|
In the glossary of terms on the Threshold website, adab is defined as “spiritual courtesy”. The glossary says, “This refined and conscious form of spiritual courtesy helps to create an atmosphere of respect and affection which supports the process of transformation.” In The Knowing Heart, Kabir Dede says, “Adab is not mere formality; it helps to create the context in which we develop our humanness. Every situation and relationship has its own adab: between students on the path, in relation to family members and elders, in relation to one’s shaikh. Every level of being also has its adab, including coming into the presence of Truth” (p. 150).
As we journey on this path with our teachers, through the sohbets we attend, the retreats we go to, the various bashi duties we are assigned and perform, we learn that adab is one of the fundamental principles of the Sufi/Mevlevi Path. It is reflected in every step, every gesture, and every word that is uttered: the bowing of the head in respect, the hand raised gently to the heart, the lips kissing the cup that has quenched one’s thirst, gratitude at the clothes we wear, and the tools we have to navigate our life. We learn to invite beloved prophets and saints into the spaces we have prepared for worship, and we ask for Allah’s blessings for every action that we take. We see our teachers and elders embody this adab in their everyday life: the way they are attentive to their surroundings, how they speak to us, and how they move about a space.
I was blessed this summer to have spent some time with our teachers, their khalifas, Khadim and Mahmoud, and their families. In the sweet ordinariness of carrying out chores, preparing a meal, having a conversation, I noticed how our elders would talk about a plant or a flower, tend to fruit and vegetables at the supermarket, praise the light entering through a window, a feather on a beach, oranges on a tree, or leaves on the ground. Every action was conducted with love and respect, even in moments of tension, there was courtesy.
Adab is service, it is remembrance and praise, it is awe and wonder at Allah’s creation, it is also a deep humility in recognizing our humanness, and a surrender to the Will of our Sustainer. It is also presence. What I love about my time with my teachers is that we have many moments together in quietness. One evening with Dede and Camille Ana after dinner, we sat on the terrace looking out at their garden. The quietness opened a space where we could listen to the sounds of the day as it was drawing to a close, observe the shades and colours and hues in front of us, notice two hummingbirds flitting from one blossom to another, feel the coolness of the air after watering the plants. At one point, amazed by the height of a palm tree, I exclaimed how tall it was. “I’ve often asked myself, what it’s all about,” Dede responded; “I have realized that it’s all about beauty.”
In The Knowing Heart, Kabir Dede says, “If we meet the divine love in others who have melted in that love, if we stay close to those who have understood this love, then we begin to sense the Love behind all the forms of love. We enter spiritual work and spiritual community so that love might be more revealed and known, less obscure” (p. 45).
Through our practice, which entails zhikr, remembrance, turning in humility, and surrender, we are given the capacity for love. Our hearts develop a resonance with all of creation, and this resonance in turn, as Dede mentioned in an online sohbet, “evokes and awakens a response from the infinite field of intelligence and love which is constantly reaching out and communicating with us” (Sunday Meditation 7 September 2025; quoted with some variation).
And so we are reminded that love is manifested in our relationships and everyday interactions with every human, animal, or plant, with the natural forces, and with every event that we face. As we manifest love and are manifested by Love, we develop our will for attention, and we develop a refined awareness of other beings, and we are able to “witness” with love and compassion.
I am learning on this path, that Love is the essence of everything. By being immersed in loving moments with my teachers, the space they create through their adab, allows for Love to be manifest and to extend into tangible everyday interactions. And so, when I reflect upon the theme of the month, I feel not only an overwhelming gratitude at what I am given, and awe at the beauty of Allah’s creation, but also an ability to feel joy at the release of a young political prisoner who spent close to 11 years of his life locked away, despite the heartache of the years wasted; or hope at the sailing of over 40 boats to break a siege imposed by an occupying entity, even with all the dangers entailed; or gratitude at the nourishment of the earth in a Monsoon, even as it causes calamity and floods. It is Love that allows me to see the Divine in its infinite Mercy but also in its overwhelming Majesty, and to trust in It. To trust that whatever manifests from the Divine, manifests in Love.
Amira is journeying on the Mevlevi Path, grateful for her teachers, her community, and for those moments when her heart opens with wonder and awe. She currently lives and works in Pakistan. |
