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Guest Writers & Artists
The Rev. Canon Dr. Charles P. Gibbs, an Episcopal priest, Sufi by adoption, visionary, peacebuilder and poet, has dedicated his life to serving the sacred in the world, especially through interreligious and intercultural engagement for peace, justice and healing. Senior Advisor and Poet-inResidence for Catalyst for Peace (www.catalystforpeace. org) and Founding Executive Director Emeritus of the United Religions Initiative (www.uri.org), he is an internationally respected spiritual leader, interfaith activist, speaker and writer. He is currently working to publish a new volume of poems, Living Water – Poems to Help Grow a Transformed Tomorrow, to follow Light Reading – Poems from a Pilgrim Journey.
Dr. Ibrahim Jaffe, MD is a physician, Sufi Master Healer, and Spiritual Guide (Murshid Murrabi Ruhi) pioneering Spiritual Healing – the integration of western medicine and spiritual practice to heal disease and improve health and wellbeing. A prolific speaker, he brings forth a message of hope, healing, peace, and oneness for people of all faiths through the tenets of Sufism and the understanding of spiritual healing. Holding a medical degree from the University of Illinois, he has become recognized as a Master Healer and Teacher within the Sufi tradition, and has studied and traveled worldwide teaching Advanced Energy Healing.
Mostafa Mahboub Mojaz is an Iranian Sufi musician, artist, and professor of Tanbour and calligraphy based in France. A Sufi seeks closeness to God and self-knowledge through love and worship, according to Mostafa, and calligraphy has evolved into a sacred art form to express love for the eternal beloved. In moments of separation, the calligrapher uses pen and paper to take an emotion from heart and record it, as lover repeats the name of their beloved.
Photograph by Anthony Taher Roybal
Table of contents
EEDITORIAL
Letter from the Editor 8
Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar, Ph.D.
Principles of Sufism 10
Nahid Angha, Ph.D.
o EBEYOND IDENTIFICATION
On Dimensions 36
Sheikh Jamal Granick, Ph.D.
k EBIOGRAPHY
‘Ayn-al-Ghozat Hamedani 15
Arife Hammerle, Ph.D.
EFEMALE SUFI POETS
Mahsati Ganjavi: Persian Sufi Poet 18
Hamaseh Kianfar, Ed.D.
EINTERVIEW
Mostafa Mahboub Mojaz & Homa Esmaeelzadeh 34
Sarah Hastings Mullin, Ph.D.
q
EISLAMIC ART
Al-Aqsa Mosque 30
Sheikh Salman Baruti
EMOVEMENT, BREATHING, & ESPIRITUALITY
The Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual Benefits of Bringing Awareness to Our Breath 16
Jalal Brian Heery, Ph.D.
ENINETY NINE BEAUTIFUL NAMES
Al-Jaleel: The Majestic 28
Sarah Hastings Mullin, Ph.D.
EPOETRY
Rumi 6
Trans. Nahid Angha, Ph.D.
Mansur Hallaj 13
Trans. Nahid Angha, Ph.D.
Hatif-i Isfahani 33
Trans. Nahid Angha, Ph.D.
EREFLECTIONS
Peace from the Inside Out: Part I 22
Charles P. Gibbs
Nafs Al-Mardiyya’ 26
Ibrahim Jaffe, MD
EREPORTS
Beyond Identification 42
California Update 43
Ashley Werner
40 Days Alchemy of Tranquility Retreat 50
Elizabeth Miller, Ph.D.
Annual Inspiration Dinner: Dr. Denise Lucy 53
United Nations 56
ESUFI WOMEN ORGANIZATION
SWO Service Appreciation Grant 46
Nancy Roybal
EBOOK REVIEW
The Secret of God’s Most Beautiful Names 44
fEIN MEMORIUM
Pope Francis 38
Mary Granick
Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani 40
Dilshad Fakroddin
In the universe consumed by love
There is no place for calculating mind!
The gulf separating the lovers from the wise is immense.
The fragrance of the flower field is carried by the morning breeze
Not by the wood burning furnace!
If a wise enters the house of love
Stop him at the door, there is no place for wisdom in the house of love!
A lover arrives at the house of the beloved
While wise dwells in his calculating mind!
Love has arrived, consuming my being
Let’s stop our talk and journey to the highest of skies!
Excerpt from Rumi, Shams Tabriz Poem 42, translated by Nahid Angha, Ph.D.
Faith and Belief
Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar, Ph.D.
Itseems that faith, in addition to its general meaning that is applicable in all aspects of life, finds its root mostly in religion; it has established itself as a special doctrine, and it acts as the foundation in almost all religions.
The core of belief, in almost all religions, relates to the Unseen God, who is all-knowing, the most powerful, the creator of the creation, the origin and destination of every entity. This doctrine is most general among all branches of religion, especially in the Monotheistic Abrahamic traditions.
The doctrines, a collection of principles and rules for ethical conduct and practices that are presented in the scriptures (holy books), were revealed to the founder of a religion and then to teachers and preachers. These principles were later taught by the authorized selected individuals and presented according to their own personal realization and understanding. Over time, cultures and times have also influenced those regulations.
The scriptures, which have been communicated through the founders of religions, consist of certain principles of life, the mystery and the history of humankind; within these writings, humankind is presented as an entity mixed of both divine and evil characteristics.
According to religions, certain realities were revealed to exceptional individuals in order to awaken humankind, and the scriptures should be understood and followed through devotion, trust, and confidence to please God.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad emphasizes that the world is more than just matter and energy; it also constitutes Atman or Brahman (Self, Consciousness, Invisible Principles, and Reality) as well as Knowledge. “The resting ground of faith is the heart.” A key understanding of faith is maintaining trust in the scriptures.
Zoroastrianism emphasizes a never-ending battle between good and evil—a contest between the God of light, Ahura Mazda, and an evil spirit, Ahriman. Believers have the freedom to make good or bad choices; they were exhorted by Zoroaster to think good thoughts, say good words, and do good deeds.
Abrahamic traditions opened a new chapter and invited humankind to believe in the unity of religion, the oneness. They changed the direction of faith from mind to heart by breaking down the idols that are the inventions of the human mind, and then inviting them to believe in the God of unity and the day of resurrection and to follow the scripture through good deeds. Later on, one tradition flourished through the teachings of the
Photograph by Soraya Chase Clow
Imān, certainty, confidence, trust, and belief in God all originate from the state of unity, but they can become tangled into the loop of mentality and present a multiplicity.
next messenger from the same lineage; it developed with certain rules as pillars of faith. Centuries passed, and rules spread out in many directions and changed into different forms. After centuries, another messenger of divine revelation appeared. He taught and encouraged his followers to return to the origin of faith by the energy of love, becoming himself a perfect example of this practice and devotion. These principles brought reformation and awakening but also struggles and tragedy. Among the nations, some were able to keep their hearts focused on faith, away from distraction, and thus remained safe.
Centuries passed, and another messenger from the same lineage came along with a scripture. He invited and encouraged nations to once again return to the origin of faith. He taught how the heart and mind can align with the goal of unity to achieve the ultimate purpose through moral deeds. He introduced the faith as Imān, a state of certainty beyond assumption. However, as time went on, the destiny of faith remained unchanged, floating between the stormy ocean of the mind and the resting place of the heart.
Imān, certainty, confidence, trust, and belief in God all originate from the state of unity, but they can become tangled into the loop of mentality and present a
multiplicity. According to the Qur’an, the human being is the inheritor of the divine qualities, and “Certainly, there has come to you a light from Allah, and a manifest Book” (Qur’an, 5:15).
Knowledge was entrusted to human beings even before their physical creation, as we read in the Qur’an 55:1–3: “The Most Merciful has taught the Qur’an (reading) and created the human.” According to this teaching, a human being has the potential to read the book of existence and is knowledgeable of the essence of the “self.” Thus, his faith in the absolute reality is inherited. This faith has no form, does not belong to a certain time or culture, and does not belong to a certain creed. Rather, it is inherited. It belongs to the human being.
The Qur’an emphasizes the truth and existential value of humankind in Sura 2. There is no doubt in the book of reality; a human being himself is entrusted with reality. He is capable of witnessing the hidden reality and thus believes in what he truly sees. From this, we can be assured that the foundation of faith is built on witnessing, not on memorizing what is unknown. That factual and actual witnessing is the rightful inheritance of all human beings.
Equality and Peace
Nahid Angha, Ph.D.
No individual stands alone; we cannot underestimate the strength and determination of the women and men of our past who began the journey towards equality long ago, and the women of the world who continue to keep a peaceful transformation in our communities.
Nature,
in her wisdom and intellect, has selected male sperm and female eggs as equal partners for the continuation of human life. Within this great scope of life, nature has entrusted the female species with the responsibility of nurturing and caring for future generations, granting her the potentiality to receive, hold, grow, give birth to, and care for all of humankind. Thus, she becomes the mother of all humanity. However, when this equal partnership and the great scope of life are influenced by cultures, religions, and political ideologies, the scenario often changes. When this equal partnership is overlooked by practitioners of religion, our practices are not aligned with the teachings of those great teachers of humanity.
If we examine Abrahamic religions and assume the recorded history is accurate, Moses, who was raised in the pharaoh’s royal family and likely followed the Egyptian religion, embraced his mother’s religion when he discovered it. He left behind a life of power and luxury to journey to his mother’s promised land. In reality, Moses adhered to the religion and belief system of his “mother,” a woman. However, when we come across some of the old Jewish prayers, we may be surprised to hear, “Praise be to Lord, our God, who has not created me a woman.”
In a most difficult environment, Mary gave birth to Jesus. She nurtured him, educated him, and planted the seed of spirituality and morality in his heart. Nonetheless, we exalt the Father, and even though Mary is holy, she is not regarded on the same level as the Father figure. We honor male disciples of Jesus but hardly mention the
significance of Mary Magdalene, a female disciple of the same teacher.
Muhammad was raised by a single mother, Amineh Bint Wahb, 1500 years ago in Arabia. When he began his prophecy, he immigrated to Yathrib, the birthplace of his mother. He called Yathrib “Madinat-al-Nabi,” the City of the Prophet, and it became known as the illuminated Medina, the City of Light. Yathrib/Medina eventually became one of the three most important cities in the world of Islam. Muhammad’s influence continued through his daughter Fatima, and he remained one of the most powerful advocates and supporters of women’s rights and equality. However, these historical records hardly laid the foundations of equality in Muslim lands.
When nature’s equal partnership falls into the dimensions of political ideologies, women have to “fight” for their rights, including the right to vote, earn equal pay, own land, have financial freedom, and more. In one land, a woman is demoted from her position as a judge to a simple lawyer, while in another, a woman judge is fired for upholding the law and standing against the dictates of male authority.
