The Sufi Path is the path of Love. It's all about the Love. It's about the love that is shared between the lover and the Beloved. 

When you pray or do any of the practices of this Way be like a "lover" who is steeling away to spend intimate time with your "Beloved". Cherish your time with your Beloved, keep it safe, keep it pure.

This is a path of "intimacy" and nearness.

"Inside the human being is a piece of flesh, if this piece of flesh is corrupted then the whole being is corrupted, if it is purified then the whole being is purified. This piece of flesh is the heart." Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

The Sufi path is about the purification and beautification of the heart. The only thing that can purify and beautify the heart is Love. All love streams from One Source. The seeker Receives this essential Love through intimacy with the Source of the Love. This Love is like Divine "mothers milk", it contains everything that is good and necessary for the child/seeker to grow, heal and walk in a holy way.

There is a hidden Secret within this Love that can not be spoken of because there are no worldly words for it. This Secret can be witnessed by the purified heart and then the heart is Beautified. When beautified it glows with the pure Light of Allah. And those who "see" will see it and it will be known.

"Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. A likeness of this Light is a niche in which there is a lamp, the lamp is within a glass, the glass is like a pearly white star lit by the oil of a blessed tree, an olive tree neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil all but glows though no fire touches it. Light upon light; Allah guides to His Light who He chooses. And sets forth examples for the people. And Allah is the Knower of all things". Qur'an 24:35. For a deeper understanding of this sura see Sidi's book titled "The Reality of Gnosis".

Sidi use to tell us to "be like the honeybee seeking the Flower. Follow the fragrance of the love and it will lead you to the Source of the fragrance, Allah!" The Love is the perfume of the Beloved. It is the Love that opens the heart so that it can receive the Light. As you follow the path, this fragrance, this Love is your guide that keeps you on the straight path. The crucial point in all of this is that we actually drink in and fully receive this nectar, this Love as we migrate along the path. 

This path is not about being smart, or clever or gifted. It's about being empty and open to Receive. It is the Love from the Beloved that heals us and transforms us. It is the Love that walks us through all the "stations of the way". All gnosis that is cultivated is not by our doing, it is all a gift from Allah. Allah is "the doer". Our job is to fulfill our promise to be honest, humble, sincere and to not make any separation between any of the holy books nor prophets. Allah through the Love does all the heavy lifting. Allah is the Healer, the Lover, the Sustainer.

You may think that you are attempting to find God when in fact it is He who is drawing you nearer to Him. First He loved you, then you loved Him. 

The path ahead will not be easy. You will be challenged. You will get "triggered". You will experience spiritual growing pains. You will experience dark nights of the soul. You will loose faith and experience earthquakes of doubt. Imagine that you have lived in the same house all of your life and never cleaned it, then one day you make a "promise" to do the work of cleaning this house. As you begin to clean you will discover many things. Many things in this house will need to be discarded, many things will need to be repaired, many things will be confusing and require stripping through the layers before its truth is revealed. This may feel overwhelming, but there is hope. Feeling for what lays underneath all those layers, can you sense the hidden love, the hidden peace, the hidden beauty? Even if you can't see it yet can you sense it? Can you begin to imagine this house cleaned and full of light? Sidi's books are full of images and hope of what this cleaned house will be like. He encourages us to strive hard and to not waste any time because he knew the potential that is hidden in all his students. He offers us proven "cleaning agents" in the form of the many practices he prescribed. He even gave us songs to sing as we clean and the soft candlelight of his spiritual presence to guide us through the dark places.

But there is no walking without effort. Your house will remain as it is unless it is cleaned. The key to the work ahead is in actually doing the practices. This small book is meant to help you get familiar with the practices and help you get the maximum benefit from the practices. The practices work! If you do them you will heal and transform.

There are a number of Sufi paths out there. What makes the Shadhdhuliyyah Sufi path different is its strong emphasis on healing. Not just healing for our physical bodies, which you can find in most faiths, but healing of the mind, heart, and spirit. Healing that focuses on clearing up our old wounds, misconceptions, and emotional roadblocks that are getting in the way of us experiencing real peace, contentment, and love in our whole being. Healing that helps us move past our smallness and into our full authentic wholeness. Healing that helps us break free of our old habits and step in to a life of purpose, meaning, and holiness. Our guide Sidi has given us numerous books on how to use natural remedies for all aspects of healing and many prophetic healing prayers combined with sacred energetic healing methods. Sidi founded our University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism where his students learn about spiritual healing that is based on the sacred knowledge of prophetic medicine, that has been handed down through the long lineage of this way. It is this combination of spiritual healing, gnosis, and sacred teachings that make this path a complete path.  A complete path that includes a guide, a map, a compass, practices, community support, and a first-aid kit for body, mind and heart.

