were however severely criticized by other Islamic philosophers, both Maturidis and Asharites
11.
Almagest
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The Almagest is the critical source of information on ancient Greek astronomy. It has also been valuable to students of mathematics because it documents the ancient Greek mathematician Hipparchuss work, Hipparchus wrote about trigonometry, but because his works appear to have been lost, mathematicians use Ptolemys book as their source for Hipparchuss work and ancient Greek trigonometry in general. The treatise was later titled Hē Megalē Syntaxis, and the form of this lies behind the Arabic name al-majisṭī. Ptolemy set up a public inscription at Canopus, Egypt, in 147 or 148, the late N. T. Hamilton found that the version of Ptolemys models set out in the Canopic Inscription was earlier than the version in the Almagest. Hence it cannot have been completed before about 150, a century after Ptolemy began observing. The Syntaxis Mathematica consists of thirteen sections, called books, an example illustrating how the Syntaxis was organized is given below. It is a 152-page Latin edition printed in 1515 at Venice by Petrus Lichtenstein, then follows an explanation of chords with table of chords, observations of the obliquity of the ecliptic, and an introduction to spherical trigonometry. There is also a study of the angles made by the ecliptic with the vertical, Book III covers the length of the year, and the motion of the Sun. Ptolemy explains Hipparchus discovery of the precession of the equinoxes and begins explaining the theory of epicycles. Books IV and V cover the motion of the Moon, lunar parallax, the motion of the apogee. Book VI covers solar and lunar eclipses, books VII and VIII cover the motions of the fixed stars, including precession of the equinoxes. They also contain a catalogue of 1022 stars, described by their positions in the constellations. The brightest stars were marked first magnitude, while the faintest visible to the eye were sixth magnitude. Each numerical magnitude was twice the brightness of the following one and this system is believed to have originated with Hipparchus. The stellar positions too are of Hipparchan origin, despite Ptolemys claim to the contrary, Book IX addresses general issues associated with creating models for the five naked eye planets, and the motion of Mercury. Book X covers the motions of Venus and Mars, Book XI covers the motions of Jupiter and Saturn. Book XII covers stations and retrograde motion, which occurs when planets appear to pause, Ptolemy understood these terms to apply to Mercury and Venus as well as the outer planets. Book XIII covers motion in latitude, that is, the deviation of planets from the ecliptic, the cosmology of the Syntaxis includes five main points, each of which is the subject of a chapter in Book I
12.
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
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Khawaja Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī, better known as Nasīr al-Dīn Tūsī, was a Persian polymath, architect, philosopher, physician, scientist, theologian and Marja Taqleed. He was of the Twelver Shī‘ah Islamic belief, the Muslim scholar Ibn Khaldun considered Tusi to be the greatest of the later Persian scholars. Nasir al-Din Tusi was born in the city of Tus in medieval Khorasan in the year 1201, in Hamadan and Tus he studied the Quran, Hadith, Shia jurisprudence, logic, philosophy, mathematics, medicine and astronomy. He was apparently born into a Shī‘ah family and lost his father at a young age, at a young age he moved to Nishapur to study philosophy under Farid al-Din Damad and mathematics under Muhammad Hasib. He met also Farid al-Din Attar, the legendary Sufi master who was killed by Mongol invaders. In Mosul he studied mathematics and astronomy with Kamal al-Din Yunus and he was captured after the invasion of the Alamut castle by the Mongol forces. Tusi has about 150 works, of which 25 are in Persian and the remaining are in Arabic, here are some of his major works, Kitāb al-Shakl al-qattāʴ Book on the complete quadrilateral. A five volume summary of trigonometry, al-Tadhkirah fiilm al-hayah – A memoir on the science of astronomy. Many commentaries were written about this work called Sharh al-Tadhkirah - Commentaries were written by Abd al-Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Birjandi, akhlaq-i Nasiri – A work on ethics. Al-Risalah al-Asturlabiyah – A Treatise on astrolabe, Zij-i ilkhani – A major astronomical treatise, completed in 1272. Sharh al-isharat Awsaf al-Ashraf a short work in Persian Tajrīd al-iʿtiqād – A commentary on Shia doctrines. During his stay in Nishapur, Tusi established a reputation as an exceptional scholar, tusi’s prose writing, which number over 150 works, represent one of the largest collections by a single Islamic author. Writing in both Arabic and Persian, Nasir al-Din Tusi dealt with religious topics and non-religious or secular subjects. His works include the definitive Arabic versions of the works of Euclid, Archimedes, Ptolemy, Autolycus, Tusi convinced Hulegu Khan to construct an observatory for establishing accurate astronomical tables for better astrological predictions. Beginning in 1259, the Rasad Khaneh observatory was constructed in Azarbaijan, south of the river Aras, and to the west of Maragheh, the capital of the Ilkhanate Empire. Based on the observations in this for the time being most advanced observatory and this book contains astronomical tables for calculating the positions of the planets and the names of the stars. His model for the system is believed to be the most advanced of his time. Between Ptolemy and Copernicus, he is considered by many to be one of the most eminent astronomers of his time, for his planetary models, he invented a geometrical technique called a Tusi-couple, which generates linear motion from the sum of two circular motions
13.
Ibn al-Haytham
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Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Haytham, also known by the Latinization Alhazen or Alhacen, was an Arab Muslim scientist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher. Ibn al-Haytham made significant contributions to the principles of optics, astronomy, mathematics and he was the first to explain that vision occurs when light bounces on an object and then is directed to ones eyes. He spent most of his close to the court of the Fatimid Caliphate in Cairo and earned his living authoring various treatises. In medieval Europe, Ibn al-Haytham was honored as Ptolemaeus Secundus or simply called The Physicist and he is also sometimes called al-Baṣrī after his birthplace Basra in Iraq, or al-Miṣrī. Ibn al-Haytham was born c.965 in Basra, which was part of the Buyid emirate. Alhazen arrived in Cairo under the reign of Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim, Alhazen continued to live in Cairo, in the neighborhood of the famous University of al-Azhar, until his death in 1040. Legend has it that after deciding the scheme was impractical and fearing the caliphs anger, during this time, he wrote his influential Book of Optics and continued to write further treatises on astronomy, geometry, number theory, optics and natural philosophy. Among his students were Sorkhab, a Persian from Semnan who was his student for three years, and Abu al-Wafa Mubashir ibn Fatek, an Egyptian prince who learned mathematics from Alhazen. Alhazen made significant contributions to optics, number theory, geometry, astronomy, Alhazens work on optics is credited with contributing a new emphasis on experiment. In al-Andalus, it was used by the prince of the Banu Hud dynasty of Zaragossa and author of an important mathematical text. A Latin translation of the Kitab al-Manazir was made probably in the twelfth or early thirteenth century. His research in catoptrics centred on spherical and parabolic mirrors and spherical aberration and he made the observation that the ratio between the angle of incidence and refraction does not remain constant, and investigated the magnifying power of a lens. His work on catoptrics also contains the known as Alhazens problem. Alhazen wrote as many as 200 books, although only 55 have survived, some of his treatises on optics survived only through Latin translation. During the Middle Ages his books on cosmology were translated into Latin, Hebrew, the crater Alhazen on the Moon is named in his honour, as was the asteroid 59239 Alhazen. In honour of Alhazen, the Aga Khan University named its Ophthalmology endowed chair as The Ibn-e-Haitham Associate Professor, Alhazen, by the name Ibn al-Haytham, is featured on the obverse of the Iraqi 10, 000-dinar banknote issued in 2003, and on 10-dinar notes from 1982. The 2015 International Year of Light celebrated the 1000th anniversary of the works on optics by Ibn Al-Haytham, Alhazens most famous work is his seven-volume treatise on optics Kitab al-Manazir, written from 1011 to 1021. Optics was translated into Latin by a scholar at the end of the 12th century or the beginning of the 13th century
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Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi
