Living in the World—A Sufi Retreat w/ Pir Zia and Friends
Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, New York
Sunday, June 22 to Friday, June 27, 2025
The world shall live in me, not I in it. — Akhlak-e Jalali
An aim of Sufism is to learn and practice how to live in the world yet not of the world. Over five days, we will live in friendship and community, while also exploring what it means to cultivate the inner qualities of stillness, of guidance, and of unity with all that exists.
In the mornings we will be in silence, and in the afternoons expand out into spiritual discourse, music, whirling, and zikr—all Sufi practices of sacred remembrance.
Pir Zia welcomes guest teachers Omid Safi, Ayeda Husain, Sara Tarana Jobin & Shams al Haqq Farzad Attar. This is our third year at Omega with a growing community of musicians, zakirs, whirlers, spiritual practitioners, and friends. All are invited and welcome to join us!
Please visit Omega Institute online for registration and housing details. They will take good care of you!
BIOGRAPHY
Pir Zia Inayat Khan, PhD, carries the Sufi lineage of his grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan. He is president of the Inayatiyya and founder of Sulūk Academy, and author of a variety of books on Sufi traditions and wisdom. inayatiyya.org
Nizam un Nisa Ayeda Husain is a senior teacher and guide in the Inayatiyya, teaches Sufi meditation, chanting, and philosophy with an emphasis on Rumi’s poetry as a means of healing and evolving. thesufitarot.com
Omid Safi, founder of Illuminated Courses & Tours, is a professor at Duke University specializing in Islamic spirituality and contemporary thought. illuminatedcourses.com
Shams al Haqq Farzad Attar Jafari is classically trained in the practice of sama—inner listening. A graduate of Sulūk Academy, he serves Sufi communities in Canada through Rumi Canada. rumicanada.ca
Sara Tarana Jobin is a trained opera conductor and musician dedicated to the musical legacy of Hazrat Inayat Khan.
Speakers
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Pir Zia Inayat KhanPir Zia Inayat Khan, PhD, is a scholar of religion and teacher of Sufism in the universalist Sufi lineage of his grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan. Pir Zia is president of the Inayatiyya and founder of Sulūk Academy, a school of Sufi contemplative study and practice.
He is author of Tears from the Mother of the Sun with visual artist Amruta Patil, Immortality: A Traveler’s Guide; Mingled Waters: Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions; and Saracen Chivalry: Counsels on Valor, Generosity and the Mystical Quest. Pir Zia divides his time between Richmond, Virginia and Suresnes, France. -
Tarana JobinTarana Jobin is one of the founding vice presidents of the Inayatiyya’s Music Activity. She has a long career as an opera conductor and continues to freelance professionally. As a student of Sufism since 2010 and graduate of Sulūk Academy, Tarana is dedicated to reviving the musical legacy of Hazrat Inayat Khan and sharing it with all who find a home in his teachings.
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Shams al Haqq FarzadShams al Haqq Farzad is classically trained in the practice of sama. He has extensively studied Sufi whirling, sama meditation, as well as mysticism and Persian mystical poetry of Sufism. He curated and has taken part in many spiritual music ceremonies and sama presentations with organizations such as the Aga Khan Museum. Farzad serves the Sufi communities in Canada, presenting some of their work through Rumi Canada. He is also a student within the Inayatiyya and a graduate of Sulūk Academy.
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Nizam un Nisa Ayeda HusainNizam un Nisa Ayeda Husain is a senior teacher and guide in the Inayatiyya. A long-time journalist specializing in Sufism with a double masters in journalism and Near Eastern studies from NYU, she teaches Sufi meditation, chanting, and philosophy with a special emphasis on Rumi’s poetry as a means of healing and evolving. Ayeda has run Sufi centers in her hometown of Lahore, Pakistan; in Dubai, where she once lived; and in Oakville, Ontario where she lives and works. She has led spiritual retreats worldwide, taught Sufi meditation to Buddhist monks in Tokyo, and has been invited to the United Nations as part of an international delegation of spiritual leaders.
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Omid SafiOmid Safi is a teacher in the Sufi tradition of radical love and founder of Illuminated Courses & Tours. His online, video-based courses range from Sufi approaches to the Qur’an to Rumi. He is a professor at Duke University specializing in Islamic spirituality and contemporary thought. His Memories of Muhammad is an award-winning biography of the Prophet Muhammad. His most recent book is Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition. Omid is also deeply committed to liberationist prophetic traditions in the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Malcolm X.
