This heartfelt introduction to modern Western Sufism is a highly accessible and practical guide to the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, the renowned Indian musician and Sufi mystic who brought Universal Sufism to the Western world in 1910. Inayat Khan's teachings, frequently prescient of modern science and the stresses and challenges facing us today, offer compassionate guidance and relevant inspiration for spiritual growth and daily life. Chapters about Inayat Khan's upbringing, his years in India, and his life in Europe allow a unique glimpse of his personal life, and illuminate the influences that shaped his message of Universal Sufism. Inayat Khan's own words, Sufi poetry, and teachings from many of the world's great religions bring each chapter to life. Topics include the philosophy and mysticism of Sufism, the relationship to God from a Sufi perspective, the mysticism of sound, and teachings on health and healing. Universal Sufism offers a comprehensive history of Sufism beginning with its pre-Islamic roots, the influence of poetry and music, its arrival in India, to its emerging role in unifying Eastern and Western spiritual thought.

Dr. Witteveen, a lifelong practitioner of Sufism, explores the teachings of the great Indian mystic and spiritual leader Hazrat Inayat Khan.

From Rumi poetry and Sufi dancing or whirling, to expressions of Africanicity and the forging of transnational bonds to remote locations in Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Turkey, Varieties of American Sufism immerses the reader in diverse expressions of contemporary Sufi religiosity in the United States. It spans more than a century of political, cultural, and embodied relationships with Islam and Muslims. American encounters with mystical Islam were initiated by a romantic quest for Oriental wisdom, flourished in the embrace of Eastern teachings during the countercultural era of New Age religion, were concretized due to late twentieth-century possibilities of travel and immigration to and from Muslim societies, and are now diffused through an explosion of cyber religion in an age of globalization. This collection of in-depth, participant-observation-based studies challenges expectations of uniformity and continuity while provoking stimulating reflection on a range of issues relevant to contemporary Islamic Studies, American religions, multireligious belonging, and new religious movements.

Living from the Heart: Universalist Sufism in America offers a glimpse into the mystical path of Sufism as expressed in the universalist Sufi teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927) by contemporary Sufi teachers in America. A companion to the documentary of the same name, the book contextualizes Sufism as a spiritual path of the heart, addressing the distinction between Islamic and Universalist Sufism, and introduces readers to Sufi teachings on Love, Beauty, Music, God, and the Sufi practices of Zikr (remembrance) and Ziyaret (pilgrimage). Following Sufi teacher, Netanel Miles-Yépez, pirof the Inayati-Maimuni Order of Sufis, to Sufi pilgrimage sites across the country, the book also includes interview material with a variety of contemporary universalist Sufi teachers, including Murshida Taj Inayat, Pir Shabda Kahn, Pir Zia Inayat-Khan, Jennifer Alia Wittman, Deepa Gulrukh Patel, and Satya Inayat Khan.

Offers an overview of Sufism in North America. In this book, William Rory Dickson explores Sufism as a developing tradition in North America, one that exists in diverse and beguiling forms. Sufism’s broad-minded traditions of philosophy, poetry, and spiritual practice infused Islamic civilization for centuries and drew the attention of interested Westerners. By the early twentieth century, Sufism was being practiced in North America. Today’s North American Sufism can appear either explicitly Islamic or seemingly devoid of Islamic religiosity. Dickson provides indispensable background on Sufism’s relation to Islamic orthodoxy and to Western esoteric traditions, and its historical development in North America. The book goes on to chart the directions that North American Sufism is currently taking, directions largely chosen by Sufi leaders. The views of ten North American Sufi leaders are explored in depth and their perspectives on Islam, authority, gender, and tradition are put in conversation with one another. A more detailed picture of North American Sufism emerges, challenging previous scholarly classifications of Sufi groups, and highlighting Sufism’s fluidity, diversity, and dynamism. “Living Sufism in North America is the first book of its kind to bridge the gap between Sufi studies and the study of North American contemporary religious movements. As such, it is a comprehensive, pioneering work of potential interest to a wide array of scholars in the field of contemporary religion.” — Patrick Laude, author of Pathways to an Inner Islam: Massignon, Corbin, Guenon, and Schuon

Sufism is a growing and global phenomenon, far from the declining relic it was once thought to be. This book brings together the work of fourteen leading experts to explore systematically the key themes of Sufism's new global presence, from Yemen to Senegal via Chicago and Sweden. The contributors look at the global spread and stance of such major actors as the Ba 'Alawiyya, the 'Afropolitan' Tijaniyya, and the Gülen Movement. They map global Sufi culture, from Rumi to rap, and ask how global Sufism accommodates different and contradictory gender practices. They examine the contested and shifting relationship between the Islamic and the universal: is Sufism the timeless and universal essence of all religions, the key to tolerance and co-existence between Muslims and non-Muslims? Or is it the purely Islamic heart of traditional and authentic practice and belief? Finally, the book turns to politics. States and political actors in the West and in the Muslim world are using the mantle and language of Sufism to promote their objectives, while Sufis are building alliances with them against common enemies. This raises the difficult question of whether Sufis are defending Islam against extremism, supporting despotism against democracy, or perhaps doing both.

Sufism, the mystical or aesthetic doctrine in Islam, has occupied a very specific place in the Islamic tradition, with its own history, literature and devotional practices. Its development began in the seventh century and spread throughout the Islamic world. The Cambridge Companion to Sufism traces its evolution from the formative period to the present, addressing specific themes along the way within the context of the times. In a section discussing the early period, the devotional practices of the earliest Sufis are considered. The section on the medieval period, when Sufism was at its height, examines Sufi doctrines, different forms of mysticism and the antinomian expressions of Sufism. The section on the modern period explains the controversies that surrounded Sufism, the changes that took place in the colonial period and how Sufism transformed into a transnational movement in the twentieth century. This inimitable volume sheds light on a multifaceted and alternative aspect of Islamic history and religion.

The Unity of Religious Ideals may lead you straight on the path to your ideal, discover for you the religion, in whatever form it may appear, waken in yourself the longing for the Light and the Goal, and thus you may find the Self, like a pearl hidden in the shell of your heart. In six parts the whole field of religion is covered from the point of view of the mystic, the philosophy of religion, the concept of God and the God-ideal, the spirit of guidance and the spiritual hierarchy; then various religions and messengers are discussed, followed by a presentation of some religious symbols and their explanation. Finally, the concept of the divine message is presented, followed by an exposition of the role of universal Sufism, and what contribution it can give to the development of the individual and of humanity at large. All Religions are essentially one: since there is only one God and one truth it cannot be otherwise, This is one of the principal tenets of Sufism and is one of the most important elements of Hazrat Inayat Khanês message

Sufism is a growing and global phenomenon, far from the declining relic it was once thought to be. This book brings together the work of fourteen leading experts to explore systematically the key themes of Sufism's new global presence, from Yemen to Senegal via Chicago and Sweden. The contributors look at the global spread and stance of such major actors as the Ba 'Alawiyya, the 'Afropolitan' Tijaniyya, and the Gülen Movement. They map global Sufi culture, from Rumi to rap, and ask how global Sufism accommodates different and contradictory gender practices. They examine the contested and shifting relationship between the Islamic and the universal: is Sufism the timeless and universal essence of all religions, the key to tolerance and co-existence between Muslims and non-Muslims? Or is it the purely Islamic heart of traditional and authentic practice and belief? Finally, the book turns to politics. States and political actors in the West and in the Muslim world are using the mantle and language of Sufism to promote their objectives, while Sufis are building alliances with them against common enemies. This raises the difficult question of whether Sufis are defending Islam against extremism, supporting despotism against democracy, or perhaps doing both.

Discover the philosophy, practice and true spirit of Sufism, and the Sufi’s journey of love and devotion, with this accessible and insightful guide. For many, Sufism remains a mysterious and little-understood subject. In S for Sufi, Hasnain Waris demystifies Sufism by offering an introductory yet comprehensive guide to the subject. Full of popular Sufi stories, proverbs and anecdotes, this insightful book decodes the wisdom hidden in the literature, philosophies, doctrines and practices of Sufism. By drawing upon the works of some of the most prominent Sufi masters, including Rumi, Ghazali and Kabir, Hasnain offers compelling and fresh insights into key themes of Sufism. He breaks down all the proponents of this mystical tradition in a way that is at once inspiring, stimulating and digestible. S for Sufi is ideal for all those who are seeking to understand the universal truth about life and higher consciousness. It also offers profound learnings on how to unlock one’s spiritual potential and break from the narrow confines of the material world.