About Sufism

What is a Sufi? What is the Sufi path? Hazrat Inayat Khan says that “Sufism is the religion of the heart, the religion in which the most important thing is to seek God in the heart of humanity.”

The Inayati Order* (formerly known as the Sufi Order International) is an international organization dedicated to the Sufi Message of Love, Harmony & Beauty, first brought to the West in 1910 by Hazrat Inayat Khan.

A historical tradition of Sufism (our lineage) can be clearly dated to the 7/8th-century C.E. in the Near East, from which stem numerous unbroken lineages passed from master-to-disciple down to our own day.

Our teachings are based on the works of Inayat Khan, a Sufi master who brought his Message of Spiritual Liberty from India to North American in the early part of this century. He developed Five Activities as part of the training and education of seekers on the spiritual path.

Individuals make seek initiation (bay’at or taking hand), which is making a commitment of bond and training with the Inayati Order, its teachings and methods, and with a Guide who helps one navigate the spiritual path.  Others may be more attuned to other avenues for the realization of the spiritual life.  All seekers from all orientations are therefore welcome, and initiates and non-initiates blend into one community.