Love – the essence of life – is everywhere there is life. Love is the essence of life. We have it. It’s the very substance we are made of. That’s why we look for it, but we should look for it in us, not outside of us. Love’s conclusion is happiness. To get…
Read More Love: The Essence of LIfe
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ spoke of Four Evil Characteristics: envy, anger, stubbornness & arrogance. Envy is the mother of all evil characteristics. This video is the first in a new series that is a logical continuation of our earlier videos on the Four Enemies of the Soul, as defined by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Rasulullah ﷺ…
Read More Four Evil Characteristics: Envy is the 1st
“I’m spiritual but not religious.” Many people say they want spirituality without religion. But does that work? In this short talk on the Spiritual Quest and Religious Rituals, Sidi Farhat Jouini looks at what spirituality really is. Are rituals important? Is there something about religious rituals you might be missing? TRANSCRIPT Assalam alaikoum wa…
Read More The Spiritual Quest and Religious Rituals
Hawa, Loss of Direction is the 4th video in a series entitled THE 4 ENEMIES OF THE SOUL. In it, Sidi Farhat Jouini talks about “hawa” which is the Arabic word to denote the pursuit of vain desires, or the loss of direction throughout life. We recommend that you watch all the videos in…
Read More The 4 Enemies of the Soul: Hawa, Loss of Direction (EoS_4)
In this 3rd video in THE 4 ENEMIES OF THE SOUL series, Sidi Farhat Jouini talks about dunya, the world of illusion. Video 1 in the series is Ego, Illegitimate Child of Our Soul & Our Worst Enemy (EoS_1). Video 2 is The Four Enemies of the Soul: shaitan asta`idhu billah (EoS_2). Rasulullah ﷺ said…
Read More The 4 Enemies of the Soul: Dunya, The World of Illusion (EoS_3)
Dervish Nation is compiling a list of recommended articles on Islam and Sufism. The articles appear in no particular order, as we come across them. We hope this list will grow over time, to become a useful resource. If you would like to suggest a good article for us to add, please use the comments…
Read More Recommended Articles – Islamic and Sufi
What is a Sohbet? Shaykh Nazim al Haqqani explains the meaning of sohbet. The English language is often inadequate hen it comes to describing spiritual states of mind. Sohbet, in Sufism, is a spiritual transaction between teacher and student which relies on ancient oral storytelling traditions and practices. Mystical knowledge and Devotional Love is transmitted…
Read More What does “Sohbet” Mean?
Eid Greetings and Best Wishes from Sidi Farhat and Mama Habiba.
Read More Eid Greetings and Best Wishes – عيد مبارك
Ask to Remain in Ramadhan’s Mercy Oceans After Ramadhan A talk by Mawlana Shaykh Nazim al Haqqani at the end of Ramadhan 1984 Now, Alhamdulillah, another night of Ramadhan has passed, and our egoes are saying, “One more (day) is gone, one more (day) is gone of Holy Ramadhan.” Our souls are crying, but our…
Read More O My Lord, Leave my Heart to be in Ramadhan! – Shaykh Nazim
In this second video in a series on the Four Enemies of the Soul, Sidi Farhat speaks about our second enemy, shaitan asta`idhu billah. Before getting into the topic, he explains why he calls the ego the illigitimate child of soul in the first video in this series, Ego, Our Worst Enemy, the Illegitimate…
Read More The Four Enemies of the Soul: shaitan asta`idhu billah (EoS_2)
Sidi Farhat explains how and why the Last Testament is the active spiritual energy in our time, whether people accept and believe it, or not. Our teacher, Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, often referred to the Holy Qur’an as the Last Testament, as it is the final part, the conclusion, of the revelation of Allah ﷻ…
Read More The Last Testament as Healing Energy
Travelling Home: Essays on Islam in Europe Travelling Home: Essays on Islam in Europe by Abdal Hakim Murad was published by Quilliam Press in May 2020. In the video above (well worth watching!) Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad says his new book, Travelling Home: Essays on Islam in Europe, goes into a number of hot topics…
Read More Travelling Home by Abdal Hakim Murad – Reviews
In this video, the first in a series on the Four Enemies of the Soul, Sidi Farhat gives a unique perspective on the Ego, Our Worst Enemy. Rasulullah ﷺ said we have four enemies, not more. The four enemies are: Ego Shaitan, lower, evil energy Dunya, love of materiality Hawa, vain desires, vain directions…
Read More Ego, Our Worst Enemy, the Illegitimate Child of the Soul (EoS_1)
Here is some of the Ramadan fastbreaking music we like to listen to at iftar time. The clip above is a favourite in the Arab world, by the Egyptian reciter and munshid Sheikh Sayed El Nakshbandy. Its title is مولاي إني ببابك قد بسطت يدي or O My Lord, I am at Your Door,…
Read More Ramadan Fastbreaking Music – أناشيد الإفطار
In a recent Instagram Live, Sidi Farhat Jouini was invited by some social media influencers from Central Asia to talk about how to be happy in the Corona and post-Corona era. The video is in English with Russian translation. В недавнем Instagram Live Сиди Фархат Джоуини была приглашена некоторыми влиятельными лицами в социальных сетях…
Read More Spiritual and Practical Advice for a Time of Crisis
Today is the anniversary of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim’s journey into eternal happiness. He left in 2014. During more than 30 years of following him, his horizon seemed to grow higher and further every day. One could not find the words to describe what he made us to witness about Allah, about his prophet and about…
Read More Mawlana Shaykh Nazim, Our Teacher
The Naqshbandi Haqqani Salawat invocation recited here by Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (qaddas Allahu sirrah) was given by Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ in a vision of Grandshaykh Sharafuddin ad-Daghestani, who said: “Reciting this even once in your lifetime is heavier on your scale than if all creation stood for 24 hours reciting salawat.” Here’s the Arabic…
Read More Haqqani Salawat recited by Shaykh Nazim
People are of two kinds. Givers and takers. Who of these two are the believers? Being a true believer is a vanguard alternative-generating act. Watch to the end for a couple of LOL moments with Sidi Farhat and Mama Habiba. ? ? This is our second, and final, video from 2018.