Yet, we cannot and should not underestimate the contributions of women to the advancements of our civilizations. There are many examples of women’s leadership roles implementing peace, education, and equal rights that sometimes remain unnoticed. Liberian women, for example, stopped civil war in their homeland and brought their nation to order and peace. Egyptian women challenged the Parliament, demanding reform for equal
pay and political rights. Brazilian women changed policies to benefit women’s equality. Women from Syria and Bangladesh emphasize the role of spirituality as a source of strength. We hear the voices of women from Venezuela, Uganda, Kenya, and Cameroon advocating for health, equal rights to education, and land ownership— voices that have brought successful and positive changes in policies. From Iranian women who walked for women’s rights to vote and women who stood against racial oppression to Algerian women who were instrumental in Algeria’s nationalism movement, and from the political role of women in India to the role of American women changing the traditional idea of women to the idea of women as political leaders, women in politics, cultures, and religions, often unseen, are bringing peace to their lands and keeping the door of equality open. The advocacy of our male partners has also been instrumental in cultural and political positive change.
No individual stands alone; we cannot underestimate the strength and determination of the women and men of our past who began the journey towards equality long ago, and the women of the world who continue to keep a peaceful transformation in our communities. It is our collective advocacies, our courage, our persistence, and our determination that contribute towards universal peace. We have journeyed this road towards equality, accompanying the brave men and women of our past, of our cultures, of our religions, and of our families in the hope of creating a safe passage for our future generations.
Photograph by Anthony Taher Roybal
No one knows how love begins But the lover’s non-existence is where love is heading to. Love, with is might A power ruling your life. Everything presents itself in a form Except love, a formless sovereign of life. No one is led to the house of the beloved Except through magnificent hand of love. The universe is the body, and love is its soul The universe is born only for the sake of love.
Mansour Hallaj (Persian mystic and poet, d. 922). The above are few stanzas from his third tarji‘band of his Diwan. http:// www.nosokhan.com/Library/Topic/0ZRE; translated by Nahid Angha, Ph. D.
Folio from a Qur’an Manuscript, late 13th–early 14th century, Spain. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1942
‘Ayn-al-Ghozat Hamedani
Arife Hammerle, Ph.D.
‘Ayn-al-Ghozat Hamedani (1098–1131) was a Persian Sufi master, mystic, philosopher, and martyr who bequeathed his followers with a legacy of teaching formulated upon the wisdom of his studies and the witnessing of inner experience. He is recognized for his contribution to Islamic thought, and his bravery in sharing his spiritual insights with humanity. A central theme in his writings and teachings is the purification of the heart and soul: transformation and annihilation through devotion to the Beloved, essential for spiritual progress and integral to life and faith.
‘Ayn-al-Ghozat was descended from a line of scholars who hailed from the Azerbaijan region. Born in the town of Hamadan, many of his family were prominent scholars of the Shafi‘i tradition. By the age of twenty, he had mastered Arabic, Persian, jurisprudence, poetry, and Qur’an, and he also studied the sciences, theology, astronomy, philosophy, and literature. Known as “the pearl of the judges” in his community during his lifetime, he went by the epithet ‘Ayn-al-Ghozat, which refers to the visionary eye of the judges.1
‘Ayn-al-Ghozat wrote eleven books, including the Tamhidat (“Preludes” or Zubdat al-haqa’iq fi kashf alkhala’iq), the Lawayih (“Rescripts”), and the Maktubat or Namaha (“Letters”). The Tamhidat (Preludes) was completed in 517/1123, and is composed of ten sections, or tamhids, that reflect on Sufi life and thought, including such topics as God’s essence and the attributes of prophethood, the opening of inner seeing and mysticism. The Maktubat (Letters) includes correspondence, in letter form, between ‘Ayn-al-Ghozat and his disciples and associates. These letters focus on the intellectual discussions of issues such as the interpretation of the hadiths and the Qur’an, as well as analysis of the psychological states the correspondents experienced on the mystical path.2 His defense against heresy, the Shakwat al-gharib (Apologia) demonstrates ‘Ayn-al-Ghozat’s detailed knowledge of Islamic mysticism. At the time he composed this work he had been imprisoned on account
of his teachings, which focused on the significance of love of the beloved beyond the Imam. Throughout his writings, ‘Ayn-al-Ghozat taught that spiritual love is direct unity with God, experienced through the practice of annihilation and spiritual poverty, and shared his knowledge of the stages of love and mystical death that reveal the realities of the unseen.
‘Ayn-al-Ghozat reveals the significance of the Sufi principle of annihilation in spiritual poverty that guides the individual to attain tawhid (unity) when the human and divine personalities are dissolved. In the language of Sufism, faghir (poverty) refers to the Sufi who is free from all worldly attachments. ‘Ayn-Al-Ghozat clarifies that the meaning of annihilation is a love so pure that the mirror reflects unity in the light of God. He taught that the light of heaven, from the Prophet and the light of earth, creates a re-unification of existence. Thus, the Lover and the Beloved sit next to each other, because one is the soul, and the other the soul of the soul. Life constrains the human being within the body, but once free through annihilation he or she experiences the path to the true consciousness of the One in unity within his heart. The heart thus transcends corporeal time and space and survives annihilation in light, which is the human being’s ultimate inner sight of wisdom and identity.3 ‘Ayn-al-Ghozat asserts that the seeker who is chosen by God must contemplate the ascension of the heart, because the heart is the mirror in which God beholds himself as the human being partakes of His light. Thus, knowledge establishes a heart-based investigation (and practice), distinguishing belief from opinion.
Ayn al-Ghozat passed away on May 23, 1131 in Hamadan. His burial site has a memorial in his honor. His teachings have had a lasting legacy, and have lived on in Sufi schools over the generations, revealing the truth of the concept of love of the Beloved through annihilation in the light of God that continues to illuminate Sufi principles and practices in this century.
1 Firoozeh Papan-Matin, Beyond Death: The Mystical Teachings of ʻAyn al-Quḍāt al-Hamadhānī (Brill: Boston, 2010), 12.
2 See the clarification on his publications and teachings in The Encyclopaedia of Islam THREE.
3 See teachings on death in Papan-Matin, Beyond Death, 81.
The Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual Benefits of Bringing Awareness to Our Breath
Jalal Brian Heery, Ph.D.
In the practice of Aikido, a Japanese martial art, one of the main principles of the practice is expressed in the term takemusu-aiki, to create a beautiful world of God, knowing the past and the present, but not caught by them, and looking at the future with a free mind.1 “Takemusu means to create”2 and “Aiki is tying your breath to the breath of the universe.”3 So, bringing awareness to the breath and its role in our physical, psychological, and spiritual health is one of the kihon or basics of this practice. Many traditions have emphasized the importance of the breath for physical well-being, from the books of the Chinese Tao4 from more than 2000 years ago, to India with the Veda’s and pranayama from more than 3500 years ago, as well as from the Bon tradition in Tibet from which we have practices cultivating currents in channels within the body in oral teachings from many thousands of years ago. More recently, we have individuals such as Wim Hoff rediscovering the power of controlling the breath to improve the inflammatory response in the body5 and James Nestor helping to bring our attention back to the importance of being aware and conscious of the powerful changes we can make in our health and well-being by learning to breathe well.
When I was a young child, my father always told me to practice the basics in order to make progress in any art. The Russian gymnastics coaches I watched work with some of the best gymnasts in the world in the 1980s reinforced this same message—return to and perfect the basics. My Japanese martial arts teacher of Aikido, Kato Hiroshi Sensei, always reminded me to focus on the kihon or basics in my efforts to practice Aikido.
One of the first lessons I learned about breathing was from Chinese Olympic Champion Tong Fei who was my coach in gymnastics for a number of years. When he had us run a mile as a warm-up before practice, he told me to only breathe in and out through my nose, even for the
last hundred yards when we were sprinting. It seemed a strange direction at the time but I practiced it despite the discomfort. I didn’t begin to understand the importance and benefit of this practice until a few years later when all the other gymnasts and I would run an area behind the campus where the hill got progressively steeper as you went up. I continued to breathe only through my nose, and since many other gymnasts were faster, I was always trailing behind for the first two-thirds of the hill climb. Often, it amazed me when I would pass everyone in the last third when I felt stronger and began to sprint up the steepest section of the hill. Learning and practicing breathing in and out through my nose allowed my body to function efficiently despite the challenge of the hill.
In a recent review of the literature on nasal breathing versus oral and oronasal breathing in the Journal of Sports Research, the following results emerged. “Benefits of nasal breathing include a reduction in exercise induced bronchoconstriction, improved ventilatory efficiency, and lower physiological economy for a given level or work.”6 There are also studies showing that chronic mouth breathing harms the respiratory system, negatively impacts the bone structure in the face, and thus contributes to crowded and misaligned teeth, as well as increased dehydration.7
In Aikido there are a number of practices related to cultivating the breath. Most dojos or schools utilize a version of the following practice.8 Circling the arms out and upward overhead and back down the center line in front of your body, bring the hands together in front of the abdomen and then gather and concentrate your attention at the center of the body, just below and behind the belly button at the hara. This gathering and concentration of one’s awareness and attention are a form of meditation, seeking to align one’s energy and spirit with the breath of the universe or Shin Kokyu. Then one
can place the left palm over the right palm and begin to shake the palms up and down in front of the abdomen while calling inwardly on the source of creation, and an image of a star or sun can be invoked. This shaking practice comes from the Shinto tradition in Japan and is called furitama.9 The vibrations from this movement can resonate through the physical body, releasing tension and calming the mind and the spirit.
The next practice is to stand with the left foot forward and extend both hands forward while imagining inhaling from the ends of the universe, and then gathering the hands into the abdomen while making fists and exhaling strongly. This practice is also from the Shinto tradition, and is called torifune.10 In most dojos, it’s referred to as the rowing exercise. Both practices are repeated on the right side, with the image invoked for the shaking practice being one of a waterfall, a purifying flow pouring down through the body removing any impurities. A third shaking practice can be performed where the fingers form a steeple in front of the heart, and the image for this one is that of standing on a floating bridge between heaven and earth,11 the place of balance and unity between the inner ocean or source of existence and the outer ocean or the world of form. At the end of this shaking in front of the heart, the fingers can be raised overhead and then the hands can be drawn down strongly, concentrating all of the energy into the heart.
