Glossary / Cast of Characters (Pseudonyms)

Cast of Characters and Glossary of Arabic Terms

Yunus - Myself

Aisha-My first wife

Teresa-Our Eldest Daughter

Ibrahim-Our Son

Zooey-Our Younger Daugher

Ali-(Actual name) Aisha's Boyfriend

Marilyn-My second wife

Bayat-'Promise' given by a murid to his Sheikh. A promise to be compliant with the Sheikh's orders.

Dhikr- 'Remembrance'. An integral aspect of most Sufi orders, this involves the congregational chanting of the name 'Allah' or any other word or phrase that would direct the mind towards God. In some orders, mainly Turkish, this involves stylized 'twirling' or 'Sufi Dancing'. In most, it consists of same-sex murids standing in a circle and leaning back and forth while reciting. It can become noisy and ecstatic, and a leader is usually in charge of holding back members whose ecstasy goes too far. Usually these involve men, not women, although this is changing in Western orders.

Fuqara- plural of faqir, meaning 'poor person', as Sufis were initially often anti-materialistic and impoverished.  Or, perhaps this referred to the 'Poor in Spirit of the type Jesus mentioned in the New Testament. 'The Fuqara' was used by Sidi's disciples to refer to the members of his Order.

Five Pillars of Islam- Every Muslim must 

1.) Salat- Prayers, usually formulaic, 5x per day, 

2.) Zakat-Giving 2.5% of his or her wealth yearly to the poor, 

3.) Fasting for the month of Muharram from Sunrise to Sundown, abstaining from liquids, food, and sex, 

4.) Hajj- If one can, one should make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in one's life. Now it's a sometimes life-threatening decision.

5.) Jihad- Usually translated as an inner 'striving,' it is also seen as an obligation to spread Islam as a political system as well as a religion, by 'force' if necessary unless the conquered people agree to follow Muslim laws and pay special taxes. This 'tolerance' applies only to 'People of the Book' who have a divinely inspired holy book, such as Jews and Christians. It was even sometimes extended to groups like the Hindus, who worshipped 'idols'--a big no-no in Islam who also had vast amounts of holy books. Sadly, the Buddhists failed to make a good enough case and were persecuted in India by repetitive waves of Islamic conquests.

Murid- Disciple of a Master in a Sufi Order.

Sheikh- In it's broadest definition, it means any male who can trace his genealogy back to the Prophet Muhammad. It's usually a mark of high status. It can also refer to the Highest Authority in a Islamic/Sufi Group or Order.

'Sidi'- A relatively common abbreviation of a much longer honorific title. In this instance, it refers to Sheikh Al-Jamal

Sufism- Many definitions. Among them are 'the inner meaning of Islam,' and 'the feminine side of Islam.' Typically it is an semi-secret order of Muslims, (usually men, although there are exceptions), who meet to hold Dhikurs, or remembrances of God beyond the daily proscribed Prayers five times a day. Now, they are actively persecuted by hardline Wahhabi-based fundamentalist Muslims.