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Other important Muslim mystics carry the name Suhrawardi, particularly Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi and his paternal nephew Shahab al-Din Abu Hafs Umar Suhrawardi. The light in his Philosophy of Illumination is a divine and metaphysical source of knowledge and he is referred to by the honorific title Shaikh al-ʿIshraq Master of Illumination and Shaikh al-Maqtul the Murdered Master, in reference to his execution for heresy. Suhraward is a located between the present-day towns of Zanjan and Bijar Garrus in Iran, where Suhrawardi was born in 1154. He learned wisdom and jurisprudence in Maragheh and his teacher was Majd al-Dīn Jīlī who was also Imam Fakhr Razi’s teacher. He then went to Iraq and Syria for several years and developed his knowledge while he was there. His life spanned a period of less than forty years during which he produced a series of works that established him as the founder of a new school of philosophy, called Illuminism. According to Henry Corbin, Suhrawardi came later to be called the Master of Illumination because his aim was the renaissance of ancient Iranian wisdom. Which Corbin specifies in various ways as the project of reviving the philosophy of ancient Persia, in 1186, at the age of thirty-two, he completed his magnum opus, The Philosophy of Illumination. There are several reports of his death. Other traditions hold that he starved himself to death, others tell that he was suffocated or thrown from the wall of the fortress, Suhrawardi taught a complex and profound emanationist cosmology, in which all creation is a successive outflow from the original Supreme Light of Lights. In other words, the universe and all levels of existence are but varying degrees of Light—light, in his division of bodies, he categorizes objects in terms of their reception or non-reception of light. Suhrawardi considers a previous existence for every soul in the realm before its descent to the realm of the body. The soul is divided into two parts, one remains in heaven and the other descends into the dungeon of the body, the human soul is always sad because it has been divorced from its other half. Therefore, it aspires to become reunited with it, the soul can only reach felicity again when it is united with its celestial part, which has remained in heaven. He holds that the soul should seek felicity by detaching itself from its tenebrous body and worldly matters and access the world of immaterial lights. The souls of the gnostics and saints, after leaving the body, ascend even above the world to enjoy proximity to the Supreme Light. Suhrawardi elaborated the idea of an independent intermediary world, the imaginal world. His views have exerted a powerful influence down to day, particularly through Mulla Sadra’s combined peripatetic
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Abdal
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Abdal is a rank of forty saints, but more often the larger group of 356 saints in Sufi theosophy. In this theology it is said that they are known to and appointed by Allah. The term over time has come to include a hierarchy of saints, all of different rank. Abdal is the plural of Badal or rather Badeel, and means those who get replaced, the Abdals are the group of true, pure believers in God. They serve God during their lifetime, when they die, they are replaced by another selected by God from a larger group said to be the 500 Akhyar. The Abdals are headed by their leader, Al-Ghawth, who is said to reside in Mecca and this leader is often referred to as the Qutb, which means Pole in Arabic. This leader though unknown to the public is usually sought out by all of the lower ranking members of the abdal, at various times in history, shaykhs have been known to publicly claim to be the Qutb, despite the tradition of remaining outside of the public eye. The missions of the Abdals are to be Gods merciful subjects everywhere they reside and it is said that a Badal exists in each continent. Although the majority live in Al-Sham. some live in Iraq, some in Lebanon, some in Egypt, some in Antioch, some in al-Massisa and they have divine powers and super-natural abilities. A person does not recognize that he is one of the Abdal until he becomes aware of his status suddenly though a revelation and it is said that a Badal can be identified through his continuous good deeds and forgiving nature. He may be rich or poor, married or bachelor, child or adult, such concepts are established in the Sunni branch of Islam, and in particular in the latter’s original Sufi schools of spiritual disciplines. The abdal function as the keepers of equilibrium in the world, varying in classification and denomination, the identity of the abdal are entirely unknown to the public and even to themselves. With the ability to transmit blessings and perform miracles the abdal as a whole are able to fill the role of prophet. Similarly, it is believed that when judgement day comes, they act as intermediaries between God and the human race. As far as the number of the abdal is concerned, there are 300 friends of Allah in the creation whose hearts are like that of Adam, there are 40 whose hearts are similar to the heart of Musa and 7 whose hearts are similar to the heart of Ibrahim. There are 5 whose hearts are like that of Jibra’il and 3 whose hearts are like that of Mika’il, when he dies, then one of the three whose heart is like Mika’il replaces him and one of the five replaces him. One of the seven replaces one of the five, one of the forty replaces one of the seven and one of the three-hundred replaces one of the forty and a normal Muslim replaces one of the three-hundred. It is due to these 356 awliya that creation are given life and killed, due to rain falls, vegetation grows
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Dervish
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A dervish or darvesh is someone guiding a Sufi Muslim ascetic down a path or Tariqah, known for their extreme poverty and austerity. Their focus is on the values of love and service. In most Sufi orders, a dervish is known to practice dhikr through physical exertions or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God and their most common practice is Sama which is associated with Rumi. Dervish is a Turkish word from the 1580s that is derived from the Persian word darvīsh and it has been used in the same manner as the Arabic word Faqir to refer to Muslim holy men who have given up worldly pleasures for an austere and religious life. Many dervishes are mendicant ascetics who have taken a vow of poverty, the main reason they beg is to learn humility, but Dervishes are prohibited to beg for their own good. They have to give the money to other poor people. Others work in professions, Egyptian Qadiriyya – known in Turkey as Kadiri – are fishermen. Some classical writers indicate that the poverty of the dervish is not merely economic and it is, however, also practiced by other orders. The Sama is only one of the many Sufi ceremonies performed to try to reach religious ecstasy, the name Mevlevi comes from the Persian poet Rumi, who was a dervish himself. This practice, though not intended as entertainment, has become a tourist attraction in Turkey, there are various orders of Dervishes, almost all of which trace their origins from various Muslim saints and teachers, especially Imam Ali. Various orders and suborders have appeared and disappeared over the centuries, Dervishes spread into North Africa, Turkey, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Iran, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. Other groups include the Bektashis, who are connected to the janissaries, and the Senussi, other fraternities and subgroups chant verses of the Quran, play drums or whirl in groups, all according to their specific traditions. They practice meditation, as is the case with most of the Sufi orders in South Asia, many of whom owe allegiance to, or were influenced by, each fraternity uses its own garb and methods of acceptance and initiation, some of which may be rather severe. This Dervish army enabled Hassan to carve out a state through conquest of lands claimed by the Somali Sultans, the Ethiopians. The Dervish State acquired renown in the Islamic and Western worlds due to its resistance against Britain, the Dervish State successfully repulsed British-led Somali and Ethiopian forces four times and forced them to retreat to the coastal region. The polity also maintained relations with authorities, receiving support from the Ottoman and German empires. The Turks also named Hassan Emir of the Somali nation, the Dervish State was finally defeated by the British in 1920. Various western historical writers have used the term dervish rather loosely, linking it to, among other things
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Fakir