My Aikido teacher, Kato Sensei, often performed these and many other purification practices, most often alone in the dojo or during all-night training sessions in the mountains. When I asked him about the words and kami or names of spirits he would call on during these practices, he told me I would have to find my own way. He encouraged me to meditate and discover my own relationship to the world of spirit. He said in all his years training in the mountains all night, he met only
two Shinto priests that he felt knew something about this world of the kami or spirits. He did take me on allnight training practices and he would often bring me to places where there was a special feeling I could sense in my body. In Ireland, where I grew up, we would call these places caol ait or thin places where the ability to extend one’s awareness into the realm of spirit became less difficult. Kato Sensei also made it clear to me in personal communications that this connection to the divine was possible anywhere at any time. He expressed this by saying that we should always strive to practice takemusu-aiki—spontaneous, creative movement, free from habit or premeditation, guided by the breath of the divine.12
3 Ueshiba, Morihei, The Secret Teachings of Aikido (Kodansha, 2007), 66.
4 Nestor, James, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art (Riverhead Books, 2020), xvii.
5 Almahayni O and Hammond L, “Does the Wim Hof Method Have a Beneficial Impact on Physiological and Psychological Outcomes in Healthy and Non-Healthy Participants? A Systematic Review,” PLOS ONE 19 no. 3 (2024): 1, e0286933, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286933.
6 Dallam G and Kies B, “The Effect of Nasal Breathing Versus Oral and Oronasal Breathing During Exercise: A Review,” Journal of Sports Research 7 no. 1 (2020): 1.
7 Lörinczi et al., “Nose vs. Mouth Breathing—Acute Effect of Different Breathing Regimens on Muscular Endurance,” BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 16 no. 42 (2024): 2, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102024-00840-6.
8 Linda Holiday, Journey to the Heart of Aikido (Blue Snake Books, 2013), Chapter 6, Kindle.
9 John Stevens, The Secrets of Aikido (Shambala Publications, 1995), 53,54.
10 Stevens, The Secrets of Aikido, 53.
11 Ueshiba, The Secret Teachings of Aikido, 69.
12 Brian Heery, “Awakening Spirit in the Body: A Heuristic Exploration of Peak or Mystical Experience in the Practice of Aikido” (PhD diss., Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, 2003), 170-171.
Mahsati Ganjavi: Persian Sufi Poet
Hamaseh Kianfar, Ed.D.
We know little about Mahsati Ganjavi (1098–1185), except that she was born in Ganja (Azerbaijan, northeastern Iran) during the time of Sultan Sanjar of the Saljuk dynasty. She was a court musician, singer, and poet and was credited for possessing a rich vocabulary. She was acquainted with Nizami Ganjavi whose Khamsa remains as one of the greatest Persian literary works, and with Omar Khayyam, and, similar to him, she composed beautiful ruba’i (quatrains). She is considered not only a master in ruba’i but also the one who helped to reform that style of poetry. She influenced a great range of poets, including Jahan Khatun of Shiraz (Persian female poet, d. 1382) and Obeyd Zakani (amongst the greatest Persian satirists, d. 1371), and was honored by later Sufi poets such as Attar of Nishapur (d. 1221). She is credited for her outspoken voice against the patriarchy and prejudice of the time. She invites her readers to celebrate the beauty of nature, of love, of praiseworthy thoughts, and of imagination and aspirations. In her poems, she celebrates the ordinary human, the everyday person. She has been likened to an extraordinary chess player who so magnificently uses four elements, four beats, in her ruba’i. It seems, regretfully, that the majority of her poems were lost over time, and only three hundred or so verses remain.
For more information about her life and poetry, see Rafael Hasinuf, Ruba’yat-i Nahasti-Ganjavi, based on hand-written manuscripts preserved at the Academy of Azerbayjan (Baku: 1985).
by Mahsati Ganjavi
The breeze blows in the garden, rose petals falling upon the drunken heart
Friend has arrived pouring wine in the cup of old friends
Your fragrance consuming the perfumer’s house
Your eyes bringing the wise to his knees, being sacrificed.
Bewilderment is best in the old tavern
Whispers are best with the wine-bearer
Deceit of rosary, robe, and matter of fact have no worth
Only the belt of the magi worth in the ruins of the winery.
Time is a fire-temple residing in my chest
The universe of old is built upon my being
Like the water-pot, we drink for a day
Yet we are ashes, scattered, from our old friend’s site.
The oceans of tears are but my eyes
Thrust the mountains that did not hold the pain of my heart
Living life seeking a companion
Yet companion is but the pain of my heart.
Photograph by Soraya Chase Clow
When someone asks for Me, then I am near. When they invite Me, I accept.
Qur’an 2:186
Peace from the Inside Out Part I
Charles P. Gibbs
May peace prevail on Earth.
Some days it feels like a fool’s hope, and yet I have dedicated over four decades of my life to working for peace. Why? Because, in spite of what can be interpreted as abundant evidence to the contrary flowing through the world’s holy books, I believe peace is God’s will – a peace grounded in the inviolable dignity of each person and each community, and the right of each person and each community to thrive. I believe the path to peace begins on the inside, spiritually and geographically, and works its way outward in larger and larger circles to encompass the whole Earth community. Building peace from the inside out. I believe in it. It works. I’m dedicated to helping it manifest. In this first of a two-part article, I will offer some insights into peace from the inside out, and share briefly how I have been privileged to be involved in a process – Constellating Peace from the Inside Out 2.0 (CP2) – that is helping to support this pioneering work in real time in different parts of the world.
First, a few words about building peace from the inside out from a spiritual perspective. A decade after the end of World War II, out of the ashes of the atomic devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a movement for peace in Japan coalesced around the simple prayer – May peace prevail on Earth. Philosopher and spiritual leader, Masahisa Goi received this prayer and with it the guidance to spread it around the world as an offering from Japan for the peace of all. Byakko Shinko Kai, the spiritual community Goi Sensei founded, is dedicated to building peace from the inside out, from the individual to the global through this prayer and related spiritual practice – from individual meditation, creating prayer mandelas, and hosting peace prayer ceremonies where those in attendance pray by name for each country in the world that peace may prevail in that country. In Goi’s words: If you fling all your thoughts into these simple words, and from this prayer keep living your lives anew, before you know it your individualistic or cliquish feelings will diminish, and you will find
yourselves wishing for the happiness of all people, with a feeling of humanitarian love welling up from within. Gradually, each person’s character will approach wholeness, and his or her lifestyle will strike a harmonious notewhich is the greatest thing an individual can do for world peace.
— Masahisa Goi
At the center of Byakko’s practice is the belief that each person contains within a divine spark, the essence of divine love, the seed of peace, and that each of us is tasked with cultivating and manifesting that divine spark in how and what we do, and seeking to recognize and invite the expression of that spark in those we encounter, friend or foe. Though Byakko is a relatively new spiritual movement, founded in the 1950s, this core belief mirrors the wisdom of the world’s historic wisdom traditions. The Abrahamic faiths share an understanding that humans are made in the image and likeness of God and called to cultivate and manifest essential divine qualities – love, compassion, peace, justice – in their individual and community lives. Buddhists understand that each individual embodies and is called to cultivate and manifest an essential buddha nature – a nature of compassion, love and right action. Hindus understand the atman to be the “imperishable divine within” – essential goodness growing in manifestation by the good we do.
Growing from the core teachings of the world’s wisdom traditions are practices to cultivate our inner divine spark and have it manifest in compassionate action in the world – a life-giving dance between the inner life of self-knowledge, an experience of oneness and the cultivation of compassion, and the outer life of service to the world. Prayer, meditation, contemplation, spiritual study, ritual, engagement with the natural world, acts of selfless service – these, in all their varied forms, are such practices. They deepen a person’s selfknowledge and inner disposition to compassion, loving kindness, peacefulness. In other words, these and other
similar practices help individuals cultivate peace from the inside out.
And in all traditions, such practices open out into engagement in the world in ways that manifest selfknowledge, compassion, loving kindness, peacefulness, that support the inviolable dignity of each person and each community, and the right of each person and each community to thrive. This personal practice is critical because true peacebuilders know that they do not stand apart from the process of building peace, of positive transformation. If we wish to be participants in a process of conflict transformation, we must be willing to be transformed ourselves. If we wish to help build peace in the world, we must be engaged in the life-long process of building peace within ourselves.
You see this in effective peacebuilders. They carry themselves with a humble confidence. They come more with questions than answers. They spend more time listening than speaking. Rather than seeing themselves as experts with all the answers and local communities only as needy, they believe in the genius of these communities and their right to be the architects of their own destinies. They seek to offer support that animates a community’s belief in itself and helps its members get in touch with their inner divine sparks, to chart the course of their own transformation and to be able to ask for the help they need – a healthy symbiosis between local communities and skilled outsiders who are dedicated to supporting those communities.
This sort of healthy partnership is the bridge between building peace from the inside out on a personal level and extending that into a geographical context, building peace from the inside out in the complex social, political and organizational systems that make up villages, cities, nations and the international entities – ultimately, the whole global community. Cultivating this sort of healthy partnership, enhanced by deep inner work, represents the leading edge of innovation in the fields of international peace and development. It brings with it extraordinary promise for a more positive, peaceful future for the whole Earth community, from the inside out.
Which brings me to CP2, a process being hosted by Catalyst for Peace (CFP), a foundation I am privileged to serve as Senior Partner and Poet-in-Residence. CFP, with our Sierra Leonean partner Fambul Tok and the government of Sierra Leone, is hosting a global gathering in Sierra Leone, October 13-19, for teams of people
working to make peace from the inside out in Nepal, Columbia, Kenya, Somalia, Chicago and through international networks. Before this article is published, the global gathering will have happened. Part 2 of this article will chronicle the events of the gathering and what flows from it as participants experience the transformational, inside-out work on the ground in Sierra Leone, share their own inside-out experience and learning, and explore how to grow this way of working in the world.
Before I close, I want to provide a glimpse into two of the leaders – John Caulker and Tecla Wanjala – who are two of the most accomplished and inspiring inside-out peacebuilders I have been privileged to work with and who will anchor teams at this gathering. John is from Sierra Leone. Tecla from Kenya. For both, their life’s work has stretched from local villages, to national prominence, to being highly regarded in the world of international peace and development. Both have personal practices for cultivating peace and compassion from the inside out. Both have the gift of seeing and evoking the divine spark in other people and in their communities and a commitment to see local peace work embedded in a system of healthy partnerships from the local to the global. John will help host and Tecla co-facilitate CP2.
