Ramadan Love Songs

Description

Through this second collection in the “Songs of the Soul” series, we encounter a world where Divine Grace is always with us and every moment is an opportunity to “begin again” in God’s Name. Whether amidst expansion or contraction, whether witnessing the intricacies of the human body or the canopy of the stars, Camille Hamilton Adams Helminski draws our attention to something subtle yet intoxicating with Its Beauty. Her clarity of vision, as well as her appreciation of the Mysterious, compels us to witness the workings of the Divine within our lives, with wonder, opening the heart to this Love, our very Life, the Source of our breath—this Force that pours through us and knows no boundaries!

“Ramadan Love Songs remind us to turn always to the light of Divine Grace with an open heart. Nothing else allows us to see. Nothing else can seek the companionship of the Most High, Who is always present. These poems for Ramadan—and every month of the year—grant us a sublime scent of a fragrance that inundates us with their power and subtlety. Glory be to one who wrote them and to the One she reminds us to remember.”

~ amina wadud, professor emeritus (Visiting Scholar Starr King School for the Ministry, Berkeley, CA. Author of Qur’an and Woman)

“If Sufism is a rose garden, these poems are petals that fell from those roses—pressed with great care in these pages by Camille Adams Helminski. With subtlety, simplicity, and beauty, Ramadan Love Songs calls us back again and again to the essence of the Sufi path—presence, humility, gratitude, and love. Breathe deeply as you read—you’ll catch the fragrance of the Friend, and if you sit with these words long enough the scent just may rub off.”

~ The Rev. Matthew Wright (Episcopal priest, retreat leader, and teacher for Northeast Wisdom and The Contemplative Society)

“With Ramadan Love Songs, Camille Helminski has given a precious gift to all who walk the Path of Love. These purifying words of depth and devotion can hold us gently and guide us firmly through sacred passages, that lead us all towards the One.”

~ Rabbi Shefa Gold (Author of Are We There Yet? Travel as a Spiritual Practice)

“The tradition of Ramadan poetry in English goes back to the late Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore, and is now extended by the lovely new work of Camille Helminski. Growing out of a mingling of the Qur’an, devotion to the Prophet, and Rumi’s poetry, these poems will touch your heart. These poems begin with the story of the washing of the blessed Prophet’s heart, and, God-willing, they will do the same for yours.”

~ Omid Safi (Professor of Islamic Studies, Duke University. Author, Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition)