15 October 2025
Dear Community,
And therefore upon God let them that trust put all their trust. – Qur’an, Chapter “Abraham,” verse 12
In times of difficulty, who can you trust?
The image above was taken by my wife, Eva, in March 2009 during the early morning hours when she traveled to the city of Lira in northern Uganda for a workshop on documenting the work of nonprofits. The woman pictured in sujuud, or prostration in the Arabic language, is praying in an abandoned mosque that was meant to be the second largest in Uganda before construction was halted. She was one of a small group of Muslim and Christian refugees who recently returned from Sudan after being displaced from Uganda in 1976.
As a body posture found in most faiths and cultures, prostrating is voluntarily touching one’s forehead to the ground as an act of humility. If you have ever prostrated, whether through spiritual practice or physical exercise, then you probably recall what your breaths were like, and possibly, how at peace you may have felt.
Needless to say, I love the image above for so many reasons. I have a framed print of it on a wall at home. (And in my office, too––shhhhh!) The intimate moment captured in the above image represents complete serenity to me. As viewers of the woman in sujuud, we cannot tell if there is societal upheaval, soldiers with the Lord’s Resistance Army lurking closeby, or a field of flowers just outside of the building. All of those possibilities are beyond the image frame. Despite any of that, to assume such a vulnerable position of surrender signifies ultimate devotion. As Murshid says in Caravan of Souls, “The key to all happiness is the love of God.” A reason the above image resonates with me so profoundly is because it conveys that the lover of the Beloved is in a place of trust.
Time zones away from Central Africa, our lives are drenched in anxieties, fears, and worries. Each of us in spite of our tech savviness (or lack there of) is inundated with alerts, beeps, vibrations, notifications, and so forth. Oftentimes, we spend our days obsessing over matters that we cannot change. In general, most of us can’t cope, and might begin to believe that there is no way out of “irreconcilable” situations. The struggle, and the stress it induces, is real.
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), there is a variety of forms of stress around us at every moment. The prevalent forms are Acute Stress, Episodic Acute Stress, and Chronic Stress. Acute Stress is very common and happens over short periods of time. It could be emotional in nature, such as anger or depression, but also physical like headaches or back pain. Episodic Acute Stress is when some people live their lives in constant confusion. Essentially, these sufferers are overcommitted, per the APA. Chronic Stress happens when there seems to never be solutions to some folks’ problems.
Assistant professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, Jeremy Jamieson, researches how stress impacts decisions, emotions, and performance. His research suggests that when we pause to assess the stress we might be experiencing from a challenge we are facing, our bodies increase how the heart functions. By contrast, Jamieson says that stress is not always bad. In fact, that sensation of a racing heartbeat we all might experience from time-to-time is actually what your body should do.
My point is not to overromanticize an image, or to persuade you of the merits of oxygen. Trust me if I tell you that more oxygen to various parts of the body is very good!Instead, I am prompting you to wrestle with the idea that our entire existence is in sujuud.
I implore all of us to ponder: Whenever any of us feels the weight of our situations, in precarious times like the one we are living within, who should we call upon when stress is overwhelming us?! Is not the One who is the ideal of perfection at the same time the Most Compassionate, the Provider, and the Capable who we should rely upon? During these times of tribulation––or at any time––who can you trust? Murshid reminds us, “With trust in God, with goodwill, self-confidence, and a hopeful attitude towards life, one will always win the battle, however difficult.” Indeed, the One who arranges affairs, laid out the Earth like a carpet, and holds everything known and unknown in perfect balance is the most trustworthy. You do not have to touch your forehead to the ground to know any of this. Even so, the salient advice is to frequently turn to zikr. Deep breathing will unconsciously happen, and the medical community can attest to how our bodies benefit. Community, I remind you and myself that the One who is firm and forbearing is always ready to ease our difficulties.
Yaa Wakeel!
Lovingly,
MP
P.S. Please feel free to reach out to me at mp@inayatiyya.org so we might get to know each other better. Ask me questions, or just say “hello.”
In an Eastern Rose Garden turns us toward the ideal of freedom. All beings pursue freedom since freedom is an essential quality of the soul. Too often, however, one person’s purported freedom is achieved at the expense of that of someone else. A truer freedom arises from the realization of interconnectedness.
Over the next year, we will explore Hazrat Inayat Khan’s teachings on peace and creativity, freedom and friendship, aristocracy and democracy, the inner and the outer. The reconciliation of each of these pairs of seeming contraries lies the realization of the purpose for which we were created. More details and registration.
All friends, new and returning, are invited to join us as we explore the terminology of the Sufis as set out in A Glossary of Sufi Technical Terms by Abd al-Razzaq Qashani, a key textbook in Sufi circles for the last six and a half centuries. During each class, Pir Zia reviews the terms in alphabetical order, according to the original Arabic. Then he may also add terms unique to the lexicon of the Inayatiyya. Lexicon of the Sufis classes meet monthly, and we will keep classes to one hour so that they may easily fit into your busy life. Please join us! More details and registration.
The Dawn of Friendhood, turns our three-part Inner History series toward Sufism. In Inner History I & II we explored the rise of ancient civilizations and the missions of the prophets. Our investigations reached up to the life of the prophet Muhammad. This is the point where one gyre is completed and another begins. The age that next dawns is characterized by wilaya, friendship with God and creation. By tracing the history of Sufism, we will see how, century after century, Sufis have given shape to the growing contours of the Age of Friendhood.
The Dawn of Friendhood will shine a light on the history of Sufism, the changing forms that the Message takes through time, and the particular contribution of Hazrat Inayat Khan. All of this serves to situate us in the larger arc of the age-by-age transformation of human consciousness, and to prepare us for all that history’s further unfoldment will presently bring. More details and registration.
We reunite at the Astana, the Inayatiyya’s home in Richmond, Virginia, for a weekend on The Subtleties of Suhbat, with Pir Zia and special guest Shaykha Fariha of the Nur Askhi Jerrahi lineage of Sufism. Please come join us for the depth of Sufi Suhbat, interspersed with music, practice, sweets, and zikr. All are welcome, with options online and in-person. More details and registration.
Have you written a book or composed a piece of music you think our community would be interested in? If you have any news to share, please send it to zephyr@inayatiyya.org with the subject heading “News of the Caravan.” Photos are welcome.
The Zephyr is a monthly newsletter of the Inayatiyya, an interfaith mystical fellowship with branches worldwide. For more information, please visit us at inayatiyya.org.