Both grew up in small towns – Tecla in Mt. Elgon, Kenya; John in Songo, Sierra Leone. Both have experienced violent conflict – John as a human rights activist during Sierra Leone’s eleven-year civil war, risking his life to infiltrate rebel camps and passing on the information he received to international human rights organizations; Tecla working first as a social worker in her local community, the site of ethnic fighting since Kenya’s dictatorship of the 1990s, then as a coordinator and consultant with International Non-governmental Organizations. John served as the national chairman of Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Working Group. Tecla served as the Acting Chair of Kenya’s Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, and guided that commission to a fulfillment of its mandate.
Tecla and John are exemplars of the community that will gather in Sierra Leone – committed peacebuilders at work on themselves and in the world. Stay tuned for part II of this article to hear about what happens when these people come together. In the meantime, I invite you to deepen your engagement building peace from the inside out in yourself and your local community. It’s always the right moment to take the next step; no step is too small.
New and Selected IAS Publications
Compiled with Commentary by Saleh Arthur Kane Scott
Nafs Al-Mardiyya
The well pleasing Nafs, the sixth station
Ibrahim Jaffe, MD, Murshid Murabbi Ruhi, Shadhiliyya Sufi Order
As Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatahu
Many Tariqas across the world describe seven stations that the traveller walks through on their way to Allah’s Reality. It is our wish to discuss the noble 6th station and the way to travel to it. All Sufis deep down are seeking to know this reality. Our hearts are drawn
O Tranquil Soul! Return to your Lord, well pleased with Him and well pleasing to Him.
(Qur’an 89:27-30)
to it like moths to a flame. It completes many things for the Sufi including the availability of the reality of the World of Gnosis or al-Ma’rifa. This is an exposition of this station and its travelling. It is a commentary on the chapter An Nafs al-Mardiyya from Path to Allah, Most High, written by Shaykh Muhammad Al- Jamal in 2002.
As an overview, the seven major stations that the traveller (Salik) travels through are as follows:
1. The first station: Nafs Al-Amara
The Nafs that command to evil: worldly consciousness
2. The Blaming Nafs: Malakut - subtle consciousness
3. The third station: Nafs Al-Mulhamma: The inspired Nafs: Jabarut - soul consciousness
4. The fourth station: Nafs Al-Mutama’inna: The Nafs in deep rest: Haqiqah - secret consciousness
5. The fifth station: Nafs Al- Radhiyya: The well pleased Nafs. Hidden consciousness
6. The sixth station: Nafs al-Mardiyya: The well pleasing Nafs: most hidden consciousness
7. The seventh station: Nafs al-Kamila: The perfect Nafs: Divine Presence consciousness
This short article describes the walking of the sixth station, the Nafs al-Mardiyya - the Nafs Well Pleasing to Allah.
The world of this station is the world of the seen. One’s consciousness walks through the outer seen real-
ity while one’s inner reality only sees Allah. It is as if the person has two eyes - one for the outer and one for the inner. Its place is the secrets and hidden reality. It is aware of the secret reality of the Haqq (Truth) as well as the hidden knowledge that determines the walking
of an individual soul or collective.
Its source of arrival to the next station (warid), is following the Shariah so that as one witnesses the outer reality in the presence of the Haqq, one does not stray from Divine Action through the pulls of the created world causing one to leave the witnessing of the Haqq on the inner.
The attributes of one who holds this station are good character and leaving everything other than Allah in all things. Making peace with creation as opposed to shunning it or fighting with it. They practice the ability to forgive the sins of creation while understanding the weakness of human beings. These beloveds are the true masters of the way in the Sufi tradition.
This station also combines the love of creation with the love of the Creator. Shaykh Muhammad Al- Jamal says that this is something amazing which is possible only in this station.
The person who carries this station is often not easily differentiated from the common people if you look on the outward. However, on the inward, this person is a mine of the secrets or the repository of secrets. Because they have returned to creation they often appear like people of the creation. This is unlike the fourth station where they are separate from creation and only with the Haqq, so they appear elevated and pure. However, this station is one that is further than the fourth station although it is difficult for people to be recognized in it. This person is the leader of the best. They do not witness otherness in regards to other- they only see Allah in everything. They
are the circumference of all knowledge, but not necessarily the outward or formal knowledge. They carry the ability to access the deep inner knowledge and guidance from Allah through direct witnessing and Tajalli (inspiration) from Allah. This is different from the formal learned knowledge taught in books or schools.
This station is called the Nafs Al Mardiyya because the Haqq is well pleased with the person who carries this station. Their walking is from Allah, meaning that they take whatever they hear of knowledge from the presence of the Haqq, witnessed from within. They understand the inner meanings and reality of what is witnessed and move and speak from this reality. Because it is from their Lord, the Lord is pleased with them for having this witnessing and reality within. This person has returned from the unseen world to the seen world, with the permission of Allah to benefit mankind with what Allah has bestowed upon it.
This is the station of acceptable perplexity, referred to in the Hadith “O Allah, increase me in my perplexity in You.” This perplexity comes from awe at witnessing the levels of inner perfection and possibility that come from the Most High. The Traveler realizes that his knowledge is a drop of knowledge in the ocean of the One. That the One’s knowledge is so far beyond, that they are perplexed by the downpouring of truth and wisdom that the One reveals to them. This perplexity can only be completed when they reach to the station of Insan a-Kamil and are given a more clear perception and understanding of Allah by Allah. But this confusion is not to be confused with the confusion and doubt that is experienced at the beginning of the path.
This person is guided by the deep inner knowledge that Allah bestows upon them. Thus, someone may ask for something and they say no. People may think they are being mean or stingy. But in fact they see the outcomes and order from Allah about what they are being asked to give and the consequences of giving what is being asked of them.
If Allah says no to this giving, then they say no from a state of genuine care and concern. For example, if they see that giving someone money might cause them to drink or to go astray from Allah, then Allah would hinder them from giving this because of the effect it would have on that person. The well pleased one would have the strength and wisdom not to give that person
money even if they were being begged for it because Allah had hindered it and revealed the outcome or their use of the money.
On the other hand, if someone is abusive to the traveler (salik) in this station, and the person sees that they are deserving of money or that Allah wills that this person has money, then they would follow the order of Allah and give money to that person in spite of their behavior. The well pleased one sees the actions occurring in the creation but they follow the orders of Allah on the inner reality and do what they are commanded to do.
In this station you may be given the good tidings that you have become Khalifa (vice-regent) of Allah. And you may receive the robes of honor expressed by “I’m the Hearing by which He hears and the Seeing by which He Sees and the Hand by which He grasps, and by Me He walks.”
Know that the final destination is for one to reach to the station of Insan al-Kamil. Here they take on the Adamic form which was the Qibla (prayer niche) for the angels. Meaning this is what Allah asked the angels to bow to in the human being and what some refused to bow to. This is known as the Muhammadan Reality which is Allah’s greatest secret. This is the ultimate in one’s nearness to Allah. It is here that one’s heart becomes the true house of God.
“Neither My heavens nor My earth contain Me but I am contained in the heart of My believing slave.”
All the Names and Attributes of Allah are contained within the Adamic form. This person carries the completion for the human being of these perfect Names in their heart and they live and act from these Names in the perfect way. They are aware of the secrets that are placed in the reality of everything and this is expressed by “He taught Adam all the Names.”
When you become aware that this is the final and greatest station for the human being, the secret of why Allah created him and that this is the perfection of your being, you will run to find this station. You will follow the Shariah and remember the Name al- Qayyum. You will continue to carry the adab (politeness) of the Shariah, Tariqah, and Haqiqah, not being preoccupied with one over the other until you move into the station of realizing your own Adamic form and the realization of the Muhammadan reality.
al-Jaleel The Majestic
Sarah Hastings Mullin, Ph.D.
Sufi Master Shah Nazar Seyyed Ali Kianfar teaches that “longing for union with the Divine brings us closer to the truth behind the Names. So long as a Name is only a word, it does not define the meaning.”1 This teaching emphasizes cultivating an inner practice for abstract meaning when studying the Names or attributes of Allah to gain the most benefit and understanding. The absolute Al-Jaleel, is the source of existence, Allah, to which nothing else can compare in its greatness, honor, and majesty. Dr. Kianfar describes that this name is of the “divine splendor, the beauty of perfect proportion pervading all creation and beyond… Allah is the treasure most rare, precious and difficult to obtain…Allah is immeasurable in time and space.”
Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali (Persian theologian and Sufi master, d. 1111) teaches of Al-Jaleel:
For the absolute and truly beautiful one is God alone…all the beauty, perfection, splendor, and attractiveness in the world come from the lights of His essence and the traces of His attributes. There is no existing thing in the world except Him which has absolute perfection with no competitor, be it actual or potential.2
As human beings have been portioned in this quality, Al-Ghazali teaches how one develops and enhances Al-Jaleel within oneself. He says that the person’s inte-
rior begins to become perfectly “proportioned” with the various characteristics that make one majesty, and this person simultaneously becomes more beautiful. He describes:
The attributes of majesty are might, dominion, sanctification, knowledge, wealth, power, and other attributes we have mentioned. And the one who combines all of them is the absolutely majestic.3
As the human being devoted to such inner perfection strives to actualize his portion of Al-Jaleel, Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi (Muslim mystic and philosopher, d. 1240) teaches that the practitioner uses this name as a standard to measure his own behavior and quality of inner self constantly. He teaches that, with practice, the energy of the name will draw one inward to further actualize this quality within a deepening inner intimacy with God. Despite this deep intimacy, he teaches that only Al-Jaleel will know itself by itself. That it is “the presence in which the Truth sees Himself as He is.” 4
It is too great to be comprehended by intellectual reflection, by the spiritual practices of masters of illumination, by the Knowers’ secrets, by the majestic range of leaders’ vision – for it is too great to be confined behind veils and curtains and so cannot be comprehended by anything but its own light.5
1 Ali Kianfar, Illumination of the Names: Meditation by Sufi Masters on the Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God (San Rafael, CA: International Association of Sufism Publications, 2011), 25.
2 Al-Ghazali, The Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of God (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1992), 113.
3 Al-Ghazali, Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names, 113.
4 Ibn ‘Arabi, ‘On Majesty and Beauty: The Kitâb Al-Jalâl Wa-l Jamâl of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi’. Trans. (1989) Rabia Terri Harris. https://ibnarabisociety.org/ wp-content/uploads/PDFs/Harris_On-majesty-and-beauty.pdf, 3.
