Maqaam:
Literally,‘a halting place’,‘a stage in the journey’,‘a station’;
a
salik
must go through a number of stations to reach his destination.
Masnavi:
A long narrative poem, often used by the Sufi poets.
Mendicant:
Members of religious orders dependent on alms
Mujaddid:
The revivor of Islam; a title bestowed on Ahmad Sirhindi
who was hailed as
Mujaddid Alf-i Sani
or the revivor of the secondmillennium.
Majzub:
Literally, ‘attracted’. A term used by the Sufis for a person
whom God has chosen for Himself, to manifest His love. A
majzub
is thus
able to attain to the highest stages of the Sufi knowledge without any effort
or exertion.
Muraqaba:
Literally:‘vigilance’. In Sufism it refers to a permanent state
of awareness and to the act of meditation.The Prophet once observed: “My
eye sleeps but my heart is awake.” It also implies an introspection of the self,
which has to be performed on daily basis.
Murid:
A Sufi disciple, one who follows the spiritual path under the
guidance of a mentor.
Murid
is akin in meaning to
faqir
and
dervish
as well as
salik
.
Murshid:
A spiritual guide, a mentor, a teacher. See also:
pir
,
shaykh
.
Nafil:
Sing.
nafil
, pl.
nawafil
. Literally: ‘extra’, ‘supererogatory’. The
voluntary prayers, added before and after obligatory prayers. In addition to
the five obligatory prayers there are additional prayers, which can be
performed separately. For example,
ishraq
prayer performed in the morning
after sunrise, and the
tahajjud
prayer performed at night.The Prophet himself
used to perform supererogatory prayers.
Nafs:
The animal soul, ego, or the baser self, responsible for all the evil.
The Sufis believe that this baser self in human beings can be controlled only
by spiritual exercises, worship and meditation.
Pas-i-anfas:
Controlling the breathing; it was the essence of the Sufi
G l o s s a r y 226
