Dear everyone,
I hope everyone is in the best of health and spirits.
Please note that there is no Zikr (meditation) on the 29th of August 2016 in Notting Hill Gate, due to the Notting Hill Carnival.
We hope to see you the week after (5th Sept) when Zikr will resume its regular schedule every Monday evening in Notting Hill Gate.
Wishing you a wonderful bank holiday weekend!
Dear all,
We have rescheduled our first Shoreditch Zikr to the 21st of July. Apologies for any inconvenience caused and we hope to see you there.
Here is a re-post of the event details:
We will be starting a new Zikr (Sufi Meditation) group in Shoreditch from the 21st July 2016. Initially the Zikr will run monthly and then hopefully weekly.
Briefly, Zikr is “Remembrance of God” and we do this through chanting the Most Beautiful Names of the Beloved, singing hymns and performing simple sacred movements – all accompanied with frame drumming.
Sufi Zikr (Shoreditch, London):
Thursday 21st July
7:15 PM – 9:00 PM
Kobi Nazrul Centre
30 Hanbury St, E1 6QR, London
(Meetup Link)
This is an open group for spiritual exploration in the widest sense with no prior knowledge required. We welcome everyone who comes in peace regardless of their faith/non-faith background.
For this first monthly event (21st July 2016) there will be a short workshop of Sufi chants and movements, and perhaps practising a Sufi song, before starting the zikr ceremony.
We can share tea and something nice to eat at the end. So if we each bring fruit or fresh bread and humous or cheese, what better way to taste the Divine.
Kobi Nazrul Centre is a pleasant walk from Liverpool St station down Brushfield St and Spitalfields market. Aldgate East and Shoreditch Overground are just as near.
Zikr is free to attend, and we suggest a small donation for those who are able (£4) to contribute towards the rent.
Our Zikr at Notting Hill Gate will continue every Monday as usual (Meetup Link) – we hope to see you in Notting Hill and/or in Shoreditch!
Dear all,
Shaykh Taner and his wife, Shaykha Muzeyyen Ansari, who are the Heads of our Sufi Order, will be visiting London from 16th – 29th October 2015.
We warmly welcome you to three events where they will be leading / giving talks – below is a summary of events, and we will also detail these events in subsequent posts.
In addition to the events, you can also contact us for private consultation and/or Sufi Healing. These are by appointment only. Please contact Shaykha Rita (07941 653337) or Shaykh Reeyaaz (07875569921)
UK Events (click the title of the event for more details)
It would be excellent to see you at the events. Please contact Shaykha Rita (07941 653337) or Shaykh Reeyaaz (07875569921) for any queries on the events or private/healing appointments.
Dear all,
We are pleased to announce that Shaykh Taner and Shaykha Muzeyyen Ansari, leaders of our Sufi Order, will be leading Zikr (Meditation) on the 19th and 26th October.
Date: 19th and 26th October, Mondays
Venue: Essex Unitarian Church, 112 Palace Gardens Terrace, London W8 4RT
They will present a talk and have a questions and answer session. This will be followed by Zikr (Meditation) and then dinner.
We greatly look forward to seeing you there.
A note on the Islamic Calendar
Sufis can think of the calendar as a way to observe Allah. Often when we are caught up in daily tasks and routines we consume time blindly. Special months and holy days help us to stop living automatically and pay more attention to what Allah is sharing with us all the time.
“My servants annoy Me when they complain about time, for I am time (ana ad-‐dahr); in My hand is the day and the night”. — hadith qudsi
Special days can help us contemplate the meaning of this hadith qudsi. The calendar is one means of noticing His qualities and actions in time and how they permeate everything.
The Month of Sha’ban
The month of Sha’ban (the eighth month of the Islamic Calendar) has its own special qualities. For the pre-‐Islamic Arabs, it was called the month of separation, when the tribes and clans would disperse in search of water or grasslands for their flocks.
According to our pir Abdul Qadir al-‐Geylani (may Allah sanctify his secret), the month is particularly associated with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and so is an occasion to remember him more and do more salawat.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to observe a lot of optional fast days in the first half of Sha’ban, more than any other month. In the last half of Sha’ban, he did not fast, as Ramadan is approaching.
A narrative holds that in a sermon, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “O people! Lighten and cleanse your bodies by way of fasting in Sha’ban, so that it shall be easy and helpful to you for the fast during Ramadan. Whoso fasts for three days during Sha’ban, all his past sins are wiped away.”
Holy Day & Night: Sha’ban 14-15, 1436 / June 1-2, 2015 — Nisfu Sha’ban (mid-Sha’ban)
The night when all sins are forgiven if prayed with sincerity. A blessed day to fast. Starts on Sha’ban 14 after sundown and ends at dusk on Sha-ban 15.
For this Holy Day do the following zikr:
1001 Estaughfirallah (trans: I ask for Your forgiveness)
501 Ya Gafur Ya Awf (Gafur: Forgiver, Hider of Faults or Shame; Awf: Forgiver)
Ansari Qadiri Rifai Sufi Order - UK 