5 Ibn ‘Arabi, Majesty and Beauty, 1.
Calligraphy by Mostafa Mahboub Mojaz
Photograph by Soraya Chase Clow
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Sheikh Salman Baruti
History
The al-Aqsa Mosque, also known as Jami al-Aqsa and Qibli Mosque, is situated south of the Dome of the Rock on the southern wall of Al-Haram al-Sharif, commonly referred to as the Temple Mount. It serves as the main congregational mosque within the thirty-six-acre Al Aqsa compound. The first Islamic structure established on the Al Aqsa site was a mihrab and a simple mosque attributed to Rashidun caliph Umar ibn Khattab (r. 634-644). The Al Aqsa Mosque, constructed in the exact location, was commissioned by Abd Al Malik ibn Marwan, the fifth caliph of the Umayyad dynasty (r. 685-705), and was completed during the reign of his son al-Walid bin ‘Abd Al-Malik (r. 705-715). The mosque
underwent several renovations and reconstructions during later eras, commencing with the Abbasid period under caliph Abu Jafar al Mansur (r. 754-785), followed by Caliph Al-Madi (r. 775-785) and Fatimid caliph AlZahir (r. 1021-1036). In 1099, the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem, used the mosque as a royal palace and headquarters for the Knights Templar, and renamed it Solomon’s Temple. In 1187, Sultan Salah al-Din Ayyubi, known as Saladin (r. 1169-1193), recaptured Jerusalem and restored the building’s function as a congregational mosque. Additional renovations and expansions were carried out during subsequent dynasties, including the Ayyubids, Mamluks, and Ottomans.
Description
Al Aqsa Mosque, commissioned by Abd Al Malik, was rectangular and featured 15 colonnades, none of which have survived the series of earthquakes in the region. After the mosque was destroyed by the Rift Valley earthquake in 1033, it was rebuilt by Fatimid caliph Al-Zahir (r. 1021-1036), who reduced its size to seven isles and adorned the interior with an elaborate central archway covered in intricate vegetal mosaics. The present-day structure continues to preserve the design from the 11th century.
The mosque features 121 stained glass windows from the Abbasid and Fatimid eras and is supported by 45 columns—33 crafted from white Italian marble and 12 made of stone. The current mosque is 272 feet long and 184 feet wide and can accommodate five thousand worshippers. Al Aqsa is modeled after the early hypostyle design of the initial Islamic period. The minbar of the mosque, made of ivory and carved wood, was commissioned by Sultan Nur ad-Din Mahmud Zengi (11181174) and installed in the mosque after Saladin captured Jerusalem in 1187. Al Aqsa is covered by a silver dome made of concrete and lead sheets, replicating the original dome built during the reign of Fatimid caliph Al Zahir (r. 1021-1036).
The Al Aqsa Mosque has undergone many changes over the centuries since it was first commissioned by the Umayyad caliph Abd Al Malik and completed by his son al-Walid. The changes and renovations were the result of several earthquakes that destroyed the mosque, prompting various dynasties to restore and rebuild Al Aqsa according to their unique architectural ideas. Those dynasties included the Umayyads, the Abbasids, the Ayyubids, the Mamluks, and the Ottomans. Despite the numerous changes, Al Aqsa’s significance as a historical site has not diminished, and it will continue to be an important, iconic, and holy place for future generations.
Resources
Yusuf al-Natsheh “Aqsa Mosque” in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2025. 2025. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?i d=monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;3;en Source: [https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monume nt;ISL;pa;Mon01;3;en&cp]
Haithem F. al-Ratrout, Khaled F. Qamhieh, and Khalid El-Awaisi. “Constructing the Shape of the ‘Holy’: The Umayyad Conception of al-Masjid al-Aqṣā’s Identity.” Journal of Al-Tamaddun, Vol. 18 (1), 2023, P. 265-290 htt://doi. org/10.22452/JAT. Vol 18no.1.21
Wikipedia contributors, “Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Al-Aqsa_ Mosque&oldid=1267830969 (accessed January 15, 2025).
Photograph by Soraya Chase Clow
Hatif-i Isfahani is an influential Persian Poet (d. 1783) who lived during the Safavid era. “He belonged to the first generation of poets who rejected what they saw as the excesses of the so-called Indian style (sabk-e Hendi), and adopted a poetical idiom closer to the stylistic principles of early Persian poetry.” “He is particularly remembered for his tarji’band, a poem in five stanzas (or strophes) with a recurring refrain—a credo in Arabic and Persian affirming divine unity.”1
From Diwan of Hatif-i Isfahani
I asked the eternal beauty: When can I see you?
She replied: when you resurrect!
If so, then I have to depart from your way.
She said: good luck with the departure!
I asked: what is best fortune in this universe?
She said: the pain of love?
What will I gain from such pain?
She said: only regret!
The heart sees the eternal beauty, wherever it looks And settles as shadow underneath its feet to live.
I endured the pain of separation, every moment of my life
2 http://www.nosokhan.com/Library/Topic/18OF; poem 23; translated by Nahid Angha, Ph.D.
Sharing the Wisdom of Sufism and its Art forms
An interview with Mostafa Mahboub Mojaz and Homa Esmaeelzadeh
Mostafa Mahboub Mojaz and Homa Esmaeelzadeh are students of the Sufi Master Morteza Ali Esmaeelzadeh, and are Iranian Sufis based in France. Their mission is to study and share the wisdom of Sufism and its art forms. Mostafa is an artist and professor of the Tanbour and calligraphy. In their musical ensemble, Homa performs saama. She also translates mystical texts. They speak of their practice here.
Sarah Hastings Mullin Ph.D.
Homa: We met in the spiritual practicing courses. We continue in these manners. Every step of our daily life we are practicing living, acknowledging exactly what we are doing to be present.
Mostafa: I am a student of Homa’s father. For nine years, this great professor taught the steps of mysticism by Attar. For me, Sufism is not very complicated—good behavior and humanity. The great masters push us to be more conscious. A mystic says everything I explain will become cheap and cheaper; it must be experienced.
Homa: When you arrive, you cannot speak about it.
Mostafa: A Sufi seeks closeness to God and selfknowledge through love and worship. Calligraphy has
evolved into a sacred art form to express love for the eternal beloved. In moments of separation, the calligrapher uses pen and paper to take an emotion from heart and record it, as lover repeats the name of their beloved.
We see how much sacredness is hidden in one letter. Gradually, our words [and] sentences become golden. I dress the sentence I choose by Rumi, Hafez, or Attar with color and shape. I focus on the secret of each letter. Imagination arrives with what I must do with this white paper and hand.
Thus, every sentence we utter is important…to consciously choose each word…if we desire each word to be beautiful and sublime, every letter chosen must be luminous…My work has involved studying the form of letters and words…why some have the right to descend below the baseline, and others remain on the baseline...1
Speaking about the practice of heart under the guidance of their Master:
Mostafa: The heart is the center of love and knowledge, what Sufis strive to purify. Meditation, remembrance, both verbal and heartfelt. Verbal involves repeating sacred phrases that lead to heartfelt experience. The heart’s attention towards God intensifies. This cleanses the heart and achieves union. The heart, like a pump, absorbs impure blood and returns it purified to society. The Sufi functions as the heart of society, transforming impure individuals into higher beings.
Homa: What is given in darkness is refined to give it out again…We lost our Master nine years ago. From that time, the connection changed into an explosion of something really specific… reminding [us] that what you are learning, maybe now you are not conscious of it going inside your blood, but a time arrives when it comes out. Our eyes opened. Before, we had a hand to pull us, he was there, but now we must walk through him.
Mostafa: Master and student sometimes go to the mountain, the cave. They connect without words, by soul. If we don’t understand this connection, it’s poor for humanity. Humanity in the material has lost some of the day of power…A Master will teach how to connect with him without his body. We don’t see him with our eyes, but in every moment, we are led with what he gave us.
1 Mostafa Mahboub Mojaz, “Interviews and Calligraphy,” accessed September 16, 2024, https://mahboubmojaz.com/calligrapher/ Parts of this interview were translated by Abi Mahmoodi, MD and Sheida Safarisamani.
Beyond Identification
On Dimensions
Jamal Lawrence Granick, Ph.D.
A coherent psychology must be grounded in a worldview whose ontological assumptions are consistent with its perspective on human potential. In the last issue of Sufism: An Inquiry1 I discussed the teaching of Dr. Ali Kianfar that presence is ultimately in “the fourth dimension,” referring to a realm of experience that transcends the phenomenal. The notion of dimensions of reality, beyond the objectively observable, has been a feature of many spiritual traditions. More recently, this idea has been represented in the fields of mathematics, physics, and philosophy, as well as in literature and film.
The following formulation of multiple dimensions of reality was initially influenced by the writings of the Russian mystic, mathematician, and philosopher P. D. Ouspensky, originally published in the early 20th century.2 Further understanding of the implications of multiple dimensions has been deepened by additional studies, including martial arts and, most profoundly, the study of Sufism under the guidance of two Sufi Masters.3
We can begin with the first three dimensions of space with which we are all familiar. Because we identify with our bodies, we orient to physical space along three axes: the vertical plane (up and down), the coronal plane (front and back) and the sagittal plane (left and right).
Wherever we move in physical space, these three axes move with us, and so we navigate our physical existence relating everything we encounter to our own being, which we habitually associate to our corporeal
manifestation. What is associated with my body is “me” and what is outside my body is “not me.”
As we move through physical space, we are also moving through time. It appears to us as a line from “before” to “after.” Metaphysically, it can be considered that the whole of time exists simultaneously but that, due to limitations of our physical senses which are only capable of perceiving three dimensions, we experience movement through time as sequential. Therefore, time is experienced as a series of points, which we call “now,” on a line from past to future. Each moment of “now” is experienced separately, with the future apparently ahead of us and the past apparently behind us.
From this perspective, time may be conceptualized as a fourth perpendicular to the three axes of space. To understand it as a whole requires exercising one’s imagination. If this view is accurate, though, it is one way of representing the “fourth dimension.”
Viewing time as a line, it is also possible to visualize that at any point, or moment of “now,” one could erect a perpendicular. Any moment can exist, not only as a reference point in a sequence of events, but as a portal to a depth of experience not accounted for by linear cause and effect.
This depth of experience is not available to ordinary apprehension, but requires some kind of shift of awareness beyond the logical, sense-based perception.
One model for this shift hypothesizes that, in addi-
1 See “Dimensions of Presence” in Sufism: An Inquiry, Vol. 20, No. 2.
2 For more information, see Ouspensky, P.D. (1950), A New Model of the Universe (2nd ed.), New York, NY: Knopf.
3
Seyyedeh Dr. Nahid Angha and Shah Nazar Seyyed Dr. Ali Kianfar.
tion to the three planes of physical space, there is a fourth, represented as “inside-outside.” The movement between “in here” and “out there” is seen in martial arts, in which one observes or manipulates one’s energy moving between concentration and extension. The direction of concentration is inward, toward the center of being, and the direction of extension is outward in every direction.