Read More Of Givers and Takers… and Butterflies
In their 1st video ever – made in 2018 – Sidi Farhat and Mama Habiba talk about happiness, and what it is to be happy. It’s a light-hearted video and at times funny. So many people ask how to be happy in life. How to be happier? There’s a simple solution. #whatishappiness #howtobehappy #knowthyself
Read More Happiness and Knowing Ourselves
Our memory, our selves. We need our real history in order to know ourselves. We need our real history to define our future. We need our real history to manage our present. From the dawn of humanity, a preferred tool of our oppressors and a privileged tool of evil is the rewriting of our…
Read More Our Memory, Our Selves: Real vs Re-Written History
Below is a short list of films and TV series we recommend. The Message heads the list, of course, as it is a well-loved classic on the life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. After that, no particular order is followed. All are great. In Dervish Nation Resources, we intend to provide multilingual references for good films,…
Read More Recommended Films – Islamic and Sufi
Ertugrul in Urdu was just a matter of time. Not only has Ertugrul Ghazi now arrived in Pakistan, but he also speaks Urdu! Pakistan TV is broadcasting the Turkish series Resurrection: Ertugrul, with Urdu dubbing, in its primetime Ramadan viewing slot this year. Ertugrul in Urdu seems to be an instant hit, judging from…
Read More Dirilis Ertugrul in Urdu, Fully Dubbed
By Mama Habiba – Where do you start if you’re looking to learn about the key concepts in Islam? The oceans of spritual knowledge and wisdom are so vast, that even a lifetime of study is not enough! In Ramadan 2020, where people are in forced seclusion and have time to devote to learnng,…
Read More Key Concepts in Islam: CMC Lecture Series
How to read Quran if you don’t know Arabic? Mama Habiba suggests a simple way to listen and read a translation of the Holy Quran at the same time. She explains how to use a simple app so that speakers of different languages can explore the Holy Quran and start understanding its meanings. Many…
Read More How to read Quran if you don’t know Arabic
It’s important to make peace with your past, to open new doors. How can you listen to your heart and hear what it’s saying, if you don’t clean it first? How can your heart be a reliable sounding board if it is cluttered with old stuff from the past?
Read More Make peace with your past, to open new doors.
After centuries of focusing more on scientific pursuits than spirituality, how can we best approach belief in the Unseen? What does authentic spiritual belief look like, and what are the traps? TRANSCRIPT Ahlan. Salam alaikoum. Allah Allah, Allah Allah, Allah Allah, Azeez Allah. A’uthu billahi min ash-shaytani-r rajeem. Bismillahi-r Rahmani-r Raheem. La hawla wa…
Read More What is Believing in the Unseen?