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A fakir, or faqir, derived from faqr is a person who is self-sufficient and only possesses the spiritual need for God. Faqirs are Muslim ascetics and Sufis who have taken vows of poverty and worship, faqirs are characterized by their attachment to dhikr, and asceticism. Sufism gained adherents among a number of Muslims as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad Caliphate, the term may refer to a Muslim Sufi ascetic in the Middle East and South Asia. The term has also been used to refer to Hindu. These usages developed primarily in the Mughal era in the Indian subcontinent, there is also a distinct clan of faqirs found in North India, descended from communities of faqirs who took up residence at Sufi shrines. During the 17th century, another noble and spirited Muslim scholar and saint, Sultan Bahoo, revolutionized Sufism and reinstated the definition of faqr, historically, the terms tasawwuf, faqr, and faqer were first used by Husayn ibn Ali, who was the grandson of Muhammad. He wrote a book, Mirat ul Arfeen, on this topic, however, under Ummayad rule, neither could this book be published nor was it allowed to discuss tasawwuf, Sufism or faqr openly. For a long time, after Husayn ibn Ali, the information and teachings of faqr, tasawwuf and Sufism kept on transferring from heart to heart. In the 10th century, highly reputed Muslim Abdul-Qadir Gilani, who is the founder of Qadri silsila, in the 13th century, Ibn Arabi was the first vibrant Muslim scholar who not only started this discussion publicly but also wrote hundreds of books about Sufism, tasawwuf and faqr. In English, faqir or fakir originally meant a mendicant dervish, in mystical usage, the word fakir refers to mans spiritual need for God, who alone is self-sufficient. Although of Muslim origin, the term has come to be applied in India to Hindus as well, largely replacing gosvamin, sadhu, bhikku, fakirs are generally regarded as holy men who are possessed of miraculous powers. Among Muslims, the leading Sufi orders of fakirs are the Chishtiyah, Qadiriyah, Naqshbandiyah, the Cambridge English Dictionary defines faqir as a member of an Islamic religious group, or a holy man. Winston Churchill is known to have referred to the peaceful resistance promoting independence leader of India, Mahatma Gandhi, the attributes of a fakir have been defined by many Muslim saints and scholars, however, some significant definitions from distinguished personalities of Islam are quoted here. One of the most respected and beloved early Muslim saints, Abdul-Qadir Gilani, also elaborated Sufism, tasawwuf, explaining the attributes of a fakir, he says, faqir is not who can not do anything and is nothing in his self-being. But faqir has all the powers and his orders can not be revoked. Then, Ibn Arabi explained Sufism, including faqr, in more details and he wrote more than 500 books on topics relating to Sufism, tasawwuf and faqr. He was the first Muslim scholar who introduced the idea of Wahdat al-wujud, another dignified Muslim saint, Sultan Bahoo, describes a fakir as one who has been entrusted with full authority from Allah. In the same book, Sultan Bahoo says, Faqir attains eternity by dissolving himself in oneness of Allah and he, when, eliminates his-self from other than Allah, his soul reaches to divinity
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Fana (Sufism)
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Fanaa is the Sufi term for passing away or annihilation. Fana means to die before one dies and it represents a breaking down of the individual ego
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Haal
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Haal or ḥāl is a special-purpose, temporary state of consciousness, generally understood to be the product of a Sufis spiritual practices while on his way toward God. A ḥāl is by nature transient and one should not attempt to prolong it and it results from psychological or spiritual influences which affect the man during his progress towards God. Related concepts are ecstasy, annihilation, happiness, despondency, awakening, intoxication and they arise like flashes on the horizon, blinding flashes of lightning which disappear immediately. However, these stages are necessary for the experience of Man, thanks to them he may distinguish the contingent from the consciousness anything. According to Ibn Arabi, Fanaa is the apex of the aḥwāl, since aḥwāl are considered in Sufism to be gifts from God, there is nothing on the part of human beings that can be done to ensure that they are granted, for man is merely the receiver. Yet, unlike material gifts exchanged among men, man cannot do anything to avoid experiencing these special states, no prerequisites have been determined for man to receive any particular ḥāl since it has been noted that even the unreligious occasionally experience states that have been granted by God. The explanation given for this follows from the idea that there is an overabundance of divine grace and, thus. Likewise, those that are in the stages of their spirituality may experience aḥwāl just as much as the more advanced Sufis. When enduring a particular ḥāl, such as that of ecstasy, as well, for the one experiencing a state of ecstasy to be understood, only those that are in a similar state will understand what is being said. This also applies to work, since someone who is viewing a piece of art or reading a particular passage must be in the same ḥāl as the creator was at the time of work’s creation. Failing to do this will result in a lack of understanding between the creator and his audience. For him, once a state has been granted by God, man maintains that state, or condition and his reason for making this claim, however, comes from a hadith given by Muhammad, as well as an explanation of that hadith from Abu Ali ad-Daqqaq. The passage is written as follows, My heart becomes shrouded, in regard to this hadith, I hears Abu Ali ad-Daqqaq, Gods mercy upon him, say, “The prophet was continually rising in his states. When he rose from one condition to a one, he might glance at the condition he has risen beyond. His states were continually being intensified, given this passage from Muhammad, it would appear that Qushayrī is correct in making his claim, but many Sufis still consider each state to come and go like a flash of lightning. Still others would claim that while most aḥwāl are short-lived, the more advanced aḥwāl can remain with man for a period of time. This ḥāl is one in which its receiver can experience a feeling of joy or of fear depending on aspect of God has been revealed to him. There attention towards the salik or student causes the state of estacsy but if someone gets control its more better, a state that is described by its opposites, as the one experiencing it can feel either fear or love, sorrow or joy, or contentment or restlessness
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Haqiqa
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Haqiqa is one of the four stages in Sufism, shari’a, tariqa, haqiqa and marifa. Shari’a is Islamic law or Islamic jurisprudence as revealed in the Quran, the first step in Sufism is following every aspect of the law perfectly. The purpose of this is to prove their love for God, by rigorous self-discipline, when the Sufi fully lives his or her life according to the Shari’a he or she is ready to progress to the second stage. This conformity to rules is important because it recognizes that the spirit of a man or woman is affected by the actions of the body. In this way, bringing the body under the will of God also purifies the spirit, in Universal Sufism as practiced in current times, some orders propose an evolution of this concept. Rather than an adherence to Islamic law, the would-be Sufi is enjoined to live a morally sound life based on the universal laws found in the scripture of nature. The central authority is not the Koran per se, but the evident operations of the cosmos, tariqa in Arabic means path and it denotes a Sufi brotherhood or chain or order. The orders are governed by shaykhs, spiritual leaders that mentor Sufis, shaykhs are identified by the signs of Gods grace that are evident, such as the ability to perform miracles. They take on people, usually male, that are committed to the Sufi lifestyle and it is common for the shaykh to test a new disciple by ignoring them, assigning humiliating tasks or being rude to them. When the disciple has passed these tests, he is introduced to the awrad and these prayers must be studied before they are recited, because mistakes made in the prayer are sins. When the disciple has studied and recited the awrad for an amount of time, he is expected to experience visions. Sufis believe that at point the disciple is able to see spiritual things that are veiled from most people. In Universal Sufism, tariqat is the phase during which a seeker becomes increasingly aware of and her spiritual path through life begins to appear more clearly as a palimpsest of views and behavioral options which become available as her consciousness expands. This phase generally ensues after initiation in a Sufi order has been taken, haqiqa is a difficult concept to translate. Haqiqa may be best defined as the knowledge that comes from communion with God, for instance, a shaykh that has advanced through tariqa has haqiqa and can see into the lives of his disciples in a spiritual sense. He has knowledge of pregnancies and sicknesses before his disciples tell him and he can see beyond the physical world because of his proximity to God and possession of haqiqa. Haqiqa is less a stage in itself and more the marker of a level of consciousness. In Universal Sufism, Haqiqat is the phase in which the central ongoing question/concern of the seeker is subsistent reality, the life of the seeker becomes a fathoming device in which what is timeless, formless, weightless etc, is recognized and valued above all
