SufiCorner

Join us this July for an engaging eight-session reading circle exploring Ideals and Realities of Islam by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, one of the most widely read introductions to Islam written from an Islamic perspective.

Over the course of the program, participants will discover the foundations of Islamic belief and practice, gaining a deeper understanding of the Quran, Hadith, Islamic law, theology, philosophy, ethics, and spirituality. Written with clarity and depth, this classic work has been translated into more than thirty languages and has introduced generations of readers to the intellectual and spiritual richness of the Islamic tradition.

Designed for youth ages 14–19, the program combines guided reading, discussion, and reflection in a welcoming and intellectually engaging environment.

Schedule
July 6, 8, 13, and 15 — Led by Munjed Murad
July 20, 22, 27, and 29 — Led by Ibraheem Jastaniah

Time
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM (Eastern/NY Time)
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM (UK)
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM (TR)

Duration: 8 sessions (1.5 hours each)
Online Live
Free and registration requires (Link in bio)

Whether you are seeking a stronger understanding of your faith or an introduction to the major dimensions of Islamic thought and practice, this reading circle offers a unique opportunity to engage with one of the most influential contemporary works on Islam.

Geometric & Arabesque Pattern Workshops - New York City

A two-day intensive exploring the structure, logic, and beauty of Islamic pattern traditions, from compass-based geometric construction to the fluid systems of arabesque design.

From foundational grids and sacred proportion to Mughal and Moorish architectural forms, and from Moroccan zellij to Silk Road ornament, the programme moves across regions, techniques, and visual languages.

All materials provided. Open to all levels.
Limited places.

June 20-21, 2026
Madison Square Park Tower
9:30am to 6pm

suficorner.org/workshop (link in bio)

📚 Book Club: A Sufi Saint of the 20th Century by Martin Lings

Join us for a guided exploration of one of the most profound spiritual biographies. Together, we’ll reflect on the life of Shaykh Ahmad al-‘Alawi and engage deeply with themes of spirituality, sainthood, and the living transmission of Sufi teachings.

This is more than a reading group, it’s a space for thoughtful discussion, critical reflection, and personal insight.

- Dates: May 23, 30 · June 6, 13, 20
- Time: 11am EST · 4pm UK · 6pm TR · 9pm PKT
- Duration: 1 hour
- Location: Zoom

Register: suficorner.org/bookclub

Process, precision, and candid moments throughout. Thankful for the shared space and everyone in it.

About the Book

Drinking the Ocean by Saad Omar Khan opens with an encounter that is at once incidental and destabilizing: Murad, a man in his early thirties, glimpses a former lover in a crowded Toronto intersection and is drawn—almost involuntarily—into the unresolved terrain of his past. What follows is not simply recollection, but a careful unfolding of memory as a structuring force, one that reconfigures the present rather than merely revisiting what has already occurred.

Set across Lahore, London, and Toronto, the novel is attentive to movement—geographical, emotional, and spiritual. Its narrative architecture traces the intermittent convergence of Murad’s and Sofi’s lives, not as a linear progression but as a series of returns, deferrals, and partial recognitions. In doing so, it resists reducing love to a singular form. Instead, it examines its multiplicity: romantic attachment, familial obligation, and the more elusive, often unsettled relationship between the individual and the divine.

Khan’s treatment of Muslim subjectivity in Western contexts is similarly measured. Rather than foregrounding overt conflict, the novel situates its characters within quieter tensions—between continuity and rupture, inheritance and self-definition, belief and uncertainty. Faith, in this rendering, is neither static nor resolved; it is negotiated over time, shaped by experience as much as by tradition.

Without recourse to overt dramatization, Drinking the Ocean develops a sustained inquiry into how lives are marked by what they cannot fully reconcile. Its restraint is central to its effect: meaning emerges not through declaration, but through the gradual accumulation of moments that remain, even as they recede.

Meet the Author Event at NYC on May 16th 2pm
Free Registration: suficorner.org/ocean

Join us on May 16 in New York City for an afternoon with Saad Khan.

In a literary landscape where Muslim voices are often either underrepresented or simplified, Khan’s work stands out for its seriousness and restraint. He writes from within a Muslim intellectual and spiritual horizon, engaging questions that many quietly carry: how faith is lived in the present, how it shifts across time and place, and how one remains anchored without reducing belief to certainty or performance.

