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

Be a lamp, or a boat, or a ladder. Help someone cross someone's ocean.

— Rumi

When you are with lovers, you are with God.

— Rumi

Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love.

— Rumi

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.

— Rumi

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

— Rumi

Don't look for the source of the light. Be the source of the light.

— Rumi