April 17, 2020 / Sha‘bān 24, 1441 – After fajr prayer, Shayk Mehmet Adil ar Rabbani gave the following short talk at Akbaba Dergah, Istanbul. As-Salāmu ‘alaykum wa raḥmatu Llāh. A‘ūdhu bi-Llāhi mina sh-Shayṭāni r-rajīm. Waṣ-ṣalātu wa s-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlinā Muḥammadin Sayyidi l-Awwalīna wa l-Ākhirīn. Madad yā Rasūla Llāh, madad yā Sādāti Aṣḥābi Rasūli Llāh, madad…
Read More Beautiful Days are Coming — Shaykh Mehmet Ar Rabbani
By Mama Habiba ? Reciting Salat ul-Fatih—the Benedictions of the Opener (or Victor)—is said to open the doors of sustenance, happiness, health and wisdom, and remove negativity that sometimes surrounds people On this page, you’ll find the meaning and translation of Salat ul-Fatih and eight YouTube versions of it, including two recitations by Shaykh Nazim…
Read More What is Salat ul-Fatih? – Meaning & Videos
In this short talk after Fajr prayer on April 10, 2020, Shaykh Mehmet Adil ar Rabbani comments on everyone’s forced seclusion for the sake of Allah, saying it may come to an end soon insha’Allah. As-Salāmu ‘alaykum wa raḥmatu Llāh. A‘ūdhu bi-Llāhi mina sh-Shayṭāni r-rajīm. Waṣ-ṣalātu wa s-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlinā Muḥammadin Sayyidi l-Awwalīna wa l-Ākhirīn.…
Read More In Seclusion for the Sake of Allah – Shaykh Mehmet
Mama Habiba here, with a few thoughts on how to approach the Noble Qur’an. That’s too big a topic for this post, of course. But I thought at least I could tell you about my favourite Qur’an app. As a non-native Arabic speaker and student of Islam, I’ve been using the free iQuran Lite—and…
Read More A Good Qur’an App for your Phone or Desktop
Talk by Shaykh Nazim Al-Haqqani ق in 1984 Who Is Son of Adam? Bismillahi r-Rahmani r-Rahim. La hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi-l Aliyy-ul Azeem. We are listening what coming from our Spiritual Central. Spiritual headquarters, what saying we are listening. Allah Almighty gives us ear for listening, giving eyes for looking, giving heart for…
Read More Confronting Transhumanism and Neo-Nihilism
Wisdom of the Believer: Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad (Timothy Winter), Dean of Cambridge Muslim College, shares his perspective on the humbling phenomenon of the coronavis pandemic. Sidi Abdal Hakim delivers (yet another) eloquent commentary on human society in our times, prompting us to further reflect and re-prioritize our lives, beliefs and connection with the…
Read More Wisdom of the Believer: Sidi Abdal Hakim Murad Comments on the Pandemic
Maulana Shaykh Nazim al Haqqani said, one day in 1999: “The spirit of all acts of worship consists of three points: To keep your tongue from all prohibited speaking, speaking only good words, not bad. To keep your eyes from looking at prohibited things, dirty places and actions. To keep all your organs from prohibited…
Read More The Spirit of All Acts of Worship
April 4, 2020 – After morning prayer at Akbaba Dergah, Istanbul, Shaykh Mehmet Adil Ar-Rabbani gave the following advice. بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم “فاستبشروا ببيعكم” “Fastabshirū bi-bay‘ikum” – Qur’ān 9:111 “So rejoice in your transaction (bay‘)” Allah tells us to give glad tidings always. He says, “Give glad tidings.” When our lives are successful in…
Read More “Be Happy, Don’t Fear!” – Shaykh Mehmet Adil ar-Rabbani
Words from Maulana Shaykh Nazim al Haqqani “We all know that the Lord of Heavens created four seasons on Earth, and of those seasons, spring is known for its rain; there is something very special and valuable about spring rain which falls in March, April and May. Yet the most precious month of spring is…
Read More The Secret of April’s Rain
Subtitles: English, Russian, русский TRANSCRIPT A’uthu billahi min ash-shaytani-r rajeem. Bismillahi-r Rahmani-r Raheem. La hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi-l aliyyi-l atheem . Welcome to you. Welcome! May our days, may your days be days of happiness, be days of honour, be days of peace, be days of goodness! May our days and your…
Read More Rebirth in April: What an Honour to Witness Times of Crisis!
Subtitiles: English, Russian, русский “What should I do?” That’s a question we often hear from people who are seeking a spiritual path but come from this or that tradition, or have a certain tradition in their family background.
Read More How Do the Different Spiritual Traditions Relate to Each Other?
Subtitles: English, Russian, русский Humbleness is the one golden ingredient in learning about ourselves and having a meaningful life leading to healing and happiness. Sidi Farhat Jouini speaks about what it means to be humble, and how humbleness can direct the course of our life. Humbleness is the first step to wisdom. TRANSCRIPT Happy…
Read More Humbleness as a Pre-Condition to a Meaningful Life
Subtitles: English Humanity is entering a period of guidance and awakening, where people—those who are paying attention—will find peace of mind, and healing of bodies and hearts. In normal life, many of us have little time to stop and think. But now we do. And it’s a gift. The coronavirus era is a demanding…
Read More How to achieve peace of mind in an era of stress (and coronavirus anxiety)
Welcome to You! A quick hello, to let you know we’re beginning to launch Dervish Nation, to honour the order of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ : Ad-deen an-naseeha The spirit of the revelation is to share good advice. Over the next days, weeks and months, we hope to convey some of what we learned from our…
Read More Salam. Hello. Bonjour.