Inayat Khan Rehmat Khan was an Indian professor of musicology, singer, exponent of the saraswati vina, poet, philosopher, and pioneer of the transmission of Sufism to the West. At the urging of his students, and on the basis of his ancestral Sufi tradition and four-fold training and authorization at the hands of Sayyid Abu Hashim Madani of Hyderabad, he established an order of Sufism in London in 1914. By the time of his death in 1927, centers had been established throughout Europe and North America, and multiple volumes of his teachings had been published.
Vilayat Inayat Khan was a teacher of meditation and of the traditions of the East Indian Chishti Sufi order of Sufism. His teaching derived from the tradition of his father, Inayat Khan, founder of The Sufi Order in the West, in a form tailored to the needs of Western seekers. One of his sisters was Noor Inayat Khan GC MBE. He taught in the tradition of Universal Sufism. His parents met at the New York City ashram of American yogi, Pierre Bernard, half-brother of his mother Pirani Ameena Begum.
The Chishti order is a Sufi order of Sunni Islam named after the town of Chisht, Afghanistan where it was initiated by Abu Ishaq Shami. The order was brought to Herat and later spread across South Asia by Mu'in al-Din Chishti in the city of Ajmer.
The Dances of Universal Peace (DUP) are a spiritual practice that employs singing and dancing the sacred phrases of the world's religions. Their intention is to raise consciousness and promote peace between diverse religions according to one stated goal. The DUP are of North American Sufic origin. They combine chants from many world faiths with dancing, whirling, and a variety of movement with singing.
Samuel L. Lewis also known as Murshid Samuel Lewis and Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti was an American mystic and horticultural scientist who founded what became the Sufi Ruhaniat International, a branch of the Chishtia Sufi lineage. After a lifetime of spiritual study with teachers East and West, primarily Inayat Khan and Nyogen Senzaki, Lewis was recognized simultaneously as a Zen master and Sufi murshid by Eastern representatives of the two traditions. He also co-founded the Christian mystical order called the Holy Order of Mans. His early interest in international seed exchange and organic agriculture also established him as one of the pioneers of green spirituality. His most enduring legacy may be the creation of the Dances of Universal Peace, an early interspiritual practice that has spread around the world in the 50 years since his death.
Murshid is Arabic for "guide" or "teacher", derived from the root r-sh-d, with the basic meaning of having integrity, being sensible, mature. Particularly in Sufism it refers to a spiritual guide. The term is frequently used in Sufi orders such as the Naqshbandiyya, Qādiriyya, Chishtiya, Shadhiliya and Suhrawardiyya.
The Qadiriyya or the Qadiri order is a Sufi mystic order (tariqa) founded by Shaiykh Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani Al-Hassani, who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order relies strongly upon adherence to the fundamentals of Sunni Islamic law.
Silsila is an Arabic word meaning chain, link, connection often used in various senses of lineage. In particular, it may be translated as "spiritual genealogy" where one Sufi Master transfers his khilafat to his khalîfa, or spiritual descendant. In Urdu, silsila means saga.
Abu Ishaq Shami was a Muslim scholar who is often regarded as the founder of the Sufi Chishti Order. He was the first in the Chishti lineage (silsila) to live in Chisht and to adopt the name "Chishti", so that, if the Chishti order itself dates back to him, it is one of the oldest recorded Sufi orders. His original name, Shami, implies he came from Syria (ash-Sham). He died in Damascus and lies buried on Mount Qasiyun, where Ibn Arabi was later buried.
A Sheikh or shaykh, of Sufism is a Sufi who is authorized to teach, initiate and guide aspiring dervishes in the Islamic faith. He has laid all his worldly desires to rest thru the one intense desire for knowing the love of God his beloved. The sheik is vital to the path of the novice Sufi, for the sheik has himself travelled the path of mysticism. Viewed as the spiritual master, the sheik forms a formal allegiance (bay'a) to the disciple of Sufism and authorizes the disciple's travels and helps the disciple along the mystical path. Islamic tradition focuses on the importance of chains and legitimization. In Sufism, sheiks are connected by a continuous spiritual chain. This chain links every previous Sufi sheik, and eventually can be traced back to the Successors, and in later times to the Prophet himself. As Sufism grew, influential shayks began to acquire spiritual centers and waypoints known as khanqah, ribat, and zaouia. Sheikhs duplicate the Prophetic realities, and are also expected to perform and act as an intermediary between the Creator and the created, since the sheikh has arrived close to God through his meditations and spiritual travels. There are several types of such sheikh.
