Ask us about the lion of God
This caravan is not bringing our baggage — it has none of the fire of our Friend. Though the trees have all turned green,…
URS TODAY-Hazrat Baha-ud-din Zakariya (RA) Multan
Iftikhar Chaudri’s excellent note on the great saint: Hazrat Baha-ud-din Zakariya(RA) was a Sufi of Suhrawardiyya order (tariqa). His full name was Al-Sheikh Al-Kabir…
I have returned, like the new year (Rumi)
I am posting Sunlight translations of Rumi’s Ghazal (Ode) 1375, from “Diwan-e-Shamsi” (“The Collection of Shams”), rendered by Nader Khalili, and Prof. William Chittick:…
The priest thrives on self promotion
A Bait from Sultan Bahu “Haafiz parh parh karan takabbur, mullaan karan vadaaee hoo Saavan maah de badalaan vaangoon phiran kitaabaan chaaee hoo Jithe…
“I have never become less from dying”
Rumi departed earthly life on 5 Jumadi II, 672 A.H (according to the Islamic lunar calendar; Dec 17, 1273 A.D., according to the Christian…
Reclaiming Pakistan’s soul
By Rizwan Qureshi The Sufi Council was formed in October 2006 with the aim of popularizing pristine Sufi music and disseminating Sufi thought among…
Itihaas : Was Hussaiyn bin Mansour Al Hallaj inspired by India?
By Akhilesh Mittal In the third century of its advent Islam and its world were in ferment about forms of polity such as the…
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar of Sehwan
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar‘s shrine is full of devotees these days. His Urs is a major cultural event in Sindh. The Qalandar has followers across…
‘I belong to Ranjha’ – the syncreticism of Lahore’s Shah Hussain
Lahore, the ancient city of Loh, the age-old halt for invaders, is also the home to eclectic Sufis. Men and women who shed conventions…
Sufi hearts in Delhi
This was published in The Friday Times in the May 22-29, 2009 issue Getting a visa to India is a nightmare for ordinary mortals.…
Miracle Worker Explores Sufism
By Archana (Mail Today) WHEN it comes to weaving a web of words, no one does it as well as Khushwant Singh. The nonagenarian…
Sadia Dehlvi’s book – Sufism: the Heart of Islam
Finally Sadia Dehlvi’s book, Sufism: The Heart of Islam (HarperCollins), is published and was launched last week in Delhi. India’s eminent writer Khushwant Singh…
Pakistan’s Sufis Preach Faith and Ecstasy
Read this great blog and was tempted to cross-post a few bits here: Every year, a few hundred thousand Sufis converge in Seh- wan,…
Fatehpur Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri – March 16, 2009, originally uploaded by Jahane Rumi. I was in Fatehpur Sikri a week ago. I love going there again…
Saluting Rehman Baba who braved bigots through the ages
Pakistani women hold flower arrive at the shrine of 17th century sufi saint Rehman Baba in Peshawar on March 7, 2009. Multiple bomb explosions…
Sufi Art Festival in Ajmer
My friend Syed Salman Chishty, from Dargah Ajmer Sharif sent me this message. I would have loved to be there but such are the…
Mystical power
Philip Jenkins writes why Sufi Muslims, for centuries the most ferocious soldiers of Islam, could be our most valuable allies in the fight against…
Khowaja Fareed – the Sufi voice of Southern Punjab
A special friend, for the lack of a better term (why are we always hankering after labels and idenitities for some associations that lie…
Of saints and sinners
James Astill writing for The Economist says that the Islam of the Taliban is far removed from the popular Sufism practised by most South…
Data Ganj Baksh: Lahore’s oldest guide
Perhaps the greatest of the experiences at Data Darbar is to find oneself connected to a stream of humanity, shoulder to shoulder, with a…