Toward the One

'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Love in its beginning lives only on reciprocity, but when fully developed it stands on its own feet. - Hazrat Inyat Khan

"Toward the One, the Perfection of Love, Harmony and Beauty,
the Only Being, United with All the Illuminated Souls,
Who form the Embodiment of the Master,
the Spirit of Guidance.
Bismillah, Er-Rahman, Er-Rahim
We begin in the Name of Allah, Who is Mercy and Compassion."

-- Sufi Invocation of Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan (commonly spoken at our gatherings) (Darood)

"The Tomb of Hazrat Inayat Khan lies within the Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah Complex. He was born on 5th July 1882 to a noble Muslim Family in India. His mother was a descendant of Tipu Sultan's Uncle. As he grew, he was introduced to several orders of Sufism including 'Nizamiyya' which is a branch of the Chishti order by Shaykh Muhammad Abu Hashim Madani. He was also obligated to the Shankara spirituality of the Hindu religion.

Hazrat Inayat Khan left India in 1910 after continuous encouragement from his teacher, Shaykh Muhammad Abu Hashim Madani. He travelled to the West and visited three continents as a teacher of Sufism and a Sufi musician. Later, he married Ora Ray Baker from New Mexico who was re-christened as Pirani Ameena Begum and settled in Suresnes which is a small town near Paris. They had four children named Noor-un-Nisa born in 1913, Vilayat born in 1916, Hidayat born in 1917 and Khair-un-Nisa born in 1919.

Hazrat Inayat Khan was a paradigm of Universal Sufism. In 1914, He travelled to London and founded the 'Sufi Order in the West'. This Order was dissolved by the government in 1923 who re-established the same order under the Swiss Laws and renamed is as the 'International Sufi Movement'. He was also conferred the title of 'Tansen' by the Nizam of Hyderabad before he went abroad. His teachings revolved around 'Tawhid' or the 'Divine Unity' which focuses more on various aspects of love, beauty, peace and harmony. He also preached that blind belief and following a book represented by any religion is devoid of spirit.

Towards the end of 1926, Hazrat Inayat Khan returned to India and chose the site next to Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia as his Tomb. He died on 5th February 1927 and was buried within the Nizamuddin Dargah Complex as per his desire and wish."