The Sufi Understanding of God

Many people come on to this path from other traditions. Those who are coming from the other monotheistic traditions such as Jew’s and Christians may carry a certain amount of baggage regarding their perception of God and relating to God. Many have turned away from the picture of God that has been constructed in their minds, and are seeking a different understanding of what one may call God. Many have been deeply scared irreconcilably by beliefs or images they have been lead to believe and have subsequently denounced the existence of God. Others come to this path as self described atheist who want nothing to do with the G.O.D. word. They are drawn by the Love, mercy, heart centered spirituality, mysticism, and poetry of Sufism. Regardless of where we come from, we all have some “picture” and “images” around our understanding of God.

When attempting to grapple with such a question as “what is God” it’s far easer to begin with what is not a quality or aspect of God. From the Sufi perspective, God does not have arms, legs, beard or a staff. God does not live in the clouds. God is nothing like a human being in form or actions. In Sufism the Reality of God can not be conceived of or imagined. God may be better described as a Reality, a Essence, or Source that is ungraspable by the mind yet we can experience the “Qualities” of God and can have a relationship with God. 

How do we relate to something we can't even imagine? It is not through the limitations of the analytical mind that we attempt to seek and relate to God. It is not with the physical eye, or physical ear or physical hand that we connect and thus relate to God. It is through the faculties of the Heart that we see God everywhere, hear the sound of God everywhere and touch the manifested Essence of God everywhere. Your heart is the portal that opens into the Reality of God. Sidi tells us to “look with the eye of the heart and listen with the ear of the heart.” This is why Sufism is a very heart centered practice. The heart Remembers what the mind cannot grasp, the heart has gnosis that is different then the intellectual mind.  Allah (swta) says “Neither My heavens nor my earth can contain Me, but the heart of My humble servants can contain Me”.

Sufis that have “walked” begin to experience a down pouring of the Qualities of God, these Qualities such as Love, Mercy, Beauty become thick in the air and one feels consumed and permeated by them. Some become temporarily intoxicated by the this Essence. This is a very visceral and powerful sensation that comes and goes and continues to grow and accompanies the Sufi as he/shetravels through the Stations, deeper towards this Truth or Source we call God or Allah. God is experienced by the heart and no picture or image can fully grasp or quantify that experience. The phrase “Allahu akbar” means “God is greater”, meaning greater then anything you can imagine, greater and vaster then any image you can create, greater then our capacity to comprehend. What ever you can picture or think about God, God is greater and beyond the bounds of your picture or thought. 

Sufi’s tend to use the name “Allah” when they speak of God. The name Allah has been around since before Judaism, Christianity or Islam were born. The word Allah is an Aramaic word that simply means “The God”. In the Qur’an it is the name God uses for Himself, making it a Divinely revealed Name, not a name made up by humans. When Christians and Jews of Aramaic decent speak of God they will also use the name Allah. So it is not just a Muslim word for God, it is a universal word for God. Specifically the One God that is shared by the three major monotheistic religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. One God, Allah, who sent “Messenger Prophets” including Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jesus and Muhammad, as well as 124000 other prophets, peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all.

The other important thing to know about the Name Allah has to do with sonic theology. Meaning that the sound vibration of the Name Allah“ahhhh” and “laaa” help to open the heart. Sidi instructs us in many places to specifically use the name Allah because of the “secrets contained in the Name”. 

You are Joy and We Are Laughter

Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi Mathnawi V, 3307-3319] Rumi Daybook, translated by Kabir Helminski

O my God, our intoxicated eyes
have blurred our vision.
Our burdens have been made heavy, forgive us.

You are Hidden, and yet from East to West
You have filled the world with Your radiance.
Your Light is more magnificent than sunrise or sunset, and You are the inmost ground of consciousness revealing the secrets we hold.

You are an explosive force
causing our damned up rivers to burst forth. You whose essence is hidden
while Your gifts are manifest,
You are like water and we are like millstones. You are like wind and we are like dust.

The wind is hidden while the dust is plainly seen.
You are the invisible spring,
and we are Your lush garden.
You are the Spirit of life and we are like hand and foot. Spirit causes the hand to close and open.

You are intelligence; we are Your voice.
Your intelligence causes this tongue to speak. You are joy and we are laughter,
for we are the result of the blessing of Your joy.

All our movement is really a continual profession of faith, bearing witness to Your eternal power,
just as the powerful turning of the millstone
professes faith in the river’s existence.

Dust settles upon my head and upon my metaphors, for You are beyond anything we can ever think or say. And yet, this servant cannot stop trying
to express Your beauty, in every moment,
let my soul be Your carpet.