Musa Muhaiyaddeen grew up in New Jersey with his mother, father and brother. He went to law school at Boston University, and practice law in New Jersey for over 35 years. He is also entrepreneurial and has created various businesses. Musa is a devoted husband, father of three, and grandfather of six. In the late 1960’s Musa’s circumstances and point of view led him to question the reasons for his existence. He began on a course to find answers to these questions. He believes that these are some of the most important questions that we can ask. Questions like: Why am I here? What is the purpose of my creation? How was I created? What is my purpose in existence? Where do we go from here? What is the purpose of this body? What is our true relationship with the rest of mankind? How are we supposed to live our lives? What does a human being who understands the answers to these questions look like? What is the essence of one who understands the answers to these questions? In his search Musa came upon the Sufi teacher Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. He met him on Easter Sunday in March of 1972 in Philadelphia. The interaction had a profound affect on both himself and his wife. They both realized that they were in front of a being who was different than any being they had ever met. Even though Bawa was from a culture that was entirely different from their own culture and spoke a language that they did not understand, it did not interfere with the fact that being in his presence made them feel like they were home. For the first time in a very long time they felt that they had arrived at where they needed to be. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen returned to his native Sri Lanka shortly after Musa and his wife met him, and then returned to Philadelphia in 1973. As soon as he was back, Musa and his wife went to see him. Bawa directed Musa to meet with those who were interested in his teachings and to share what was being taught. Musa and his wife spent from 1972 to 1986, when Bawa passed on, under his direct guidance and influence. Over the years, they understood that the essence of what he was teaching, which is Sufism, is a touchstone to reality. It is the heart within all matters; it is the heart within all religions. Compassion, patience, forgiveness, tolerance, love, these are at the heart of Sufism. These teachings are given from our Creator as a gift to bring us closer to Him. For the past 20 years, Musa has traveled to various parts of the world speaking about the unifying nature of Sufism. He began to speak about the experiences and knowledge he had gained from his time with Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. He has traveled to Asia, Africa, Europe, and throughout North America, speaking about the unifying and liberating nature of Sufism. The audio and videos on this website are from weekly gatherings Musa has with a small group of seekers of truth where he continues to share what he has learned and continues to learn with those interested in the Sufi path. Musa says that the learning process never ends for each of us, that we are all initiates on the path. When asked what his intentions are for those listening and watching his talks he replied with a prayer, “May the words found here give comfort, and inspire love, forgiveness, tolerance, compassion, and the guidance we need to connect with the unseen where the mysteries of the universe can be revealed to us.”
Everything begins with an intention. In the Book of Hadith, which are the sayings of the Prophet, or the actions of the Prophet, the first Hadith is the fact that everything begins with an intention. So we all set our intentions before we do anything. And the appropriate way to set an intention is to
Two hundred years ago the world was segmented in ways that it’s not segmented now. The interrelationship between different communities in the world did not exist. Now there is a lot more traveling in between places, and traveling in between countries, and various communities. Interestingly it started with colonialism, and in some places, this colonialism
We live in mostly urban environments, whereas 150 years ago we lived in mostly rural environments. The world, 150 years ago or so, was mostly an agrarian world. People lived and grew their food and that was their mode of survival. They ate what they grew, and they lived in very, very small villages, or
I got a call yesterday from a mother of somebody in their early thirties, who wanted me to talk to them, or actually they wanted to talk to me, about they’d been frightened, and they’re frightened about their understanding of what does it mean to die before death? You know, life is frightening. I was
Imagine yourself in a relaxed mood looking out over a very landscaped area and notice how soothing and beautiful it is. Imagine yourself in a forest where there is no landscaping, where it’s been allowed to grow on its own, and still, there’s a majesty to it and something beautiful about it. Watch the ocean
In this world we are needy. We need shelter, we need food, and then we need the accoutrement, the additions, and for each one there are different additions depending on their desires. Desires create needs, and then we spend our time in an effort to fulfill these needs. Often not knowing how they came about,
The path has many components and, depending on your proclivities, certain components are easier for you and certain components are harder for you. The path consists of formal rituals: ritual prayer, ritual recitations, ritual fasting, holiday celebrations, and attendance at formal community gatherings such as Jumu’ah. And then there’s another part, and that part has
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#292 Whatever You Give Away More Will Come To You Read More »
At the core of Islam, and at the core of Sufism, Tasawwuf, is the idea of unity. On the one hand we have illusion and on the other hand we have haqq. Now, illusion is incapable of being unified because it’s illusory and it’s duplicitous. Satan is the hallmark of duplicity. Satan does his work
When a diamond is pulled from the ground it doesn’t look like what you see in engagement rings, it’s a diamond in the rough. It’s sort of a cloudy look, and then it’s taken and processed. First they put it in a tumbler which kind of smooths it out a little bit, and then they