The four axes previously described (three dimensions of space + the line of time) all extend infinitely in both directions. If we apply the same principle to the inward-outward line, it is easy to visualize its outward extension traveling infinitely through space. By using imagination, we can also visualize that the point of the center of being, as it concentrates to be become infinitely smaller in the physical realm, extends infinitely into a realm that is not perceivable to the physical senses. In any given moment, there is the opportunity to penetrate to its infinite depth, sometimes referred to as the Eternal Now. In Islam, this is known as the Unseen or Hidden.
We have now accounted for five dimensions, three dimension of space + two dimensions of time. Just as we can visualize physical space as an infinitely large threedimensional object, we might also hypothesize a threedimensional model of time.
To conceptualize it requires further stretching the imagination. A third dimension of time might be represented by the notion of “parallel worlds.” We have all experienced turning points in our lives, moments when
we had a choice that would determine the direction our life would take. What if there existed worlds that represented the alternate paths, that exist concurrently, but are hidden from view? This formulation would represent a six-dimensional model reality.
Six dimensions was the most I had imagined in my previous thinking until Dr. Nahid Angha recently mentioned the possibility of seven. What could the 7th dimension possibly be?
We each find ourselves on our own “line of time” within the physical realm which has apparent endpoints (birth and death). On either side lies the unknown, through which life might extend infinitely if there is any aspect of one’s being that is not dependent on physical form.
As it appears that we occupy a shared physical realm, it can also seem that we share a realm of time, but what if each of our respective lines of time exists independently in its own domain? Then, the 7th dimension might be the collection of all the individual lines of time taken together as a whole.
If there are dimensions beyond these, I am not able to conceptualize them. If I allow myself to fantasize, I imagine that it must be something that is at once absolutely formless, yet infinite in every possible direction, containing all dimensions, while having no dimension itself.
Honoring Pope Francis, 1936-2025
“Whenever we encounter another person in love, we learn something new about God.” (Pope Francis)
Attributed to La Cancillería de Ecuador (creative commons)
By Jeffrey Bruno, Aleteia (creative commons)
At Seminary in Argentina, 1950’s (creative commons)
“I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas. For all of us are children of God.”
(Pope Francis, Easter Address 2025)
Mary Granick
On the Monday after Easter Sunday, April 21, 2025, Pope Francis, the first pope from the Americas, passed away at the age of 88. We, at IAS, honor his life and acknowledge his great contribution to humananity. Mourners from around the world, Catholic and nonCatholic alike, were touched by his life of service and saddened by his loss. Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and throughout his life, both before and during the time he was Pope since 2013, he was known for his humility, his concern for the poor and disenfranchised, his emphasis on social justice and commitment to people of all backgrounds and beliefs. He never lost his devotion and service to humanity once he became Pope, and continued to reach out to communities and countries around the world that others in the past ignored.
At a speech to Muslim leaders, he said: “Muslims, who worship God as one, living and merciful, and [call on] him in prayer ... I greatly appreciate your presence ... [In] it, I see a ... sign of a will to grow in mutual esteem and in cooperation for the common good of humanity.”
Here are some memorable quotes from Pope Francis that reflect his life of service:
“A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.”
“Love is the measure of faith.”
“The world tells us to seek success, power, and money; God tells us to seek humility, service, and love.”
“Unity prevails over conflict.”
It is fitting that he chose St. Francis of Assisi as his namesake, and that he was popularly known as the people’s pope. He leaves us these final words:
On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God!
Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani
A Legacy of Spiritual Leadership
The late Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (q) was one of the foremost Muslim spiritual leaders in the Western world, with a vast global following spanning six continents. As an authorized spiritual guide in the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, he played a pivotal role in the massive growth of the tariqa among Muslims in the West, including a significant convert population. This growth was a result of his arduous travels and outreach over three decades.
On December 4, 2024, this revered man of God, known as “Qutb al Mutassarif” (the spiritual pole who distributes provisions), peacefully returned to the Divine Presence of God (swt) at his blessed home in Fenton, Michigan, surrounded by loved ones. Throughout his life, he strove for compassion, and beyond tolerance, understanding, leaving behind a palpable legacy of peace and love.
Born on January 28, 1945, in Beirut, Shaykh Kabbani hailed from one of Lebanon’s prominent families. Shaykh Kabbani received much of his initial scholarly
training from his maternal uncles, Shaykh Mukhtar Alayli and Shaykh Abdullah Alayli, renowned for their personal religiosity and intellect in understanding the faith. Later he engaged in rigorous study of Islamic doctrine and practice with Sayyid Muhammad Arabi al-`Azzuzi, Shaykh Salih Farfur, Shaykh Abu al-Khayr al-Maydani, Sayyid Muhammad `Alawi al-Maliki and Sayyid Makki al-Kattani, all stars in the constellation of Islamic scholars.
His study then turned towards the mystical dimension under Shaykh Abdullah Faiz al-Daghestani and Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani of the Naqshbandi Sufi way. His guiding teacher put him through extensive seclusions and spiritual wayfaring and he participated in numerous spiritual pilgrimages and visitations of saints, both living and passed on. This rigorous training developed his spiritual capacity to the point where he was sanctioned as a shaykh himself, authorized to teach, guide and direct seekers on the way to God.
In 1991, Shaykh Nazim sent Shaykh Kabbani to
Dilshad Fakroddin
America to spread the teachings of classical Islam and Sufism, specifically as related to the Naqshbandi tariqa. This critical move to America was pivotal for the work that would become Shaykh Kabbani’s legacy.
Recognizing the lack of traditional Islamic teachings and the overwhelming influence of extremist interpretations of Islam in America, Shaykh Kabbani set out to fill this void. Initially he established numerous retreat and spiritual centers throughout North America in which classical Islam was taught and practiced. At the same time, he established a strong online presence to teach classical Islam and the Sufi path. He founded numerous organizations devoted to educational outreach and directed an award-winning production team to produce the highly acclaimed national journal, ‘The Muslim Magazine’, distributed by Barnes and Noble. A prolific author, Shaykh Kabbani published over 30 scholarly works, many of which are used in university programs as well as by the US military to educate officers about Islam. His spiritual centers attracted people from all walks of life seeking reality and those who sought his counsel, including politicians, social scientists, media outlets, academia, faith leaders, community activists, and common folk. These centers became dynamic hubs of activity for surrounding communities, often deeply involved in charity work, community outreach, and interfaith
relations. As chairman and founder of the Washington D.C.-based Islamic Supreme Council of America, a religious non-profit focused on academic program development, Shaykh Kabbani chaired two highly successful International Islamic Unity conferences. The first took place in Los Angeles in 1996 with over 7,000 attendees and 150 presenters. The second conference took place in Washington, D.C., in August 1998, where Shaykh Kabbani used the platform to condemn terrorism and Islamic extremism on international broadcast TV. Both conferences brought together an unprecedented array of religious scholars and international leaders from the Muslim world who adhere to and promote classical Islam as taught by Prophet Muhammad (s). Moreover, these were among the first conferences to introduce traditional practices of dhikr and Mawlid an-Nabi (s) to an American audience.
Shaykh Kabbani was a powerful, moderate voice for mainstream Islam, calling for an end to violence in the name of religion. He urged spiritual people to unite against all forms of radical ideology, be it religious, ethnic, or political. He revived classical Islam in people’s hearts in an age of radicalism and increasing Islamophobia. Above all, Shaykh Kabbani taught and exemplified love in all his interactions, spreading love, peace, tolerance, and understanding by simply being himself.
Musa Muhaiyaddeen, Dr.Ali Kianfar, Sheikh Ahmed Tijani Ben Omar, Sheikh Hisham Kabbani, Dr. Nahid Angha, Shahzadeh Seyyed Mainuddin Ahmed Maizbhandari, Pir Shabda Kahn
The Knowing of the Heart
December 7, 2024
Now in its fifth year, the Beyond Identification program is offered by the International Association of Sufism, led by its founders and directors, Dr. Nahid Angha and Dr. Ali Kianfar, in collaboration with the Sufism and Psychology Forum and the Community Healing Centers that offer integrative mental health services in Northern California.
This year’s Beyond Identification Program, entitled The Knowing of the Heart, brought together two accomplished psychotherapists and teachers. Dr. Jamal Lawrence Granick is a licensed psychotherapist in California and New Mexico, an Uwaiysi Sufism practitioner, and coordinates the Beyond Identification program. Dorothy Hunt is the founder of the San Francisco Center for Meditation and Psychotherapy and Spiritual Director of Moon Mountain Sangha teaching at the request of Adyashanti, from whom she received dharma transmission during 2004.
Dr. Granick noted that “The heart has an inherent capacity for knowing.” He cited emerging scientific studies recognizing the significance of the heart in shaping the state of the therapist and the client. Dr. Granick highlighted the importance of the state of the therapist as central to psychological healing.
Dorothy Hunt’s presentation included a guided meditation, noting that the heart’s knowing holds the secret of who and what we truly are. Ms. Hunt described this silent mystery that reveals itself. “There is a space in the heart where everything meets.”
The event concluded with agreement by both presenters that there is no separation between us and our origin. Dr. Granick recommended being with your heart. Ms. Hunt added that we give our attention to what we love.
Newly released!
International Association of Sufism Publications
Uwaiyse Gharani and his school by
Shah Nazar Ali Kianfar
A biography and discussion of Uwaiyse Gharani, original exemplar of heart-to-heart transmission of sacred knowledge, and the Sufis who came after him whose practices reflect this process of attaining spiritual understanding.
Written in the Persian language.
