#umm abdallah

The mystical union of two souls connected by love, faith, and vision.

She came to me and said that the [Divine] name “The Gracious” (al-laṭīf; this name means also: the Kind, the Gentle, the Subtle) was revealed to her.

Through the dreams of his wife, he is being prepared for the role of a master. The old man, white-haired, clad in white, is the archetypal description of Khiḍr, the teacher of Divine Knowledge who comes to those appointed seekers who do not have a flesh-and-blood guide.

While she was sitting one day in the garden, five or six days after she had seen this last dream, the following phrases descended upon her heart: “The Light and Guide of all things! You are He whose Light pierces the darkness!”

The inner link between at-Tirmidhī and his wife was so strong that she used to dream teaching dreams for him. In fact, most of the dreams recorded in his autobiography are his wife’s dreams for him. However, the dreams also make it clear that she is not just a mediumistic messenger for him. The dreams reflect her own inner development. Significantly, at-Tirmidhī’s record ends with Umm‘ Abdallāh’s own deeply moving mystical experiences, and the understanding thereof, which were given to her alone. In other words, this autobiography is a document which describes the inner journey, through dreams and experiences, of a mystical couple, united in marriage as well as in the spiritual quest; whose inner and outer lives are closely knit together.