Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 288
288 Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad fana literally, ‘annihilation’ or ‘to cease to exist’. The Sufis speak of three stages in man’s spiritual journey to God. The first stage is fana, or the complete denial of the self and the realisation that only when a person imposes a death upon their own soul can they be truly united with God. The second stage is baqa (subsistence or life) and the third stage is liqa (meeting), which is the state of union with God. The state of fana fillah means to be lost or absorbed completely in the love of Allah. fayj-e-a’waj literally, ‘a crooked group’ refers to a dark period destined to dawn upon the Muslims after the first three golden centuries of Islam. According to the prophecies of the Holy Prophet sa , this would be an era in which the Muslims would lose their spirituality and be misguided. Futuhat refers to Al-Futuhat-ul-Makkiyyah (The Meccan Openings) is a well-known book in the field of Islamic mysticism by Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Arabi. Gulistan literally, ‘The Garden’ is a famous work of Persian literature by the renowned poet Sheikh Sa’di comprising deep points of wisdom and insight. Al-Hakam the first official organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community established on 8 October 1897. The first editor of Al-Hakam was Hazrat Sheikh Yaqub Ali Irfani ra. This weekly newspaper was published from Qadian, District Gurdaspur. halalah a practice among certain Muslims in which a female divorcee marries another man, consumates the marriage, and then gets a divorce, so that it becomes permissible for her to remarry a previous husband. Such pre-planned marriages of convenience are forbidden in Islam and the Holy Prophet sa has sent curse on those who engage in this unlawful practice. ihsan a favour, but in the context of worship, the Holy Prophet sa has expounded that ihsan means to worship God as though one can see Him, and if this is not possible, then at least to stand before Him in worship knowing that He can see you. Ihya-ul-Ulum refers to Ihya Ulum-ud-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences) by Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad Al-Ghazali. It is widely regarded by Muslims as a major work in religious philosophy and spirituality. Isha the last of the five daily prayers, which is offered in the evening, shortly after nightfall. Ishraq is an optional Prayer consisting of two phases: two rak’ats are offered when the sun has risen for a while but not enough to have heated up the environment. Once the latter has occurred, this is the second phase, in which one may offer four or eight rak’ats. The first phase is known as salat-ul-ishraq and the second salat-ud-duha. It has been named salat-ul- awwabin as well. In some Traditions, however, the Prayer offered between Maghrib and Isha consisting of six rak’ats is called salat-ul-awwabin. khatm-e-nubuwwat is a term in Islamic literature that refers to the rank of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa as the Seal of Prophets. Please see ‘Seal of Prophets’ for further details. Maghrib the fourth of the five daily prayers and offered right after sunset. Mahdi literally ‘the guided one’ and also refers to the Imam Mahdi—a title meaning ‘Guided Leader’, given to the Reformer of the Latter Days prophesied by the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa.