The Prophets of Our Being
The Illuminated Souls in World History and Inner Experience
With Pir Zia Inayat Khan, Marcia Hermansen, Omid Safi & Deepa Gulrukh Patel
November 15th – 17th, 2024 via Zoom
In the second installment of our Inner History series, we will survey the seeds planted by illuminated prophets and sages in many parts of the world from the Copper Age to Late Antiquity. We will discern the hand of the Spirit of Guidance in the world’s history, and see how our own awakening is an outgrowth of the revelations brought through the trailblazers of the human journey to the Infinite.
Moses, Krishna, Orpheus, Tara, Kuan Yin, Odin, Quetzelcoatl, Spider Woman, Mary, Jesus, Muhammad, and many others live in us, and live more powerfully when we remember them. When we discover the prophets of our being, our own destiny comes into clear focus.
Please join Pir Zia again with special guest teachers Omid Safi and Marcia Hermansen, with Gulrukh Patel as the host of the series. This course is designed such that each of the programs may be attended by itself, or all together as a three-part series. A third and final installment is scheduled for November 14-16, 2025 on the topic “The Saga of the Sufis: From Imam ‘Ali to Hazrat Inayat Khan.”
This program is specifically designed for Inayatiyya Inner School Leaders, Universal Worship Cherags & clergy of all faiths, Suluk graduates, scholars, and all those drawn to exploring the esoteric dimensions of the inner life.
This is the second in a series of programs exploring our esoteric origins, with this second one on the contributions of the prophets. If you missed last year’s initial program called “Inner History: The Garden of Eden to the Tower of Babel” it is now available via our multimedia web store.
Daily Schedule
Our schedule each day will be as follows. Even though we are gathering online, the below times are based on the time in Richmond, Virginia (EST) and Suresnes, France (CET). Please check the corresponding time for your area at timeanddate.com/worldclock.
FRIDAY & SATURDAY
North American East Coast
9:00 am Opening
9:15 am Pir Zia
10:30 am Break
11:00 am Marcia Hermansen
12:15 pm Break
2:00 pm Omid Safi
3:15 pm Closing
Central Europe
3:00 pm Opening
3:15 pm Pir Zia
4:30 pm Break
5:00 pm Marcia Hermansen
6:15 pm Break
8:00 pm Omid Safi
9:15 pm Closing
SUNDAY
North American East Coast
9:00 am Opening
9:15 am Pir Zia
10:20 am Break
10:50 am Marcia Hermansen
12:00 pm Break
1:30 pm Omid Safi
2:35 pm Break
2:45 pm Closing Reflections
3:45 Closing
Central Europe
3:00 pm Opening
3:15 pm Pir Zia
4:20 pm Break
4:50 pm Marcia Hermansen
6:00 pm Break
7:30 pm Omid Safi
8:35 pm Break
8:45 pm Closing Reflections
9:45 pm Closing
Registration Details
General tuition is $230 for the three-day program, including video and audio recordings. There is also a limited income/student rate of $150.
Our program is offered in English, Francais, Deutsch & Turkish. Discounts are available for those from particular nations due to currency valuation. These nations include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Turkiye. If your nation is listed, or if you feel your nation should be listed, please contact us for details.
If you have any questions or needs related to the Inner History Series, please email us at astana@inayatiyya.org.
Future Sessions
The next session for Inner History will take part November 14-16, 2025. As shared above, please register for any or all sessions. They are open to any and every one with advance registration.
Faculty
Pir Zia Inayat Khan, Ph.D., 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 Immortality: A Traveler’s Guide; Dream Flowers: The Collected Works of Noor Inayat Khan with a Critical Commentary by Pir Zia Inayat Khan; Mingled Waters: Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions; and Saracen Chivalry: Counsels on Valor, Generosity and the Mystical Quest. He is editor of Caravan of Souls: An Introduction to the Sufi Path of Hazrat Inayat Khan and A Pearl in Wine: Essays in the Life, Music and Sufism of Hazrat Inayat Khan. Pir Zia divides his time between Richmond, Virginia and Suresnes, France.
Prof. Marcia Hermansen is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Islamic World Studies at Loyola University Chicago. Her areas of research include Sufism, classical and contemporary Islamic thought, Muslims in America, Islam and Muslims in South Asia, Shah Wali Allah studies, and women and gender in Islam. Her writings include several translations from Persian and Arabic of the works of Shah Wali Allah of Delhi (d. 1762) whose analysis of sacred history and spiritual development is especially germane to the topics that will be covered here. Her approach combines practical experience and study of Sufism in the Chishti lineage with the academic study of the classical Sufi tradition and she has recently co-edited the volumes Varieties of American Sufism and Sufism in Western Contexts.