This event centers that perspective. It is an opportunity to engage with a Muslim novelist whose work does not treat faith as background, but as something formative—shaping thought, relationships, and one’s understanding of the self. The conversation will explore what it means to write as a Muslim today, and how literature can offer a space for reflection that feels both honest and rigorous.

For those interested in seeing their experiences, questions, and traditions approached with depth rather than generalization, this will be a particularly meaningful discussion.

We invite you to join us in NYC for an afternoon of conversation, reflection, and community.

Free Registration: suficorner.org/ocean

On Saturday, April 4th, 2026, we were honored to sit in the presence of profound insight and sincere reflection. Through the voices of our speakers, we explored the depths of female spirituality in Islam, not as an abstract concept, but as something living, breathing, and embodied. We were reminded that spiritual knowledge is not only transmitted through texts, but through lived experience, care, struggle, and love.

We are deeply grateful to our moderator, Garrett Graddy-Lovelace, for guiding this conversation with such thoughtfulness and care. And to our distinguished speakers, Aisha Gray Henry, Maria Massi Dakake, Farah El-Sharif, and Hina Khalid, thank you. Thank you for your generosity, your wisdom, and your sincerity. Each of you offered something invaluable, opening windows into the richness of our tradition and the depth of women’s spiritual lives within it.

We reflected on the hidden dimensions of the tradition, on love as a force that transforms, on knowledge as both a gift and a responsibility, and on spiritual agency as something deeply rooted in both inward and outward life. Each voice we heard illuminated a different path, yet all paths converged toward a shared truth: that the spiritual legacy of women in Islam is rich, essential, and enduring.

To everyone who joined us, your presence is part of what made this gathering meaningful. Spaces like this are not only built by those who speak, but by those who listen with openness and intention.

As we leave, may we carry forward what we have received. May we continue to seek knowledge with humility, to cultivate love in our hearts, and to honor the spiritual contributions of women in our communities and beyond.

Thank you all for being part of this gathering. May what we have shared continue to grow within us, and may it benefit others through us.

Book Launch & Discussion: A Sourcebook in Global Philosophy
with Prof. Mohammed Rustom

As part of SufiCorner’s Spring Term and Intellectual Series 2.0, we are pleased to host a special book launch, discussion, and signing with scholar Mohammed Rustom on April 5.

Rustom is a leading scholar of Islamic philosophy and religion whose work explores metaphysics, Qur’anic interpretation, and the global scope of the Islamic intellectual tradition. Through his scholarship, he has helped bring classical philosophical writings into conversation with contemporary thought while preserving their original intellectual context.

His latest work, A Sourcebook in Global Philosophy, challenges narrow philosophical canons by presenting foundational texts from multiple traditions side by side. The book offers a broader vision of philosophy rooted in intellectual diversity, historical depth, and shared inquiry across civilizations.

Join us for a morning conversation with the author followed by a book signing.

☕ Coffee and pastries will be served.

📅 Date: Sunday, April 5, 2026
🕚 Time: 11:00 AM (EST)
📍 Location: SufiCorner Arts, Books & Café
202 Bellevue Ave, Montclair, NJ 07043

💻 Also available live online via Zoom

Free event. Registration required. Link in bio.

We are delighted to invite you to the SufiCorner Annual Community Iftar & Concert on February 28th, 2026, featuring the renowned Amir Vahab. 🌙

Ramadan is a sacred time for reflection, gratitude, and spiritual renewal, a moment to pause, reconnect with our inner selves, and strengthen the bonds of community. This special evening offers the perfect setting to experience all of this together. Join us as we break our fast with a delicious Iftar, surrounded by friends, family, and fellow seekers of peace and reflection.

As the sun sets over New York, let the soulful melodies of Amir Vahab guide you into a night of contemplation, harmony, and joy. This gathering is more than a meal or a concert, it’s a shared experience of heart and spirit.

Date & Time: February 28th, 2026 | Saturday | 5PM-7PM EST
Where: 45 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
Registration: suficorner.org/iftar

Registration is required for you and your guest(s). Link in bio.
Questions: [email protected]