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Ihsan
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Ihsan, also spelled ehsan, is an Arabic term meaning perfection or excellence. It is a matter of taking ones inner faith and showing it in both deed and action, a sense of social responsibility borne from religious convictions. That definition comes from the Hadith of Gabriel in which Muhammad states, to worship God as though you see Him, Ihsan, meaning to do beautiful things, is one of the three dimensions of the Islamic religion, islam, iman and ihsan. In contrast to the emphases of islam and iman, the concept of ihsan is primarily associated with intention, one who does what is beautiful is called a muhsin. It is generally held that a person can only achieve true ihsan with the help and guidance of God, while traditionally Islamic jurists have concentrated on Islam and theologians on Iman, the Sufis have focused their attention on Ihsan. Ihsan constitutes the highest form of worship and it is excellence in work and in social interactions. For example, ihsan includes sincerity during Muslim prayers and being grateful to parents, family, the Mysteries of Ihsan, Natural Contemplation and the Spiritual Virtues in the Quran by James W. Morris Hadith of Angel Gabriel Hadith #2 from An-Nawawis Forty Hadiths
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Keramat
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In Islamic mysticism, karamat is the ability to perform supernatural wonders by Muslim saints. It is a thaumaturgic gift akin to miracles. e, muslims who have reached a high rank of piety through proper knowledge of and practice of Islam, and, most important, through the constant zikr, that is, remembrance of Allah. Allah creates karamaat to support the waliyy and it is also believed that attribute of karamat is not only for muslim saints and is not parameter of sainthood. Holy personalities in all religions can perform karamat with some differences, reynold A. Nicholson, Chapter 5 Saints and Miracles of The Mystics of Islam. ISBN 0-941532-48-8 p. 88-104 Trimingham, J. Spencer, ISBN 0-19-501662-9 p. 26-28 Tay al-Ard, the keramat of teleportation. Datuk Keramat, local religion in Malaysia and Singapore
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Kashf
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Kashf unveiling is a Sufi concept rooted in Gnostic ideals dealing with knowledge of the heart rather than of the intellect. Kashf describes the state of experiencing a divine revelation after ascending through spiritual struggles. Kashf is etymologically related to mukashafa “disclosure”/ “divine irradiation of the essence”, 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. ’ The Imminent is imminent, the verb “kashafa, ” but never the noun “kashf” occurs in the Quran a variety of times in the sense of either “to uncover” or “to take away”. The nearest of creatures to God are Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael, and between them and Him are four veils, a veil of fire, a veil of darkness, a veil of cloud, and a veil of water. Al-Kushayri expands on al-Kalabadhi’s proposal that tajalli of “the essence” of the Divine is called mukashafa and he then illustrates three stages in progression towards understanding the Real, Muhadara—getting oneself into position vis-à-vis the objective sought. The objective remains veiled at this stage and this stage presupposes the presence of the heart, but relies on transmission of proof through the intellect. Here reasoning gives way to evident proof, one directly encounters the Attributes of God. Yet, this stage is considered an intermediary stage. This stage indicates an encounter with The Real, without the intellect OR the intuition acting as an intermediary. This is direct experience of the Divine Essence, al-Ghazali—This Sufi scholar discusses the concept of kashf, not purely in its mystical sense, but also with respect to theology in general. In conjunction with Al-Kushayri, Al-Ghazali links kashf with intuition, for Al-Ghazali, mukashafa has a dual sense, It indicates an inner state of purification, which is subjective and brought about by “unveiling” or kashf. It describes the objective truths that are revealed through the “unveiling”/kashf, since, for Al-Ghazali, kashf is linked to intuition, he describes mukashafa as the certain knowledge of the unseen discovered by the “science of the saints”. Ibn Arabi—This Sufi mystic indicates the necessity for “divine unveiling” as the means by which to understand the universality of the reality of realities, in fana, the individual ego passes away and divine self-manifestation occurs. This self-manifestation is eternal, but it must be continually reenacted by the human in time, therefore, the human becomes a pure receptor required for pure consciousness to be realized. The human is a sort of barzakh or intermediary between divinity and elementality, between spirit and matter, and open to the experience of kashf, in his text, Hujwiri describes the “veils which should be lifted” in order to purify ones heart and really pursue Sufism. Hujwiri argues for the importance of “morals” over “formal practice” in Sufism and he was the first to directly address the problematic diversity in Muslim belief during his time. In Kashf ul Mahjoob, he describes various Sufi approaches to theoretical ideas, in Shi’ism, the spiritual experience of kashf is treated as a theological rather than purely mystical dimension. ”The Ismalis define “cycles of metahistory” which alternate between phases of “unveiling” and “occultation”
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Lataif-e-sitta
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These six subtleties are thought to be parts of the self in a similar manner to the way glands and organs are part of the body. Drawing from the Quran, many Sufis distinguish Nafs, Qalb, Sirr, Ruh, Khafi, among Sufis spiritual development involves awakening centers of perception that lie dormant in every person. The help of a guide is considered necessary to activate them in a certain order. Each center is associated with a color, a general area of the body. Activation of all these centers is part of the methodology of the Sufi way or Work. According to some, this latifa is located slightly below the navel, the word nafs is usually translated as self or psyche. Its etymology is rooted in breath and is common to virtually all archaic psychologies where the act of breathing was connected with life, ego may be assumed as an equivalent for Nafs in modern psychology. The central aim of the Sufi path is transformation of Nafs from its state of ego-centredness through various psycho-spiritual stages to the purity. In essence, this is almost identical to Christian paradigm of vita purgativa, according to some, this latifa is located in the left of Chest and is yellow, for others it is red. In it man witnesses his deeds, by awakening it man also gets the knowledge of the realm of Jins. The word Qalb, stands for heart, in Sufi terminology, this spiritual heart is again variously described. For some, it is the seat of beatific vision, others consider it the gate of Ishq or Divine love. Yet, for the majority, it is the battleground of two warring armies, those of Nafs and Ruh or spirit, in short, cleansing of the Qalb or heart is a necessary spiritual discipline for travellers on the Sufi path. The term for this process is Tazkiah-I-Qalb and the aim is the erasure of everything that stands in the way of purifying Gods love or Ishq, often people take their hearts word as truthful. If the hearts were indeed truthful, then why are not all the people of the heart united, Qalb of the common folk is in a sleeping or unconscious state, and does not possess any awareness or correct understanding. This heart can err in judgement due to the dominance of the Self and Khannas, placing trust in a sleeping heart is foolish. When the Name Allah does vibrate in the heart, an awareness of Right and Wrong and it is then called Qalb-e Salim. Then the prominence of the meditation by Qalb changes its direction towards God and this heart can prevent a person from mischief, but it can not make a right judgement
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Manzil
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For the convenience of people who wish to read the Quran in a week the text may be divided into 7 portions, each portion is known as Manzil. The following division to 7 equal portions is by Hamza Al-Zayyat, al-Maida through At-Tawba consisting of 5 surahs. Yunus through An-Nahl consisting of 7 surahs, al Isra through Al-Furqan consisting of 9 surahs. Ash-Shuara through Ya-Seen consisting of 11 surahs, as-Saaffat through Al-Hujarat consisting of 13 surahs. Qaf through An-Nass consisting of 65 surahs
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Marifa