Zia Inayat-Khan is a scholar and teacher of Sufism in the lineage of his grandfather, Inayat Khan. He is president of the Inayati Order and founder of Suluk Academy, a school of contemplative study with branches in the United States and Europe.
Yakzan Hugo Valdez was a Sheikh of the Sufi Order International initiated by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and of the Mevlevi Order initiated by Suleyman Hayati Dede, Sheikh of Konya. Yakzan was additionally a celebrated master of the Dances of Universal Peace as originated by Samuel L. Lewis and an acknowledged peer of the Sheikhs of the Sufi Islamia Ruhaniat Society. Yakzan was a long-term resident of Honolulu, Hawaii. He established Sufi communities in Hawaii, Chile, and Spain.
The Uwaisī silsila or tariqa (pathway) is a form of spiritual transmission in the vocabulary of Sufism, named after Owais al-Qarani. It refers to the transmission of spiritual knowledge between two individuals without the need for direct interaction between them.
The Inayati Order (Inayatiyya), is an international organization dedicated to spreading the Sufi teachings of Inayat Khan, a musician and mystic who first introduced Sufism to the modern Western world in 1910. The Inayati Order operates internationally through a network of centers, and offers a number of programs and activities. It is led by Zia Inayat Khan, grandson of Inayat Khan.
Abdullah Nooruddeen Durkee was a Muslim scholar, thinker, author, translator, and the Khalifah (successor) for North America of the Shadhdhuli School for Tranquility of Being and the Illumination of Hearts, Green Mountain Branch. Nooruddeen Durkee became a Muslim in his early thirties in Al-Quds, Jerusalem. He was one of the co-founders of Lama Foundation and founder of Dar al-Islam Foundation.
Shah Inayatullah, popularly known as Sufi Shah Inayat Shaheed, Shah Shaheed or Shah Inayat of Jhok, was a 17th-century Sindhi Sufi saint and revolutionary from Jhok. He was the first socialist and agricultural reformist of Sindh.
Shabda Kahn is an American spiritual leader, who serves as Pir of the Sufi Ruhaniat International, a branch within the spiritual lineage of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan. He is also a teacher and performer of Hindustani classical vocal music, Raga, in the Kirana Gharana style, serving as director of the Chisti Sabri School of Music, within the lineage of his teacher Pandit Pran Nath, at whose direction this school was formed and placed in Shabda Kahn's care.
Sufism known as Tasawwuf in the Arabic-speaking world, is a form of Islamic mysticism that emphasizes introspection and spiritual closeness with God. It is a mystical form of Islam, a school of practice that emphasizes the inward search for The God and shuns materialism. About 60% Muslims in Pakistan regard themselves as followers of Sufi saints.
Western Sufism, sometimes identified with Universal Sufism, Neo-Sufism, and Global Sufism, consists of a spectrum of Western European and North American manifestations and adaptations of Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam. Many practitioners of Western Sufism follow the legacy of Inayat Khan and may identify with a variety of Sufi traditions, some of which have evolved to be pluralistic and not exclusively Islamic. In addition to Western Sufism, traditional Sufism also exists in the West, although it is significantly less prevalent among Muslims in the West than Sufism in the Muslim world. Most Sufi organizations in the West outside of the Balkans are Western Sufi.
Sufism Reoriented Sanctuary is a universal spiritual retreat located in Walnut Creek, California, United States. The sanctuary is located at 11 White Horse Court. Sufism Reoriented was founded and rechristened by spiritual master Meher Baba in 1952.
