17-24 April: 4th Festival of Sufi Culture in Morocco

The 4th Fez Festival of Sufi Culture will be held from 17 to 24 April in the palaces, riads and Andalusian gardens of the city of Fez around the theme "Mysticism and poetry”.
The festival will , according to the Association of Fes Festival of Sufi Culture, continue to show Morocco as the land of the ancient home of Sufism and promoter of dialogue among cultures, but also as a bridge between the East and the West, symbolized by the mediating role that Morocco has always played, especially in its modern history.
As in previous years, the festival offers a musical program blending various artistic creations of the Sufi world. It will celebrate the Shahi Qawwals of Ajmer Dargah Sharif, who come from India, and the troupe of Chinese music and Sufi songs "Maqamat", Mustafa Zaman Abbasi from Bangladesh, Hussain Al Aadhamy from Iraq, Syria Shaykh Habboush and Jalal Eddine Weiss of France. *
The festival will bring together the Moroccan artist Karima Skalli and the Haj Younis, who will pay tribute to Abu al-Hasan Ash Shusturi.
Other troops famous for Sufi music are also invited to animate the festival evenings. The sumptuous Batha Museum will house the night of Samaa Tariqa Boutchichiyya, Charqawiyya, Darqawiyya, Wazzania and Siqilliyya Khalwatiyya.
Other evenings will also be expected by enthusiasts of Sufi music, including a vigil Samaa Haj Mohammed Bennis and concert Briouel Mohamed, who is accompanied by "great voice" of Samaa Morocco.
At the intellectual level, debate will be animated by personalities from different cultures and religions, academicians, intellectuals, spiritual leaders, politicians, business leaders and actors of civil society, which will meet in the Forum 'Giving Soul to Globalization".
Several other conferences and forums are also in the program.

 

Source: moroccoboard.com

Sufism a panacea for all social evils

Sufism is a panacea for issues related to violence and hatred and an elixir for those who feel inclined to share and promote love, compassion and empathy among mankind for making this world a better place to live. It is the epitome of secularism and the basic premise of a pluralistic society.

These views were expressed by speakers during the valedictory function of a two-day national seminar on ‘Sufism and Sufi Literature’ that concluded at Punjabi University on Friday.

Syed Sarwar Chishti from Gaddi Nashin, Dargah Sharif in Ajmer and H K Dua, Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune were the guests of honour.

Talking of ‘Talibanisation of Islam’, Chishti said militants, who are bent upon destroying the pious fabric of the religion through their virulent and disruptive acts, were the outcome of false indoctrination coupled with ignorance.

“We have to remain vigilant and cautious against spilling over of extremism from across the border as these brutal forces won’t find scarcity of resources to help them in their dastardly mission,” Chishti said.

While assuring the Vice-Chancellor all support in establishing a Sufi Centre, he called upon the media to play a responsible role to help revive a peaceful and congenial atmosphere.

Dua, in his address, said that Sufism provides the most befitting answer to the theory of ‘Clash of Civilizations’.

Rating internal strives as more dangerous than external aggressions, Dua said that various existing denominations have no remedies but people do have. Vice-Chancellor Jaspal Singh reiterated that truthful living was the quintessence of Sufism.

Source: IndianExpress.com

Heart, self & soul: the Sufi psychology of growth, balance, and harmony

I. The Psychology of Heart, Self, and Soul
II. Opening Your Heart
III. Transforming Your Self
IV. Your Seven Souls
V. Harmonizing Your Seven Souls
VI. The Practices of Sufism: Psychospiritual Therapy
VII. Sheikh and Dervish: Spiritual Guidance in Sufism
VIII. Dropping the Veils

 

To read the review of this book, you can visit this page.

Book in Google Books

Sufi Rituals in the Middle East and the Balkans

This book offers intimate and moving portraits of Sufism as practiced in five countries. Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam, is as far from the strident and often violent fundamentalist strain of the religion that has so captured world attention as it is possible to be. Sufis in all parts of the Islamic world are broad-minded, tolerant, and non-violent, their quest only to find and approach God through all means, including poetry, music, and dance. Historian Nicolaas Biegman has been observing and photographing Sufi practice and ritual in different Muslim lands for many years, and here in this collection of extraordinary photographs he feels the pulse of the Sufi experience, with its enormous variety in discipline and exuberance, intellectualism and spontaneity, in Egypt, Syria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Macedonia. In accompanying texts he explores what lies behind the rituals, and explains aspects of Sufi life and practice such as the position of women.

Author Biography:
NICOLAAS (NIEK) BIEGMAN holds a Ph.D. in Balkan history, and is an expert on Islam. He has produced a number of photographic books on Egypt, Haiti, Manhattan, and most recently a Sufi community in Skopje (God's Lovers)

 

Shah Shahidullah Faridi

 

 

 

 

Hazrat Shah Shahidullah Faridi (1915-1978) embraced Islam after reading "Kahful Mahjub" (The Unveiling of the Veiled), the classical treatise on Sufism written by the famous saint Hazrat Ali bin Uthman al Hujweri. Though having been born and raised in a wealthy English family he left his home in search of a Sufi shaikh. In India, he eventually met the Chishti Sabri shaikh, Syed Zauqi Shah and pledged allegiance to him. At forty years of age, the responsibilities of spiritual succession were entrusted to him. He lived in Karachi for about thirty years until he died on Ramdhan 17th in 1978. He was well-known among the local population as a dedicated servant to the common people, and he died in relative obscurity except in the Sufi community in Pakistan. His followers built a moseluem (mazar) to honor his burial site which is located at Sakhi Hassan in Karachi. The mazar area also has a mosque and a graveyard in the complex. His work has attracted the attention recently of another English Muslim convert, Timothy Winter, a.k.a. Abdal Hakim Murad. Hazrat Shahidullah was fluent in many languages and his discourses appealed to various ethnic groups across Pakistan. Though the number of his followers are in the few hundreds they come from all four provinces of Pakistan. His successor is Hazrat Siraj Ali who continues the Sabri Chisti lineage in Karachi.

His brother, who had also read Kashf'ul Mahjub and had accompanied him in his worldwide spiritual quest, also became a Muslim and followed Sufism. Shaykh Faridi's brother is buried within the famed Mausoleum of the Sufi Saint of Lahore, Pakistan - Ali Hajweri - known locally as Data Sahib or Data Ganj Baksh.

Shah Shahidullah Faridi was a renowned writer on spiritual matters, and was regarded as having great clarity and insight. One of his most famous books is Inner Aspects of Faith.

He also compiled Part Two of "Tarbiatul Ushaq" ("The Training of Divine Lovers"), Syed Mohammad Zauqi Shah, 1425/2004, pub. A.S.Nordeen, Kuala Lumpur, ISBN 983065185-1

Main source: A brief biography of his, published recently in Urdu called "Talash e Haqq rudad." by Ahmed Ghazali Shaheedi,printed by M. Naeem Hashmi, Saudabad Malir Colony Karachi

 

BOOKS

 

More information Here