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In Sufism, marifa describes the mystical intuitive knowledge of spiritual truth reached through ecstatic experiences, rather than revealed or rationally acquired. Marifat is one of the Four Doors of Sufism, Sharia, marifa, mystical knowledge & awareness, mysticism. A metaphor to explain the meaning of marifa involves pearl gathering, Sharia is the boat, tariqa is represented by the pearl gatherers rowing, haqiqa is the pearl, and marifa is the ability to tell the difference between true and false pearls
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Nafs
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Nafs is an Arabic word occurring in the Quran and means self, psyche ego or soul. Much of the literature on nafs, however, is focused on the Sufi conceptions of the term. According to the Sufi philosophies, the nafs in its state is the ego. Nafs is an important concept in the Islamic tradition, especially within Sufism, the Quran affords much importance to the nafs of an individual, highlighting the agency of free will and intelligence, without which neither responsibility nor accountability can exist. Iqbal stated, It is probable that Nietzsche borrowed it from the literature of Islam or of the East and degraded it by his materialism. There are three stages of nafs in Sufi philosophy, just as there are three types of soul in Platos tripartite theory of soul from which the Sufis borrowed the basic concept. The Sufis call them stages in the process of development, refinement, in its primitive stage the nafs incites us to commit evil, this is the nafs as the lower self, the base instincts. In the eponymous Sura of the Quran, Yusuf says Yet I claim not that my nafs was innocent, Islam emphasizes the importance of fighting the inciting nafs in Quran as well as in hadith. One tradition holds that Muhammad said after returning from a war and his companions asked, O prophet of God, what is the big struggle. He replied, The struggle against nafs and this stage is generally divided into the levels al nafs al-hayawaniyya und al nafs al-iblissiyya. Al nafs al-hayawaniyya describes the self, which runs after material possessesion, sensual desires, al nafs al-iblissiyya is even lower than the animal state, because the self seeks to replace God in the love for itselves. The Quran enjoins the faithful to hinder the nafs from lust, rumi warns of the nafs in its guise of religious hypocrisy, saying the nafs has a rosary and a Koran in its right hand, and a scimitar and dagger in the sleeve. Animal imagery is used to describe the nafs. A popular image is a donkey or unruly horse that must be trained, rumi compares the nafs to a camel that the hero Majnun, representing the intellect, strains to turn in the direction of the dwelling-place of his beloved. In Sura al-Qiyama the Quran mentions the self-accusing nafs and this is the stage where the conscience is awakened and the self accuses one for listening to one’s ego. One repents and asks for forgiveness, here the nafs is inspired by your heart, sees the results of your actions, agrees with your brain, sees your weaknesses, and aspires to perfection. In Sura al-Fajr the Quran mentions the nafs at peace and this is the ideal stage of ego for Muslims. On this level one is firm in faith and leaves bad manners behind
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Qalandar
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Qalandars, are wandering ascetic Sufi dervishes who may or may not be connected to a specific tariqat. They were mostly in Central Asia, India and Pakistan, in the latter qalandar is also used as a title, some famous qalandars include Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Bu Ali Shah Qalandar and Shams Ali Qalandar. A qalandar is a person who has excelled in seeing things and he witnesses part in the whole and sees the whole in the part and, then, after detaching himself from all this, plunges into a state of ecstasy. The status of a qalandar is even higher than the loved ones because duality remains there even in state, i. e. one is the loved one. In qalanderiyat there is no duality, Qalandar is a title given to a saint who is at a very high level of spirituality. They are different from other saints and have strong feelings of love for Gods creation. Qalandars, among the saints, are persons who may enjoy freedom from the ties and bounds of time. It is claimed that all living things are given in their charge and command, every part of the universe may be at their disposal but these people are far above temptation. When people request them they feel duty-bound to listen and rectify the cause of miseries of people because they have been appointed by God for this very purpose. Qalandars have always spread the message of love and humanity, they are always in the state of ecstasy, songs honoring famous qalandars are called qalandri dhamaal in Pakistan and India. Dhamaal are a popular South Asian musical subgenre about Sufi saints such as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar and these songs typically incorporate qawwali styles as well as different local folk styles, such as bhangra and intense naqareh or dhol drumming. The Qalandariyya were an unorthodox tariqa of roaming Sufi dervishes that originated in medieval al-Andalus as an answer to the fundamentalist onslaught of the Almohad Caliphate, from there they quickly spread into North Africa, the Mashriq, Greater Iran, Central Asia, Pakistan and India. Dervish Fakir Qalandar Qalandariyah Lal Shahbaz Qalander Mast Qalandar Rabia Basri Tando Jahania Sadhu Ewing, arguing Sainthood, Modernity, Psychoanalysis, and Islam. Durham, North Carolina, Duke University Press
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Qutb
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Qutb, Qutub, Kutb, Kutub, or Kotb, means axis, pivot or pole. Qutb can refer to movements and used as an astronomical term or a spiritual symbol. In Sufism, a Qutb is the human being, al-insān al-kāmil. The Qutb is the Sufi spiritual leader that has a connection with God and passes knowledge on which makes him central to, or the axis of, Sufism. There are five Qutbs per era and they are infallible and trusted spiritual leaders and they are only revealed to a select group of mystics because there is a human need for direct knowledge of God. In the teachings of Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi, there is evidence to suggest that the Qutb is the head of the saintly hierarchy which provides evidence to support the belief in the qutb. The hadīth attributed to Ibn Mas‘ūd has been used as proof that a qutb exists and this hadīth was called into question for its reliability of the sanad and was discarded by MuhammadRashīd Ridā. There are two different conceptions of the Qutb in Sufism, temporal Qutb and cosmic Qutb, the temporal and cosmic qutb are connected which guarantees that God is present in the world at all times. The temporal qutb is known as the helper or al-ghawth and is located in a person on Earth, the cosmic qutb is manifested in the temporal qutb as a virtue which can be traced back to al-Hallādj. The temporal qutb is the leader for the earth-bound saints. It is said that all beings - secret, animate, the only beings exempt from this are al-afrād, which belong to the angels, the djinn, who are under the jurisdiction of Khadir, and those who belong to the tenth stratum of ridjālal-ghayb. Due to the nature of the Qutb, the location where he resides and it is thought by most that the Qutb is corporeally or spiritually present in Mecca at the Kaba, which is referred to as his maqām. The cosmic Qutb is the Axis of the Universe in a dimension from which originates the power of the temporal Qutb. The cosmic hierarchy is the way that the power is ensured to exist through the cosmos. Two descriptions of the come from notable Sufis. The first is Ali Hujwiris divine court, there are three hundred akhyār, forty abdāl, seven abrār, four awtād three nuqabā and one qutb. The second version is Ibn Arabī’s which has a different, more exclusive structure, there are eight nujabā, twelve nuqabā, seven abdāl, four awtād, two a’immah, and the qutb. For those named Qutb ad-Din, with many variant transliterations, see Qutb ad-Din
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Silsila