Copies can be ordered at www.ias.org/publications/
Conserving Land and Water to Protect Biodiversity and Mitigate Climate Change
Ashley Werner
In 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed “Nature Based Solutions” Executive Order N-82-20, adopting goals and strategies rooted in the power of nature to address climate change and biodiversity loss. The executive order recognized that California is home to about one third of all plant and animal species found in the United States, and that habitat loss, water supply depletion, and climate change threaten the state’s rich biodiversity. The executive order also acknowledges the important role of California’s forests, wetlands, coast, deserts, and urban greenspaces in supporting biodiversity, access to nature, and providing clean water and air as well as Native Americans’ historic stewardship and interdependent living with the lands that now make up the State of California.1
A significant component of the Nature Based Solutions Executive Order is establishing a state goal of the conservation of at least 30 percent of California’s land and coastal waters by 2030, known as “30 by 30” or “30x30.” The order directs the California Natural Resources Agency to partner with other government agencies, California Native American tribes, experts, businesses, and community leaders to achieve this goal in a manner that protects and restores biodiversity, enables enduring conservation, builds resilience to climate change, and expands access to the outdoors for all Californians.2 In 2022, the California Natural Resources Agency released its plan for achieving the 30x30 goal. The plan identifies strengthening the state’s partnerships with tribes among the initiative’s core commitments. It states, “[t]ribally led conservation is key to the success of the 30x30 initiative and Indigenous people must be given the space and the funding to spearhead stewardship actions and drive traditional management toward biodiversity goals for the State.”3
The California Natural Resources Agency reports that since the start of the 30 by 30 initiative, California has added more than one million acres of lands preserved in perpetuity.4 Tribal land return and stewardship agreements reached through efforts between California tribes, non-profit organizations, and the state have played an important role in this progress. In 2024, the Dillon Beach Ranch, in the territory of the Coast Miwok
people, was transferred to the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. Dillon Beach Ranch comprises 466 acres of land along the Northern California coast and half of the Estero de San Antonio. The land includes coastal bluffs, grassland, creek beds, and intertidal zones and provides habitat for rare native fish, frogs, and butterflies.5 In December 2023, with support from state agencies and non-profit organizations, the Hoopa Valley Tribe acquired approximately 10,300 acres of land bordering the tribe’s reservation within the Klamath River watershed, representing the largest re-acquisition of land since the reservation’s establishment in 1864. The Hoopa Valley Tribe plans to use its expertise to restore a historic salmon run, rebuild the elk population – a traditional food source – by creating a network of high-elevation meadows, and undertake projects to protect and improve the health of the forest.6 Looking forward, the California Natural Resources Agency reports that it is in the early stages of developing a policy framework for “Indigenous Marine Stewardship Areas,” in consultation with California Native American tribes.
California’s 30x30 commitment is part of a broader national and global effort to conserve lands and water to protect biodiversity and mitigate and build resilience to climate change. Several states, including Nevada, South Carolina, Hawaii, Maine, and New York, have established their own 30x30 conservation goal. In December 2022, acting through the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, 190 nations signed on to an agreement to preserve 30 percent of the planet’s lands, seas, and inland waters by 2030.7 The international agreement expresses the expectation that “Parties and other Governments will ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities are respected and given effect” in its implementation.8 A 2024 United Nations report finds that countries have made meaningful progress in conserving natural spaces under the agreement, but states that “progress must accelerate” in order to stem global biodiversity loss.9
Information about California’s 30x30 initiative can be found on the California Natural Resource Agency’s website: https://www.californianature.ca.gov (See page 61 for endnotes)
The Secret of God’s Most Beautiful Names
‘God the Exalted says: To Allāh belong the most beautiful Names, so call on Him with them (Q 7:180) [and] Say: call upon Allāh or call upon the All-Compassionate (Rahmān) – whichever you call [Him], to Him belong the most beautiful Names (Q 17:110)… Now you should know that this Presence which unites [all] the Presences [of the Names] includes the kingdom of God, and there is no kingdom of God other than the possibilities – and these are our realities. So we are His kingdom, and through us He is King… Because He created us in His image, alone among all the forms in the world, and because not a single Name has come that we do not manifest and have ascribed to us – we contain Him.’ (Ibn ‘Arabī, al-Futū’āt al-Makkiyya)
The ‘naming’ of God is one of the essential pillars of the monotheistic traditions, and every Name of God has its own ‘presence’. According to ‘the greatest spiritual
master’ Ibn ‘Arabī (1165–1240), the 99 Names of God in Islamic devotional practice and spiritual teaching are the fundamental way of expressing the full relationship between the human being and the Divine. The Divine Names are thus the ways in which the One God bestows His beauty and beneficence upon the multiplicity of the created world, and on human beings in particular.
The Secret of God’s Most Beautiful Names presents, for the first time in English, two of Ibn ‘Arabī’s most profound teachings on the 99 Names: Kashf al-ma’nā, depicting each of the Names according to three complementary perspectives; and The Summary, drawn from his Futū’āt al-Makkiyya. A comprehensive introduction and notes are provided alongside the translation and edition of the Arabic text. This important classic of Sufi literature is a must-read for all who desire to understand the inner meaning of Islam and Ibn ‘Arabī’s teachings.
Fatemeh
by Shah Nazar Ali Kianfar, Ph.D.
In this biography of Fatemeh al Zahra’, the daughter of the Prophet Mohammad, peace and blessings be upon them both, Dr. Kianfar reveals the depth of Fatemeh’s faith and the purity of her teachings, clearly demonstrating the value of the legacy she left behind, especially as an early proponent of women’s rights. This text is written in the Persian language.
Copies can be ordered at www.ias.org/ publications/
® International Association of Sufism Publication
A journey of spiritual awakening awaits in Charles P. Gibbs’s insightful new collection of poems, Light Reading
Always on a pilgrimage of remembrance, even during the brief time in which he tried to run away from his own understanding of God, Gibbs has learned to embrace and thrive in his spiritual understanding. Whether you are a seasoned pilgrim, have just set off on a spiritual journey of your own, or merely possess a vague feeling that something significant is missing in your life, Light Reading will support and challenge you on your own sojourn into the heart.
Charles P. Gibbs is an internationally respected spiritual leader, interfaith activist, speaker, and writer who has committed his life to serving the world through interreligious and intercultural engagement. An Episcopal priest, he served for seventeen years as the founding executive director of the United Religions Initiative, a global network of people from diverse religious and spiritual traditions united in service to the Earth community. He recently became senior partner and poet-in-residence for Catalyst for Peace.
A prolific writer, Gibbs’s published works include coauthoring Birth of a Global Community; contributing a chapter to Interfaith Dialogue and Peacebuilding; “Opening the Dream: Beyond the Limits of Otherness,” an essay publishd in Deepening the American Dream. Charles cherishes and is inspired by his family. He is blessed with dear friends and colleagues of diverse faiths from around the world.
Service Appreciation Grant women action
The Service Appreciation Grants program, established in 2019 by Dr. Nahid Angha, Founder of Sufi Women Organization, was designed to honor and support the work of a woman or women-led organization in rural neighborhoods. A select panel of judges reviews nominations and recipients are announced annually. See ias.org/ swo-grants/
The grant program honors those who have shown excellence in the following focus areas:
• Equity: Improving gender equality in public and/ or private life which fosters the development of employment opportunities for women.
• Healthcare: Insuring the physical, mental and environmental wellness of women and girls.
• Education: Promoting women’s and girls’ right to access education.
• Human Rights: Advocating to reduce poverty among women. This focus area includes the development of effective systems for conflict resolution.
The grants extend far beyond the individual recipients in providing financial assistance. They foster transformative journeys that impact the lives of the women we support and their communities.
KAMPALA, UGANDA
A comprehensive Women & Girls Empowerment Program with a focus on promoting rights to property and education for women and girls where traditional and conservative community norms have historically undervalued girls’ education and women’s property ownership. The women and girls are sensitized about their rights with economic empowerment initiatives, providing entrepreneurship training and startup capital for small and micro enterprises to enhance their income and livelihoods.
KIBERA, NAIROBI
Polycom Girls, started as a self-help group by young women to protect their daughters from sexual manipulation and violence as the women empower themselves economically. The program responds to issues and challenges faced by women within Kibera Slums. Polycom Girls just launched a new strategic plan which will see the older generation passing the baton to the younger generation while promoting cross generational learning.
Grantee Report by Nancy Roybal
KENYA
A project which works with the Eshirandala Mirembe and Bukhakhala Wekhonye Women’s groups dealing with poverty in the households and wide-spread women and gender-based violence. The objectives are to strengthen the role of the women in their communities through sustainable economic empowerment activities. The groups have strategically realigned their focus to concentrating on table banking, sugarcane farming, and tree growing. These core projects have demonstrated financial stability and community benefits.
MALTA
Migrant Women’s Association Malta (MWAM) has successfully provided social support to asylum-seeking and refugee women and their families in Malta. Over 25% of these women are victims of sexual or genderbased violence (SGBV) struggling to overcome poverty. Migrant Women’s Association Malta has launched a project, “Kids Happy Space” with a primary objective of providing support to children of asylum seekers, refugees, and migrant families who have been impacted by violence and poverty.
PORTUGAL
A program that helps African immigrant families and children with projects Youth On The Move and THEATRE, which help to fight against poverty for a population of mostly African young girls. The programs also develop volunteer activities and education within the community to care for small children while their mothers attend literacy classes. This work helps women and young people raise awareness on gender equality, domestic violence and dating violence providing empowerment and promoting self-esteem.
SIERRA LEONE
The Peace Mothers provide village women opportunities to come together to support each other and work together for the healing and development of their communities. The Peace Mothers platform provides a safe space for leadership development capacities through training and mentorship to actively participate in peacebuilding decision-making with increased selfesteem, strength and amplified voices. Their work also involves a farming and revolving loan scheme which is critical for women’s economic empowerment in their respective communities.
Order of America 2025 Summer Retreat
Coming Face to Face
Exploring the Miracle of Spiritual Friendship
includes zikr, Sema, sohbet, art, contemplation and meşking
Claymont Retreat Center in West Virginia July 16-21, 2025
All are welcome irrespective of race, gender, creed, old timers, newcomers. “Even if you have broken your vow a thousand times - come, come again”
For details & registration: contact Jason Bennett: moaregistrar@gmail.com For information about the venue: https://claymont.org/about-us
Allah alternates the day and the night. Surely in this is a lesson for people of insight.
Qur’an 24:44
Seyr va Soluk: The Journey
Retreat held on January 24-26, 2005 in Novato, California
Developed by Shah Nazar Seyyed Dr. Ali Kianfar in 2007, this marked the 17th annual program. Each retreat, under the guidance of Dr. Kianfar and Seyyedeh Dr. Nahid Angha, focuses on a different aspect of self-awareness and personal growth, offering unique opportunities to explore the spiritual, psychological, and physiological principles that constitute and illuminate the human self.
Across spiritual traditions and throughout history, a concentrated 40-day practice has been valued as a powerful method for self-discovery and a designated and guided time for healing and transformation. This ancient wisdom is being revealed by Dr. Kianfar to support a practice to achieve a state of inner confidence, stability, and peace, known as the “Alchemy of Tranquility.”
In 2025, Dr. Kianfar was joined by Seyyedeh Dr. Nahid Angha and a team of seasoned psychotherapists and educators, as well as martial artists and musicians from Taneen Sufi Music Ensemble, guiding participants through a holistic journey of reflection, meditation,
movement, and dialogue to deepen their experience and understanding of the teachings. The retreat was designed for individuals seeking to deepen their selfawareness through personal practice, as well as for therapists and counselors looking to enhance their ability to support clients in their journeys of self-understanding and growth.
