“As fire when not kindled gives only smoke, but when kindled, the illuminating flame springs forth, so it is with love.” – Hazrat Inayat Khan
4 November 2025
Dear Friends,
Across spiritual traditions, there is one place to which seekers have always fled, or been led: the desert. The desert is not silent. It speaks in flames and stillness. Its fire refines, not destroys.
It is a place of stripping down and of searing light. It is where the soul, scorched by Divine fire, finds its real shape. In the desert, there is no shadow to hide in, no water to mirror illusions. One walks into the open, and becomes transparent.
The desert is the realm of fire – not only the burning sun but the inner fire that consumes falsehood and kindles the lamp of gnosis. This is the fire that illuminated the heart of Moses when he beheld the Burning Bush on Mount Sinai – a flame that burned but did not consume. It is the fire invoked by Zoroastrian priests, the fire of purification, longing, and divine yearning.
And in Sufism, it is said that the nafs – the ego-self – must pass through the desert of discipline before it can behold the oasis of Unity.
This is why, as part of our spiritual campaign honoring sacred landscapes, we now turn our attention to the desert and the fire it bears.
The desert may appear barren, but inwardly it overflows. It is in the desert that the heart becomes a hearth. In the heat of its stillness, we encounter the mystery of our own being. We remember that fire is not merely destruction – it is transmutation.
Perhaps you, too, have passed through deserts. Long seasons of waiting. Passages of spiritual dryness. Times when your inner work felt invisible, fruitless, and exposed.
But as the mystics remind us: what survives the desert is real.
The Inayatiyya is devoted to sustaining spaces where the fire of the spirit is not extinguished but honored – where seekers can be held in sacred community through their trials, their transformations, and their rekindling.
Together, our community has already kindled $74,767 toward our $200,000 goal. With $125,233 still needed by December 31st, every spark of generosity helps bring us closer to keeping this sacred flame burning bright into the new year.
Your gift supports this vital work:
Already, 75 friends and companions have added their light to this shared fire. If each member of our community of thousands offered even a modest gift, we would quickly reach our goal and continue this work with strength and grace.
As the desert refines the heart, so too can your support fuel the flame of this work – keeping alive the warmth and wisdom that guide so many on the path.
Give today, and help the fire of the spirit continue to burn bright.
Let us not shy away from the fire. Let us walk into it as mystics have always done… not to be consumed, but to be revealed.
With warmth and devotion,
Josh & Tajalli
on behalf of the Inayatiyya Fall Appeal 2025 Committee
Nazish Riaz, Board Chair | Ambreen Coombs, Treasurer | Nilufar Maryam Hasnaa, Board Member | Mika’il Petin, Executive Director | Tajalli Roselli, Astana Staff | Josh Octaviani, Astana Staff
The Inayatiyya is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization (Tax ID #23-7159641). Your donation may be fully deductible for tax purposes per United States IRS guidelines. Please note that donations made by check must be received by Friday, December 26th to be considered as within 2025. If you would like to make a donation by mail, please send it to Inayatiyya, 112 E Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23219.