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Silsila is an Arabic word meaning chain, link, connection often used in various senses of lineage. In particular, it may be translated as order or spiritual genealogy where one Sufi Master transfers his khilfat to his spiritual descendant, silsilas originated with the initiation of Sufi orders which dates back to the Islamic prophet Mohammad. Most silsilas trace their lineage back to his cousin and son-in-law Ali bin Abi Talib such as the Qadiriyyah, the Chishtiyya, however, other silsilas owe their ancestry to other caliphs such as the Naqshbandiyyah order of South Asia is through the Caliph Abu Bakr. Centuries ago, Arabia did not have schools for formal education, students went to masters who taught them. Upon completion of their study, they received ijazah which acted as the certification of their education, a graduate then acted as a master having his own students or disciples. This chain of masters was known as Silsila or lineage, the shaikh gives his disciples permission to practice the tariqa, he may also authorise one or more of them to teach it to others, i. e. appoint them as his khalîfa. In this way a hierarchically ordered network of teachers may emerge, each shaikh can show a chain of authorities for the tarekat he teaches, his silsila or spiritual genealogy. Usually the silsila reaches back from ones own teacher up to the Prophet, a Sufis silsila is his badge of identity and source of legitimation, it provides him with a list of illustrious predecessors and shows how he is related to other Sufis. Silsila can be of a partial knowledge or a book as well, all Hafiz, Muhaddiths, Qaries are given a chain of credible narrators linking to the Islamic prophet Mohammad. For Muslims, the Chain of Authenticity is an important way to ascertain the validity of a saying of Mohammad, the Chain of Authenticity relates the chain of people who have heard and repeated the saying of Mohammad through the generations, until that particular Hadith was written down. A similar idea appears in Sufism in regards to the lineage and teachings of Sufi masters and this string of master to student is called a silsila, literally meaning “chain”. The focus of the silsila like the Chain of Authenticity is to trace the lineage of a Sufi order to Mohammad through his Companions, Ali bin Abi Talib, Abu Bakr, and Umar. When a Sufi order can be traced back to Mohammad through one of the three aforementioned Companions the lineage is called the Silsilat al-Dhahab or the “Chain of Gold”. In early Islamic history, gold was a desired prize and was used for currency, to show wealth and power. Thus, gold was the most desired commodity in the material world and this often included removing oneself from society and other people in general. As Sufism became a movement in Islam, individual Sufis began to group together. These groups were based on a common master and this common master then began spiritual lineage, which is a connection between a Sufi order in which there is a common spiritual heritage based on the master’s teachings called tariq or tariqah. As the number of Sufi orders grew, there arose a need for legitimacy of the orders to each order was following the teachings of Mohammad directly
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Sufi cosmology
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Sufi cosmology is a general term for cosmological doctrines associated with Sufism. It is a Sufi approach which discusses the creation of man and the universe and these stages are also termed as “Tanzalat-e-Satta. Many saints have explained these Tanzalat-e-Satta in their books, abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi has discussed them in his Arabic book called Tohfa Mursala. They are also discussed in the exegesis of Fusoos-ul-Hikam, a book by Ibn Arabi, alam-i-HaHoot, The level of HaHoot refers to HaHooiyat. It is an Arabic term which pertains to the Divines Essence prior to manifestation, the spiritual stage related to it is called Ahdiyat. This is the Realm of pre-existence and a level of non creation, according to sufis, this state of Ahdiyat is incapable of being conceived, incapable of interpretation and is beyond all logical bounds. At this stage Allah is all alone and hidden in his own veil, nothing exists here, neither the universe nor the creation. Here the Zaat and neither His attributes are revealed or manifested, alam-i-Yahoot, The spiritual stage pertaining to YaHoot is referred to as Wahdat. YaHoot is the first level of manifestation of Hoo, when the Divine Essence desired to manifest, He manifested Himself in the form of Noor-e-Mohammad. Since YaHoot is a world of Oneness, so it clarifies that Noor of Mohammad is a manifestation of God’s Essence and is not a separate entity and this is the first step towards Divine descent. The creation has not started yet, here Hoo is called Allah which in Arabic means the worshippable one, because there is a being in the form of Noor of Mohammad who worships Allah. And the level is called yaHoot because there is an entity who would address Hoo as YaHoo, alam-i-LaHoot, The world of LaHoot is related to the level of Wahdiyat. Here the soul of Mohammad is manifested from the Noor of Mohammad, since this is a world of Unity so at this level Noor of Allah and Noor of Mohammad are in the same form. Therefore, the soul of Mohammad is in fact the soul of Allah called Rooh-e-Qudsi, at this level the whole universe and its creation is hidden in Noor-e-Mohammad and is anxious to manifest itself. The above three levels are the levels of Unity and non-creation, the presence of Hoo in HaHoot, YaHoot and LaHoot indicates Absolute Unity. The creation takes place in the levels of Jabrut, Malakut and Nasut. Alam-i-Jabrut, Jabrut is an Arabic term which means bridge or anything that connects two things and it is called Jabrut because it connects the above three levels of non-creation and the coming levels of creation. The level of Jabrut is related to the level of creation of souls of human beings, here Allah created the souls of human beings from Rooh-e-Qudsi
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Sufi metaphysics
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Major ideas in Sufi metaphysics have surrounded the concept of waḥdah meaning unity, or in Arabic توحيد tawhid. Two main Sufi philosophies prevail on this topic, Waḥdat al-wujūd literally means the Unity of Existence or Unity of Being. On the other hand, waḥdat ash-shuhūd, meaning Apparentism or Unity of Witness, holds that God, after that, the mystical thinker and theologian Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi discussed this concept in his book called Tohfa Mursala. An Andalusian Sufi saint Ibn Sabin is also known to employ this term in his writings, but the Sufi saint who is most characterized in discussing the ideology of Sufi metaphysics in deepest details is Ibn Arabi. He employs the term wujud to refer to God as the Necessary Being and he also attributes the term to everything other than God, but he insists that wujud does not belong to the things found in the cosmos in any real sense. Rather, the things borrow wujud from God, much as the earth borrow light from the sun, the issue is how wujūd can rightfully be attributed to the things, also called entities. From the perspective of tanzih, Ibn Arabi declares that wujūd belongs to God alone, and, in his famous phrase, from the point of view of tasbih, he affirms that all things are wujūd’s self-disclosure or self-manifestation. In sum, all things are He/not He, which is to say that they are both God and other than God, both wujud and other than wujud, in his book Fasus –al-Hikam, Ibn-e-Arabi states that wujūd is the unknowable and inaccessible ground of everything that exists. God alone is true wujūd, while all things dwell in nonexistence, so also wujūd alone is nondelimited, while everything else is constrained, confined, wujūd is the absolute, infinite, nondelimited reality of God, while all others remain relative, finite, and delimited. Ibn Arabi’s doctrine of wahdat ul wujud focuses on the reality of creatures instead of exoteric dimension of reality. Therefore he interprets that wujud is one and unique reality from which all reality derives, the external world of sensible objects is but a fleeting shadow of the Real, God. God alone is the all embracing and eternal reality, whatever exists is the shadow of the Real and is not independent of God. This is summed up in Ibn Arabi’s own words, glory to Him who created all things, being Himself their very essence To call wujud or Real Being one is to speak of the unity of the Essence. In other terms, it is to say that Being—Light in itself—is nondelimited, in contrast, everything other than Being—every existent thing —is distinct, defined, and limited. The Real is incomparable and transcendent, but it itself in all things, so it is also similar. It possesses such utter nondelimitation that it is not delimited by nondelimitation, God possesses Nondelimited Being, but no delimitation prevents Him from delimitation. In this sense, wujūd designates the Essence of God or of the Real, on lower levels, wujūd is the underlying substance of everything other than God —which is how Ibn Arabi and others define the cosmos or universe. Hence, in a meaning, the term wujūd is used as shorthand to refer to the whole cosmos
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Sufi philosophy
