Islam (general) & Orthodox Sufism

Rabia al-Adawiyya is a figure of myth. Certainly a woman by this name was born in Basra, Iraq, in the eighth century, but her life remains recorded only in legends, stories, poems and hagiographies.

Muslims are required to pray five times a day, but for too many

of us these are little more than physical movements devoid of any

spirit or divine connection? In contrast, the Prophet characterised prayer as the spiritual ascent

(mi'raj) of the believer. In a modern world of constant distraction,

Daisy Khan has spent her adult life, as the executive director of the Womens Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE), trying to educate and empower Muslim women.

According to Muhammad, “God is beautiful and He loves beauty.” Yet, Islam is rarely associated with beauty, and today, a politicized Islam dominates many perceptions.

Islamic philosophy and Sufism evolved as distinct yet interpenetrating strands of Islamic thought and practice. Despite differences, they have shared a concern with the perfection of the soul through the development of character.