Week One: Aug 9 @ 7-8:30 pm ET

The Knowledge of the Heart

Dr. Jamila Carolyn Dixon

Allah says, “He has written faith in their hearts and strengthened them with a spirit from Himself.” (Q 58:22)

The fruit of the heart is the result of divine overflowing, which becomes the tree of the spirit of the heart, and the fruit of the spirit is His spirit. Allah describes this when He says, “He has written faith in their hearts and strengthened them with a spirit from Himself.”

This is the primordial faith, given when He said, “Am I not your Lord?” He wrote this with the pen when they confirmed His Lordship, when they said, “Yes,” and He supported them with a spirit from Him. This is the fruit of the acquired tree through faith. – The Path to Allah Most High, pg. 238-239

Selections from The Spirit’s Path to Joy, pp. 36-64.

For those who might like to prepare for class ahead of time, optional reading/ writing is The Spirit’s Path to Joy, pp. 36 to 37, and/ or (Q58:22) and (Q7:172).

Week Two: Aug 23 @ 7-8:30 pm ET

I am Traveling to my Lord

Na’ama McCreedy

As the spirit arrives at the Singular Presence, the Presence of Oneness (al-hadrat al-ahadiyyah), its qualities are consumed in His qualities, and no trace remains fighting Lordship because of the perfection of servitude. Allah then addresses [the spirit] by some of its names. He says, “O you soul whose self is at peace! Return to your Lord well pleased, well pleasing” (Q 89:27-28).

Selections from chapter one, He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord, pp. 5-17. Class may end a little early tonight.

For those who might like to prepare for class ahead of time: HWKHKHL, pp. 5 to 6, is the optional reading/writing.

Week Three: Aug 30 @ 7-8:30 pm ET

Walking the Path of Sufism

Mahdi al Jamal and Salih Kent

O dear traveler on the path, this is why I will show you how to travel [the road to Allah] and walk to your Lord and Protector Who created you, fashioned you, straightened you, and modified you. He has fashioned you in the image he wills, so understand. I will explain how to walk and how to not go astray. – He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord

Sections from chapter one, He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord, pp. 18 to 26.

HWKHKHL, pp. 18 to 19, is the optional reading/writing for those who might like to prepare for class beforehand.

Week Four: Sep 6 @ 7-8:30 pm ET

The Oneness

Murshid Dr. Ibrahim Jaffe

The Singularity is the first manifestation of the Essence. The Singularity or unity, as in “Say: He is Allah, One [Q112:1] is the disclosure of the Essence not of the names, nor of the qualities, nor of any of the effects. It is the definite clear Essence without looking at any consideration of the qualities or the creation. There is no manifestation of the epiphany of the Singularity in the cosmos except you in your very essence, if you forget about all the qualities considered to be yours and perceived by your being.

Sections from chapter two, He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord, pp. 27 to 30.

HWKHKHL, pp. 27 to 28, is the optional reading/writing for those who might like to prepare for class beforehand.

Week Five: Sep 13 @ 7-8:30 pm ET

Consciousness and Reverence of Allah

Aisha Sherie McGuffey

The path of godwariness, at-taqwa has three levels. The first level is to free one’s self from disobedience and to purify wrong deeds with the water of good deeds. Know that the purpose of traveling the path of taqwa is to ascend gradually to the Lordly Order and to the soul’s original degree with the medicine prescribed by the most perfect among the perfected ones, the spirit of our beloved guide and master, Muhammad (saws).

I shall later mention the medicine that the seeker needs in traveling toward Allah by which he can ascend, one degree after another, until he arrives at the place where the human picture, full of sin veiling him from the Lord of the Worlds, falls down. –Sidi

Sections from chapter three, He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord, pp. 30 to 34.

HWKHKHL, pp. 30 to 31 is the optional reading/writing for those who might like to prepare for class beforehand.

Week Six: Sep 27 @ 7-8:30 pm ET

The Station of the Love

Amany Shalaby, MA

Love is a divine attribute by which He describes Himself with the name al-Wadud, the Loving, and al-Muhibb, the Lover. Divine love embraces everything, and through His love, He brings the whole of creation into existence. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says, “Verily, and by My truth to you, I am a Lover.” He endeared certain things to us, such as faith, love, and mercy between lovers. Every other love is then defined as a station of faith, which is love’s place of attachment.

Selections from The Spirit’s Path to Joy, pp. 233 to 241.

The Spirit’s Path to Joy, pp. 233 to 234, is the optional reading/writing for those who might like to prepare for class beforehand.

Week Seven: Oct 4 @ 7-8:30 pm ET

The Secret of the Love of God

Dr. Rahima Schmall, PhD, RN

A lover of Allah is certain of connection because Allah says, “Wheresoever you turn, there is the face of Allah.” (Q2:115). An obedient lover of Allah follows His Messenger (saws), who said, “If you love Allah, follow me and Allah will love you.” Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly. One of His names is at-Tawwab, the Oft-Returning. Allah returns to His slave anytime. In reality, Allah loves the name at-Tawwab. This is His attribute, and He loves the slave when he takes on His attribute. Al-Haqq turns to His slave in any situation, which means that the Haqq always turns to His slave in all his states, even those sins which make the slave far from Allah.