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Sufi philosophy includes the schools of thought unique to Sufism, a mystical branch within Islam, also termed as Tasawwuf or Faqr according to its adherents. Sufism and its philosophical traditions may be associated with both Sunni Islam and Shia Islam and it has been suggested that Sufi thought emerged from the Middle East in the eighth century, but adherents are now found around the world. According to Sufism, it is a part of the Islamic teaching that deals with the purification of inner self and is the way which removes all the veils between divine and man. It was around 1000 CE that early Sufi literature, in the form of manuals, treatises, discourses and poetry, became the source of Sufi thinking and meditations. Sufi philosophy, like all other major traditions, has several sub-branches including metaphysics. Between the tenth and twelfth centuries, Sufism became a widely spread discipline, one influential early writer on Sufi philosophy was Al-Ghazali. He discussed the concept of the self and the causes of its misery, an important mark made in the history of Sufi philosophy has been made by Abdul Qadir Jilani with his jurisprudence and philosophy of Sufism that made him define the Sufi orders. Jilanis adopted order was Qadiriyya and the offshoot he started later became known as Sarwari Qadiri, several other orders were also founded in this era. Sufis were influential in spreading Islam particularly to the furthest outposts of the Muslim world in Africa, India, major ideas in Sufi metaphysics have surrounded the concept of Wahdat or Unity with God. Two main Sufi philosophies prevail on this controversial topic, wahdat-ul-Wujood essentially states that the only truth within the universe is God, and that all things exist within God only. Wahdat-ul-Shuhud, on the hand, holds that any experience of unity between God and the created world is only in the mind of the believer and that God. It is the state there is no difference between God and human being who is trying to achieve a particular state i. e. In this metaphor, al-Arabi compares an object being reflected in countless mirrors to the relationship between God and his creatures, god’s essence is seen in the existent human being, as God is the object and humans being the mirrors. Meaning two things, that humans are mere reflections of God there can be no distinction or separation between the two and without God the creatures would be non- existent. When an individual understands that there is no separation between human and God they begin on the path of ultimate oneness and this metaphysics of Sufi philosophy is also narrated in the hadith, Whoever recognized his self, undoubtedly recognized his Rab. Sufi cosmology is a term for cosmological doctrines associated with the mysticism or Sufism. The Neoplatonic views cherished by Islamic philosophers like Ibn Sina / Avicenna and Ibn Arabi or, the cosmological plan, explains creation by successive emanation of worlds, as taught by Plotinus In Islamic Sufi terminology, these are also known as Tanzalat-e-Satta. After Husayn ibn Ali, Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi was the one who discussed these levels in his Arabic book called Tohfa Mursala, drawing from Quranic verses, virtually all Sufis distinguish Lataif-as-Sitta as, Nafs, Qalb, Sirr, Ruh, Khafi, and Akhfa
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Sufi poetry
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Sufi poetry has been written in many languages, both for private devotional reading and as lyrics for music played during worship, or dhikr. In Punjab, Sindh and other provinces of India Sufi poetry played a role in maintaining communal harmony in turbulent times. Sufi poetry in most of the languages and vernaculars of India, by the nobility of its pious feelings. Sufi poetry has bestowed a remarkable legacy of communal harmony for posterity, SUFISM by R. M. Chopra,2016, Anuradha Prakashan, New Delhi
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Sufi psychology
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There are three central ideas in Sufi Islamic psychology, which are the Nafs, the Qalb and the Ruh. The origin and basis of terms is Quranic and they have been expounded upon by centuries of Sufic commentaries. Nafs is considered to be the lowest principle of man, higher than the nafs is the Qalb, and the Ruh. This tripartition forms the foundation of later, more complicated systems, bayezid Bistami, Hakīm at-Tirmidhī, and Junayd have followed this tripartition. Kharrāz, however, inserts between nafs and qalb the element tab, nature, the functions of man. The spiritual body was created in adult form of the living body, the Sufis often add the element of sirr, the innermost part of the heart in which the divine revelation is experienced. Then he imprisoned the conscience in the spirit and the spirit in the heart, then He tested them and sent prophets, and then each began to seek its own station. The body occupied itself with prayer, the heart attained to love, the arrived at proximity to its Lord. Nafs is the aspect of the psyche that can be viewed along a continuum, the self at its lowest level refers to our negative traits and tendencies, controlled by emotions, desires and its gratification. Sufic psychology identifies seven levels of the nafs, which have identified in the Quran. The process of growth depends on working through these levels and these are, tyrannical self, regretful self, inspired self, serene self, pleased self, pleasing self and the pure self. In Sufi psychology the heart refers to the heart or qalb. It is this spiritual heart that contains the deeper intelligence and wisdom and it holds the Divine spark or spirit and is the place of gnosis and deep spiritual knowledge. Just as the physical heart supplies blood to the body, the spiritual heart nourishes the soul with wisdom and spiritual light, according to Sufic psychology emotions are from the self or nafs, not from the heart. The qalb mediates between the Nafs and spirit and its task is control the nafs and direct the man toward the spirit. The spirit ruh is in connection with the Divine, even if one is unconscious of that connection. The spirit has seven levels or facets of the complete spirit and these levels are, mineral, vegetable, animal, personal, human, secret and secret of secret souls. Each level represents the stages of evolution, and the process that it goes through in its growth, the spirit is holistic, and extends to all aspects of the person, i. e. the body, the mind and the soul
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Tazkiah
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Tazkiah is an Arabic-Islamic term alluding to tazkiyah al-nafs meaning purification of the self. This refers to the process of transforming the nafs from its state of ego-centrality through various spiritual stages towards the level of purity. Tazkiah originally meant pruning the plant – to remove what is harmful for its growth, when the term is applied to the human personality, it means to beautify it and to remove from it all evil traces and spiritual diseases that are obstacles in experiencing Allah. In Islam, the objective of religion and shariah and the real purpose of raising prophets from among mankind was performing and teaching tazkiah. Literally the term encompasses two meanings, one is to cleanse and purify from adulterants, while the other is to improve and develop towards the height of perfection. Technically it conveys the sense of checking oneself from erroneous tendencies and beliefs and turning them to the path of virtue and piety, the word zakat comes from the same Arabic verbal root, since zakat purifies an individuals wealth by recognition of Allahs right over a portion of it. It finds its origin in the Quranic command to, Take sadaqah from their property in order to purify and sanctify them, the soul is created devoid of traits. As one progresses through life he develops malakat related to his lifestyle, the soul becomes accustomed to repeated behavior, which then determines actions. Noble faculties manifest moral and wise behavior, while evil faculties manifest immorality and these faculties determine the fate in the akhira. Moral virtues bring eternal happiness and well-bring, while moral corruption leads to everlasting wretchedness, man must purge blameworthy traits before he can integrate ethical and moral virtues. According to the ulema, obtainment of falaḥ in this life, similarly, Allah says in sura as-shuara, On that Day, neither wealth nor children will be of any benefit, only he who comes before Allah with a sound heart free of evil. Thus, the people who will be saved from punishment on the Day of Judgment are those possessing qulub salīma. The phrase salīm is related to the word aslama because Islam is moving towards that state of soundness, attempts to obey Gods commands are successful only when one is purified, then the soul can receive Gods unlimited grace. The hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, does not refer to outward cleanliness alone and they said, And what is the greater jihad. He replied, The striving of Allahs servants against their idle desires, when some Sufi masters were asked about the meaning of Islam, they answered, slaughtering the soul by the swords of opposition. The famous Sufi master Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi has argued that the constant struggle against nafs is jihad al-akbar, to attain perfection, it is necessary to struggle against lusts and immoral tendencies, and prepare the soul to receive Gods grace. If man travels the path of purification, God will aid, the level of human perfection is determined by discipline and effort. Man stands between two extremes, the lowest is below beasts and the highest surpasses the angels, movement between these extremes is discussed by ilm al-akhlaq or the science of ethics
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Wali