Prof. Omid Safi is a teacher in the Sufi tradition of Radical Love & Founder of Illuminated Courses & Tours. His online, video-based courses range from Sufi approaches to the Qur’an to Rumi. The Illuminated Tours offer spiritually oriented tours to Turkey and Morocco. 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, Rabbi Heschel, and Malcolm X. He has been invited by the family of Dr. King to speak at Ebenezer Church on the relevance of Dr. King for today’s America, and has delivered the Martin Luther King keynote in the annual national MLK service. illuminatedcourses.com
Deepa Gulrukh Patel is a professional facilitator with a specialty in interdisciplinary collaboration with a focus on the arts, social justice, conversation, and living a contemplative life. She was born in Kenya to Indian parents and lives in England. This experience has shaped both her professional and personal life. Deepa has worked as a youth worker, in the field of cultural diversity, as a live music producer, and in music education with the BBC. Her current work is with The London College of Fashion, UNHCR, the University of Sheffield in refugee camps in Jordan and Africa, and with the Fetzer Institute on two projects, one on creating sacred space in the virtual world and the other on their shared spiritual heritage project. Deepa is a spiritual guide and teacher in the Inayatiyya and co-chair of the Inayatiyya International Board. She is also the chair of the Tamasha Theatre Company, an advisor to the Loss Foundation, a cancer and COVID bereavement support service, and to the Charis Foundation for New Monasticism and Interspirituality on their interfaith dialogue projects. Deepa serves as host of, and advisor to, our Inner History series.
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 the author of Immortality: A Traveler’s Guide; Mingled Waters: Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions; Saracen Chivalry: Counsels on Valor, Generosity and the Mystical Quest; and the editor and compiler of Dream Flowers: The Collected Works of Noor Inayat Khan, for which he also wrote the critical introduction. Pir Zia divides his time between Richmond, Virginia and Suresnes, France. inayatiyya.org
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Omid SafiOmid Safi is a teacher in the Sufi tradition of Radical Love & Founder of Illuminated Courses & Tours. His online, video-based courses range from Sufi approaches to the Qur’an to Rumi. The Illuminated Tours offer spiritually oriented tours to Turkey and Morocco. 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, Rabbi Heschel, and Malcolm X. He has been invited by the family of Dr. King to speak at Ebenezer Church on the relevance of Dr. King for today’s America, and has delivered the Martin Luther King keynote in the annual national MLK service.
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Deepa Gulrukh PatelDeepa Gulrukh Patel is a professional facilitator with a specialty in interdisciplinary collaboration with a focus on the arts, social justice, conversation, and living a contemplative life. She was born in Kenya to Indian parents and lives in England. This experience has shaped both her professional and personal life. Deepa has worked as a youth worker, in the field of cultural diversity, as a live music producer, and in music education with the BBC. Her current work is with The London College of Fashion, UNHCR, the University of Sheffield in refugee camps in Jordan and Africa, and with the Fetzer Institute on two projects, one on creating sacred space in the virtual world and the other on their shared spiritual heritage project. Deepa is a spiritual guide and teacher in the Inayatiyya and co-chair of the Inayatiyya International Board. She is also the chair of the Tamasha Theatre Company, an advisor to the Loss Foundation, a cancer and COVID bereavement support service, and to the Charis Foundation for New Monasticism and Interspirituality on their interfaith dialogue projects. Deepa serves as host of, and advisor to, our Inner History series.
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Marcia HermansenProf. Marcia Hermansen is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Islamic World Studies at Loyola University Chicago. Her areas of research include Sufism, classical and contemporary Islamic thought, Muslims in America, Islam and Muslims in South Asia, Shah Wali Allah studies, and women and gender in Islam. Her writings include several translations from Persian and Arabic of the works of Shah Wali Allah of Delhi (d. 1762) whose analysis of sacred history and spiritual development is especially germane to the topics that will be covered here. Her approach combines practical experience and study of Sufism in the Chishti lineage with the academic study of the classical Sufi tradition and she has recently co-edited the volumes Varieties of American Sufism and Sufism in Western Contexts.
