Book Launch Party and Reading

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Alhamdulillah!

The Book Launch Party and Reading for the Sufi novel Sang Raja Jin – Master of the Jinn in Indonesian Bahasa, will be held, inshallah, in the offices of Nun Publisher (Jln. Ampera Raya Gg. Kancil No. 15, Jakarta Selatan, 12550, Telephone: +62 21 78847301:

Saturday, February 16th - at Hour: 15.00 WIB – (3:00 pm).

Four prominent Indonesian literary figures will read selections from Sang Raja Jin: Nuruddin Asyhadie, a renowned poet and author, Anton Kurnia, a well known literary critic, Siska Widyawati, a Sufi dervish and journalist, and Meithya Rose Prasetya, a writer and lover of mystical works.

And many journalists and critics have been invited.

For more information, click HERE.

Ya Haqq!

  • rudisa

Feb 10: Sufi Celebration: The Hidden Angles of Life

I think that many of us would enjoy this enlightening and fun event. :)


Sufi Celebration: The Hidden Angles of Life

Returning to Los Angeles for the second annual event, MTO Sufi Association is presenting "Sufi Celebration" at the USC Bovard Auditorium on Sunday, 7 pm February 10, 2008. This year's program, "The Hidden Angles of Life" features the exuberant and uplifting Sufi chanting called Zikr, demonstrations of Movazeneh -- the practice of harmonizing and balancing the body, as well as captivating speeches on Sufism and its manifestations in the arts and sciences, and inspiring poetry renderings. The night tops off with gourmet appetizers, pastries, and refreshments amid the festive informal reception in the lobby.

Using both traditional and modern instruments such as the tar, setar, guitar, keyboard, daf, and tombak, the students of MTO Sufi Association have achieved an enchanting unique fusion of musical styles to accompany the Sufi chanting or Zikr. Last year's program, "Calling for the Beloved", which was presented to a sold out audience at UCLA in April 2007, the Sufi Zikr Performers were the highlight of the evening. Zikr, which is at the same time revitalizing, exhilarating, and soothing, is a fundamental practice of students of MTO Shah Maghsoudi.

In the teachings of Sufism, the true human being is considered as the perfect image of existence and Sufis are generally regarded as "Mystics". This mystical experience is associated with a sense of tranquility, unity, compassion, love, and knowledge.

The results of Sufism are found in some of the world's greatest literature and mystical love poetry, numerous artistic creations, and scientific discoveries. Rumi, the most renowned Sufi of all time, is well known in the West and has been the bestselling poet in the United States over the past decade. Sufism is not a historical relic, but a living reality attainable in contemporary everyday life, beyond any boundaries of gender, race, culture, religion or economics. It teaches one to move beyond societies' seemingly insurmountable stresses.

For more information and tickets, including group discounts, call (310) 529-5389, email sufism@usc.edu, or visit the Sufi Association Celebration website at http://www.SufiAssociation.org/SufiCelebration/USC/

The Prayer of Guidance

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

The Prophet (pbuh) has said:

“If one of you is concerned about some practical undertaking, or about making plans for a journey, he should perform two Rakats (cycles) of voluntary prayer. Then he should say the following dua:”

O Allah! I seek Your guidance by virtue of Your knowledge, and I seek ability by virtue of Your power, and I ask You of Your great bounty. You have power; I have none. And You know; I know not. You are the Knower of hidden things.

O Allah! If in Your knowledge this matter is good for my religion, my livelihood and my affairs, immediate and in the future, then ordain it for me, make it easy for me, and bless it for me. And if in Your knowledge this matter is bad for my religion, my livelihood and my affairs, immediate and in the future, then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it. And ordain for me the good wherever it may be, and make me content with it.

- Called the Salat-ul-Istikhara, or The Prayer of Guidance, it is adapted from the excellent and beneficial Simply Islam blog.

Ya Haqq!

From the Darvish blog.