Inner History III – The Dawn of Friendhood

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.

Seven stages of Sufism span the gulf between the 7th and 21st centuries: Renunciation, Ecstasy, Gnosis and Chivalry, Systemization, Verification, Synthesis, and Message-renewal. Throughout, we will contemplate the legacies of our Sufi ancestors including Rābiʼa al-ʼAdawiyya, Hallaj, Ahmad Ghazali, Ibn ‘Arabi, Rumi, Mu’in al-Din Chishti, Nizam al-Din Awliya’, Shah Waliullah, Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan. 

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.

This program was guided by our Inner History faculty, including Omid Safi of Duke University, Marcia Hermansen of Habib University Karachi, and Pir Zia Inayat Khan, current lineage carrier within the Inayatiyya, and hosted by Deepa Patel, chair of the Inayatiyya International Board.

This is the third and final part of the Inner History series. It Includes 12 hours of audio and video + course notes.