Request for stories about Baba plus some videos.

Hu, Erenler! Sorry I haven't posted in a little while. It is so nice to see that some people are actually reading this, and to my great happiness, they are all over the world. Alhamdullillah. So thank you so much for your comments. Cok tessekur ederim! Shukran jazilan! Jazakallah khayr.

so, onto the posting for today.


This is the turbe of Ummi Sinan in Turkey:



The Sinani are a branch of the Halveti tarikat, founded by one of Sherif Baba's favorite saints, Ummi Sinan. As many of you know, the current guide of that order is a woman. I have not, so far, been lucky enough to travel to the Ummi Sinan tekke, but I've heard stories of wonderful experiences from people who went there with Baba. I'd love to hear anything like that. So if anyone has nice stories about Baba, please feel free to post them in comments.

Here's a nice video of a Kadiri dhikr-- you can see several different styles in it:



for those of you who have never attended a dhikr before, I would like to just mention that though some of the practices may appear a little odd from the outside, much of the physical action involved has to to with breath control. It is in this way somewhat similar to some techniques in certain styles of yoga. The more important element, however, is certainly the repetition of the Names themselves. Sufis of various orders have many different styles of doing this, individually and collectively. In addition to these kinds of group ritual dhikr, most Sufis also recite the Names silently throughout the day.
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Here is some of a small Rifa'i dhikr somewhere--- you can't really see anyone but the main singer, but these are nice salawats (praises of the Prophet, p.b.u.h).

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Hu...

Rifa'i Marufi/Mevlevi video-- Aziz

This is Aziz-- a student of Sherif Baba (Rifa'i Marufi) and Jalaluddin Loras (Mevlevi) in the interview. The dhikr and sema footage if from the Rumi Festival that used to happen every year in Chapel Hill, NC. This was hosted annually by the Rifa'i Marufi Order, but visiting Mevlevis would come and turn also. In the video, the loud rambunctious stuff is from the Rif'ai dhikr, the slow and graceful one is more of the Mevlevi style (though people from both participated in each). Aziz also sometime turns with lit torches-- which perfectly expresses his dual connections with the Mevlevis and the Rifa'is-- Fire being the ultimate symbol of the Rifa'i tariqa (hence the name of this blog) and the Mevlevis being known for whirling.