The retreat began Friday evening as Dr. Kianfar welcomed participants, encouraging them to seek the essence of their true selves and reconnect with their core being in the heart—their primary memory. He invited them to avoid allowing the influence of the senses and external environment, or secondary memory, to dominate their lives and limit their potential. Dr. Kianfar assured them that guidance and a clear path of practice exists for this journey back to the root of self, and that every moment holds the potential for learning and discovery.
Dr. Angha guided participants in reflecting on the purpose and elements of a vacation, then distinguished
Elizabeth Miller, Ph.D.
this from a spiritual journey. She explained that, in both cases, it is essential to know one’s destination, have a map, and seek guidance, often motivated by a desire for freedom or escape from confinement. However, she emphasized that a spiritual journey requires one to purify and shed all that is not the true self, carrying no baggage. Dr. Angha highlighted the gift of realizing the truth, worth, and uniqueness of one’s being, beyond any external labels or classifications.
Over the weekend, each presentation, reflection, and experience deepened participants’ sense of this worth that cannot be classified. Dr. Kianfar emphasized that through knowledge and practice, each breath can purify one’s whole system, removing obstacles that hinder the journey to the centermost point of one’s own being, where true freedom and aliveness are experienced. He pointed to the teachings of the holy books and prophets, which, though often used to sow division and confusion, when understood correctly at their root, guide the human being in the ways of self-cultivation, balance, and peace.
Photograph by Anthony Taher Roybal
Report:
The IAS Honors Dr. Denise Lucy at the 2024 Annual Inspiration Dinner
The International Association of Sufism Annual Inspiration Dinner celebrates the talent, creativity, and heart embodied in the lives and careers of civic leaders in our Northern California community.
This year, the IAS was proud to honor Dr. Denise Lucy, Executive Director of the Institute of Leadership Studies at Dominican University of California and professor in Dominican’s Barowsky School of Business. Appropriately, the event was held at the beautiful Edgehill Mansion on the Dominican University Campus. The genial energy in the filled-to-capacity venue testified to Dr. Lucy’s passion for cultivating leadership and engagement in uplifting communities. Attended by her students, neighbors, colleagues, members of the local business community, and of Marin County’s non-profit organizations, the room was living proof of the vast impact of her rigorous intellectual vision. Congressman Jared Huffman and Kate Colin, Mayor of San Rafael, contributed proclamations in support of her work.
Joann Webster of the North Bay Leadership Council and then Literature Professor Mojgan Behmand. They offered personal perspectives on Dr. Lucy’s unique talent for inspiring others as she created an unlikely connection between university students and seasoned local businesspeople and commanded a powerful presence as an instructor.
Dr. Nahid Angha, co-director and co-founder of the IAS presented the IAS’s Humanitarian Award to Dr. Lucy, with the recognitions and proclamations from Congressman Jared Huffman and Mayor Kate Colin of the City of San Rafael. As Dr. Lucy spoke, attendees witnessed an engaging demonstration of her talent for cultivating community, as she celebrated the award itself, and each of the past honorees. She greeted friends in the audience and meditated on her work and the blessings of her life. The evening closed with everyone looking forward to next year’s celebration.
Dr. Ali Kianfar, co-director and co-founder of the IAS offered opening remarks. Dominican Professor of Mathematics, Ernesto Diaz served as emcee, introducing
We are a traditional Japanese martial arts school. We have a comprehensive approach to teaching open handed, sword and staff techniques. We practice to develop balance, strength, flexibility and power by unifying our body and mind. We explore the way of reconciling conflict by encouraging balance and harmony. This is why Aikido is often called ‘The Art of Peace’.
Instructor: Jalal Brian Heery, PhD Fifth Degree Black Belt
The essence of the human being, regardless of gender or color, time or place, has been regarded as reverent, dignified, and respectful by teachers of humanity. Such magnificence is the gift of Being to humankind, the art of recognizing such magnificence is learned. The foundation of civilization is based on teachings and learning, and the first teacher of any human being, male or female, from any social position or illumination, is a mother. To direct the civilization to a favorable station, one has to rely on the power of a mother, providing that she knows the value of her position. A mother, in fact, is the teacher of all. Underestimating such power and strength, overlooking such magnificence is most unfortunate.
Dr. Nahid Angha, Founder
The International Association of Sufism is a non-profit organization, and a NGO/DGC associated with the United Nations. As an active human rights advocate, IAS disseminates information focused on Human Rights, Social Justice, Education, Women’s Rights, Sustainability and Climate, as offered and organized by the United Nations. For the most up to date information visit: http://ias.org/service/unitednations/ Department of Public Information Non-Governmental Organizations
Women and global diplomacy
Historically, diplomacy has been the preserve of men. It’s time to recognize and celebrate the ways in which women are breaking barriers and making a difference in the field of diplomacy. As of 2014, 143 countries guaranteed equality between men and women in their constitutions; another 52 countries have yet to make this important commitment. Advocating for increased representation of women in key decision-making positions will greatly shape and implement multilateral agendas.
un.org/en/observances/women-in-diplomacy-day
Brewing Peace: Former Combatants Transform Colombia’s Coffee Industry
To learn about this initiative, see: un.org/peacebuilding/content/brewing-peace-former-combatants-transform-colombia%E2%80%99s-coffee-industry
Goal of the Month: Goal #5 -Gender Equality
Gender equality is a fundamental human right and a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world. Action is urgently needed to change biased social norms, eliminate harmful practices against women and girls, and eliminate discriminatory laws that halt progress on SDG 5.
Protecting Human Rights: Addressing the forced displacement of indigenous Emberá people
These children from the indigenous Emberá people had been displaced by armed conflict in Colombia by 2006. Forced displacement is doubly catastrophic for indigenous communities closely linked to the land. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that indigenous peoples have the right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as individuals, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law. UN Photo/Mark Garten
Act Now!
ActNow is the UN campaign to inspire people to act for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the lead up to the Summit of the Future, join the 1 Million Actions for our Common Future challenge to contribute to a more sustainable and peaceful world. Find new inspiring actions on the app and at un.org/actnow.
Photograph by Anthony Taher Roybal
Sufi Gatherings, Uwaiysi Tariqat
*Bi-monthly, Novato, CA or on Zoom
PRACTICE AND MEDITATION GROUPS (Pacific Times)
Qur’an Class with Shah Nazar Seyyed Dr. Ali Kianfar
Monthly on Sunday, 3:00-4:00 pm On Zoom
Register: https://ias.org/ias-events/
Awareness of Breath and Movement
Weekly practice group, Saturdays 7:45 - 8:45 am On Zoom
Contact Sheikh Jalal Heery, Ph.D. (415) 382-7834
40 Days Meditation & Book Reading
Sundays, bi-monthly, 9:00am On Zoom
Call in advance: Arife Hammerle, Ph.D. (415) 382-7834
Illumination of the Names Discussion Group
Monthly on Wednesday, 7:00-8:00 pm On Zoom
Contact Leili First, Ph.D. (415) 382-7834
Peace and Love Dialogue
Monthly on Thursday, 7:30-8:30 pm On Zoom
Contact Sarah Hastings Mullin, Ph.D. (415) 382-7834
First Sundays, monthly, 11:00 am (Pacific) On Zoom
Contact Sheikh Salman Baruti (415) 382-7834
Sufi Psychology Reading and Study Group
Third Friday of the month, 9:00-10:00 am On Zoom
Contact Amineh Pryor, Ph.D. (415) 382-7834
The world’s longest running journal on Sufism
Over 40 years of service toward cultivating peace and understanding in the world
Since its founding in 1983, the International Association of Sufism has been proud to be a home for Sufis, spiritual seekers, and people of all kinds devoted to uplifting the quality of humanity around the globe. Over the last four decades, the IAS has been blessed with phenomenal growth and has worked hard to be a leader in a wide range of areas. Among the longest running of its traditions of service is our journal, Sufism, An Inquiry, which we first published in 1987. Since that time, Sufism, An Inquiry has been a living reflection of the dynamic energy and growing global community of Sufis and searchers who are deeply engaged in the work of the IAS.
Over 70 volumes, the pages of Sufism, An Inquiry have championed women’s rights and the work of the Sufi Women Organization; published scientific inquiries ranging from the physiology of heart math to the latest findings of astronomers; shared new translations of classic works of Sufi literature previously unavailable in English; offered works by leading psychologists on human development and the spiritual path, reported on human rights and other diplomatic movements ranging from the work of the United Nations to interfaith organizations such as the United Religions Initiative; explored the cultural gifts of world religions diversely embodied around the planet; and provided insight into a wide variety of effective practices for spiritual development. As a whole, the tradition at Sufism, An Inquiry of featuring the work of great teachers, scholars and scientists from a wide variety of global perspectives, historical contexts and fields of specialization runs deep and strong throughout our journal’s history and shall continue to grow far into the future.
To all our readers who have added so much to our community over these many years, we wish to extend our great appreciation for making us part of your life and we extend to you and to all our enthusiastic invitation to journey with us.
Peace to you and yours, Sufism, An Inquiry Editorial Staff, The International Association of Sufism
Conserving Land and Water Endnotes
1 Executive Department, State of California, Executive Order N-82-20, Oct. 7, 2020, available at https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/ uploads/2020/10/10.07.2020-EO-N-82-20-signed.pdf. 2 Ibid.
3 California Natural Resources Agency, Pathways to 30 x 30 California, Accelerating Conservation of California’s Nature, April 22, 2022, p. 18, available at https://resources.ca.gov/-/media/ CNRA-Website/Files/Initiatives/30-by-30/Final_ Pathwaysto30x30_042022_508.pdf.
4 California Natural Resources Agency, Pathways to 30 x 30 California Annual Progress Report, September 2024, p. 14, available at https://resources.ca.gov/-/ media/CNRA-Website/Files/2024_30x30_Pathways_
6 A. Robinson, Hoop Valley Tribe reclaims 10,000+ acres of ancestral lands in historic deal, ABC7 KRCR, Dec. 20, 2023, available at https://krcrtv.com/northcoast-news/hoopa-valley-tribe-reclaims-10000-acresof-ancestral-lands-in-historic-deal
7 C. Einhorn, Nearly every country signs on to a sweeping deal to protect nature, New York Times, Dec. 20, 2022, available at https://www.nytimes. com/2022/12/19/climate/biodiversity-cop15-montreal30x30.html.
8 United Nations Environment Programme, Convention on Biological Diversity, KunmingMontreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Dec. 20022, p. 2, available at https://www.cbd.int/doc/ decisions/cop-15/cop-15-dec-04-en.pdf.