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Walī is an Arabic word of which the literal meanings include custodian, protector, helper, and friend. In the vernacular, it is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, in the traditional Islamic understanding of saints, the saint is portrayed as someone marked by divine favor. Holiness, and who is chosen by God and endowed with exceptional gifts. From the twelfth to the century, the general veneration of saints. In general Islamic piety of the period, the saint was understood to be a contemplative state of spiritual perfection. Permanent expression in the teaching bequeathed to his disciples, in short, it is believed that every prophet is a saint, but not every saint is a prophet. Although there are similarities between the traditional Islamic and apostolic Christian conception of saints, there are also important differences. For example, Islam has no process of canonization, with saints being declared by popular acclaim and their presence and veneration as unacceptable deviations. For - like Religion, Believer, prayer, etc, in Persian, which became the second most influential and widely-spoken language in the Islamic world after Arabic, the general title for a saint or a spiritual master became pīr. Although the ramifications of this include the connotations of a general saint. Amongst Indian Muslims, the title peer baba is commonly used in Hindi to refer to Sufi masters or similarly honored saints, in Islamic mysticism, a pīrs role is to guide and instruct his disciples on the mystical path. Additionally, other Arabic and Persian words that often have the same connotations as pīr. Their tombs, meanwhile, are denoted by terms of Arabic or Persian origin alluding to the idea of pilgrimage, but such tombs are also denoted by terms usually used for dervish convents, or a particular part of it, or by a quality of the saint. As has been noted by modern scholars, the Quran does not explicitly outline a doctrine or theory of saints. In the Quran, the adjective walī is applied to God, however, particular Quranic verses were interpreted by early Islamic scholars to refer to a special, exalted group of holy people. These included 10,62, Surely Gods friends, no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow, and 5,54, the best of company are they, to carry a reference to holy people who were not prophets and were ranked below the latter. In general Islamic piety of the period, the saint was understood to be a contemplative state of spiritual perfection. Permanent expression in the teaching bequeathed to his disciples and it was by virtue of his spiritual wisdom that the saint was accorded veneration in medieval Islam, and it is this which
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Yaqeen
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Yaqeen is generally translated as certainty, and is considered the summit of the many stations by which the path of walaya is fully completed. This is the repository of liberating experience in Islam and it is, in fact, ihsân which gives the external religion its true meaning and the domain of faith its real values. It occurs in the Quran about certainty, And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty, the first degree is referred to by the name ‘ilm-ul-yaqeen, which means that certainty is the result of knowledge. At this degree the object of certainty is knowledge just as the aim of knowledge is certainty, both together are in the soul uniquely, such that certainty is the first degree of spiritual life and the last of speculative experience. This particular degree of yaqeen is the result of divine theophanies in act at the level of existence. The second degree of yaqeen is what one calls in Sufi terms ayn-ul-yaqeen, at this level, the object of certainty is present in front of the gnostic and is not only a speculative concept. Here knowledge becomes what one calls ilm-e-huzuri’’, and that is the aspect of Certainty in the spiritual way. By this kind of knowledge, the man of the Way is distinguished from philosophers, finally, the last degree of yaqeen is called haqq-ul-yaqeen, that is, certainty as supreme truth. At this stage, in fact, knowledge is not limited to the intellect and this is the final phase of yaqeen, the apotheosis of the spiritual and intellectual journey. Theophanies and Lights in the Thought of Ibn Arabi
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Nasheed
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A nasheed is a work of vocal music that is either sung a cappella or accompanied by percussion instruments such as the daf. This is because many Muslim scholars state that Islam prohibits the use of musical instruments except for some basic percussion, anasheed are popular throughout the Islamic world. The material and lyrics of a nasheed usually make reference to Islamic beliefs, history, some Ulama argue that the use of musical instruments is implicitly prohibited in the Ahadith. The founders of all four of the major madhabs – schools of thought in Islam – as well as other prominent scholars, have debated the legitimacy. Another Islamic scholar, Ibn Taymiyyah, once said that music is like alcohol to the soul, a majority of Muslim scholars traditionally have held that at least some music with some of its instruments are Haraam, sinful by the hadith, as well as by tradition. There are, of course, those who reject such claims, citing revealed scriptures, earlier prophets, and the example of Mohammed in the appreciation of the musical arts. Allah will destroy them during the night and will let the mountain fall on them, however, the isnad of this hadith includes Hisham ibn Ammar, who is not considered trustworthy. A new generation of nasheed artists use a variety of musical instruments in their art. Many new nasheed artists are non-Arabs and sing in different languages, some nasheed bands are Native Deen, Outlandish and Raihan. Arabic nasheed artists – or Munshids – include Abu Mazen, Abu Rateb, Abu Al joud, thibon, Jean-Jacques, Inshad, in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture, An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God, Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO,2014, Vol. I, pp. 294–298
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Dhikr
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For the Quranic software, see Zekr. Dhikr (also Zikr, Zekr, and variants, is the name of devotional acts in Islam in which short phrases or prayers are repeatedly recited silently within the mind or aloud. Rarely, it is counted on a string of beads or a set of prayer beads, a person who recites the Dhikr is called a ḏākir. Tasbih is a form of dhikr that involves the repetitive utterances of short sentences glorifying God, the content of the prayers includes the names of God, or a duʿāʾ taken from the hadith or the Quran. There are several verses in the Quran that emphasize the importance of remembering the will of God by saying such as God willing, God knows best. This is the basis for dhikr, Sura 18, ayah 24 states a person who forgets to say, God Willing, should immediately remember God by saying, May my Lord guide me to do better next time. Other verses include sura 33, ayah 41, O ye who believe, celebrate the praises of Allah, and do this often, and sura 13, ayah 28, They are the ones whose hearts rejoice in remembering God. Absolutely, by remembering God, the hearts rejoice, Muhammad said, The best is La ilaha illa’llah, and the best supplicatory prayer is Al-hamdu li’llah. Muslims believe dhikr is one of the best ways to enter in the level of Heaven. To Sufis, dhikr is seen as a way to spiritual enlightenment. All Muslim sects endorse individual rosaries as a method of meditation, the goal of which is to obtain a feeling of peace, separation from worldly values, there are several phrases that are usually read when remembering Allah. Here are a few, Allah- الله is the name of God in Arabic, a similar version is Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa billaahil aleeul atheem. Laa ilaaha illal laahu wahdahoo laa sharikalahoo lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu wa huwa alaa kulli shaiin qadeer, SubhanAllahi wa biHamdihi, Subhan-Allahi l-adheem Some of these can be said together. e. g- SubhanAllahi wal hamdulillaahi wa laa ilaaha ilallaahu wAllahu Akbar. SubhanAllahi wal hamdulillaahi wa laa ilaaha ilallaahu wAllahu Akbar wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa billaahil aleeul azeem, Laa ilaaha illal laahu wahdahoo laa sharikalahoo lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu wa huwa alaa kulli shaiin qadeer. SubhanAllahi wal hamdulillaahi wa laa ilaaha ilallaahu wAllahu Akbar wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa billaahil aleeul azeem, Laa ilaaha illa Anta, subhaanaka inni kuntu min al-zaalimeen. Reciting the Quran sincerely is also considered a kind of Dhikr, E. g. - Reciting Sura Ikhlas / Tawheed is equal to one-third of the Quran. Reciting Sura Ikhlas 10 times gives a palace in Heaven, Reciting Sura Kaafiroon is equal to one-fourth of the Quran. Reciting Sura Nasr is equal to one-fourth of the Quran, Reciting Sura Zilzalah is equal to half of the Quran
