Table of Contents
January 2025
In his discourse, Alireza Nurbakhsh reflects on the qualities of friendship, drawing on Rumi’s Masnavi to illuminate loyalty, gratitude, and the transforming gaze of a true friend. Scholarship traces the global legacy of Persian Sufism—from Hamzah Fansuri’s imprint on Malay literature to early Mevlevi circles that preserved Rumi’s tradition across the Ottoman world. Interviews with filmmaker Saira Shah and architect Safoura Zahedi show how transmission continues today, from living stories to the spiritual geometry of design. Creative writing and poetry, including “The Dust on Love’s Path,” bring these themes into intimate focus along love’s way.
Discourse
- The Qualities of a Friend — Alireza Nurbakhsh
Interviews
- Interview with Saira Shah — interviewed by Christopher Anderson
- Interview with Safoura Zahedi — interviewed by Jairan Gahan
Articles
- The Manuscripts of the Knowers of God — Cailah Jackson
- Hamzah Fansuri: Merging Persian and Malay Sufi Traditions — Amir H. Zekrgoo & Leyla H. Tajer
Creative Writing
- Don’t Forget — Dani Kopoulos
- Mullah Nasruddin Practices Before He Preaches
Poetry
- The Dust on Love’s Path — Alireza Nurbakhsh
- With Every Breath — Chris Hoffman
- The Beloved’s Pure Water — Farah Bolvarde
- The Eyes of Bloom — Dr. Abdelrahim Mohamed
- Praise — Jeni Couzyn