Selections from The Spirit’s Path to Joy, pp. 241 to 249.

The Spirit’s Path to Joy, pp. 241 to 242, is the optional reading/writing for those who might like to prepare for class beforehand.

Week Eight: Oct 11 @ 7-8:30 pm ET

Criticizing this World and its Pleasures, and Clarifying its Reality

Hamid Werder, MSW

Know, my beloved, that this world is everything that happens before death – good and evil. The Messenger of Allah (saws) made an exception for the good when he criticized it, saying, “This world is cursed, and everything in it is cursed except that which is for Allah; all Might and glory belongs to Him.” He (saws) also said, “Accursed is the lower world and everything in it except the remembrance of Allah and that which is related to it.” Know that the things that are cursed are those things that are pursued for a hasty purpose and yield no fruit after death. However, there is a middle way between the two mentioned. Every fortune that helps a person to do good toward the final world belongs to the first category of pleasing pursuits, and it belongs to the deeds of the final abode because it prepares for it.

Selections from He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord, pp. 35 to 39.

HWKHKHL, pg. 35 is the optional reading/writing for those who might like to prepare for class beforehand.

Week Nine: Oct 25 @ 7-8:30 pm ET

The Veils Between the Slave and his Lord

Amany Shalaby, MA

Know, my beloved, that the greatest spirit is the Adamic spirit, which is a direct order from my Lord, It is a great secret, a Lordly subtlety, and no one fully comprehends it, except Allah (swta). This spirit has names and manifestations in the greater cosmos and also within the microcosm, by which I mean the Adamic world of names and manifestations.
Selections from He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord, pp. 49 to 53.

HWKHKHL, pg. 49 is the optional reading/writing for those who might like to prepare for class beforehand.

Week Ten: Nov 1 @ 7-8:30 pm ET

The Praiseworthy Reality: The Muhammadan Spirit

Beloved Salih Cotten

Know that the Praiseworthy Reality is the true image of the ultimate truth of the realities. This is because the Praiseworthy Reality is a constant intermediary, in the barrier, or world of the interval between this world and the first heaven of seven heavens and in justice between the thing and the Real in a way the no [particular] name or quality overcomes him (saws) [i.e. he is well balanced].

The Messenger of Allah (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said, “The first thing Allah created was my Light.” He eloquently expressed this subtle reality in words. He ( صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) was the first in creation, and from this perspective, he (ﷺ) was named the Light of the Lights, and he is also named, the Father of Spirits because he
( صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) is the last perfect creation, and after him (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) Allah will not create an equal in perfection. He (ﷺ) is [the presence of] the perfection of Allah. He is the Seal of the Prophets. The allusion to the first creation means His Light, and to the last means the manifestation of this Light. This is expressed when He says, “We are the First (al- ‘awwal) and the Last (‘akhira).”

This perfect reality is the origin of all the Godly names, adding Lordship to it. The meaning of saying that this truth is the Praiseworthy Reality is that the elementary praiseworthy image is an image of a meaning and of a reality. This meaning and reality is the Ultimate Truth.

Selections from He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord, pp. 53 to 58

HWKHKHL, pg. 53 to 54 is the optional reading/writing for those who might like to prepare for class beforehand.

Week Eleven: Nov 8 @ 7-8:30 pm ET

The Veils and Repentance

Dr. Sharifah Judith Keith

The second Khalifah, ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “My heart saw my Lord.” So, whoever wants to attain this happiness, and to ascend to the lofty degrees, let him first enter from the gate of all gates, which is repentance (at-tawbah). Repentance is named the gate of all gates because it is the first gate through which the slave enters into proximity in the gardens of the Lord.
Selections from He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord, pp. 58 to 63

HWKHKHL, pg. 58 to 59 is the optional reading/writing for those who might like to prepare for class beforehand.

Week Twelve: Nov 15 @ 6:30-8 pm ET
*Note time change due to Institute of Spiritual Healing’s Full Moon Dhikr!

The Virtues of the Stations of the Unity

Dr. ‘Abd al-Haqq Godlas

Surah al-Ikhlas – The Sincere Faith, known as the declaration of God’s Unity

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
حِيمِ. قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ
لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ
وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.

Know that belief in the unity is obligatory for all believers. They know what has been revealed by the knowledge of Allah, that there is no god except Him. The purpose of the knowledge of unity is for the heart to have conviction that Allah is One, not only in numbers. He is the First without second, meaning that He is the Eternal, limitless in time, without beginning or end. He is the Last in His firstness, the Evident in His hiddenness, and the Hidden in His outwardness. He is the Living and He has life; He is the Willing and He has a will; He is the Able and He has ability; He is the Hearing and He hears.

Selections from The Spirit’s Path to Joy, pp. 250 to 258.
The Spirit’s Path to Joy, pp. 250 to 251, is the optional reading/writing for those who might like to prepare for class beforehand.