Spiritual Tradition

Sufi

Divine intoxication and annihilation of the small self in Love

History

The mystical heart of Islam, crystallizing in the 8th–12th centuries through figures like Rabia of Basra, al-Ghazali, Ibn Arabi, and Rumi. Sufism teaches the path of fana (annihilation of ego in the Divine) through dhikr (remembrance), sama (sacred listening), and sohbet (spiritual conversation).

Fana (ego-death)

Hayrat (sacred bewilderment)

Talab (yearning)

Sama (sacred dance)

Dhikr (remembrance)

Sages & Mystics of this Tradition

Rumi

1207 — 1273

Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. He was born in Balkh (present-day Afghanistan) and later settled in Konya (present-day Turkey)

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Voices from this Tradition

The only lasting beauty is the beauty of the heart.

— Rumi

I have no special wisdom, only the wisdom of the common people.

— Rumi

The universe is not outside of you. Look inside yourself; everything that you want, you already are.

— Rumi

Be patient. Your soul is a garden. Cultivate it.

— Rumi

Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.

— Rumi

When you put your hand in a flowing stream, you touch the last of what has passed and the first of what is to come.

— Rumi