Wazifa (Universal Sufism)

The qualities of God, which in Universal Sufi terms are the aspects of Nature, can be evoked, understood, felt, and seen through the repetition of Wazifas, the Divine Names and Attributes of God. This is done either aloud or in silent thought, and the Sufi's only duty in this regard is to simply hold the quality itself up so that his or her consciousness can perceive it. Cherags, initiators and dance leaders must learn how to use wazifas as a psychological prescription to meet the needs of the individual Sufis or groups of Sufis who are their mureeds. Each mureed must learn to recognize divine attributes, both their place in nature and their function in the self and in others.

The repeated phrases which follow some of the daily prayers are Wazifas.

Description of Wazifa practice

The practice of Wazifa has a particular form and focus. Sitting cross legged on the floor with straight back and eyes closed, the participant begins by reciting the Invocation of Hazrat Inayat 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.

If performed by a group, the participants are in a circle and join the Wazifa leader in the Invocation. After a short pause, the music begins with an introduction of several repetitions of the musical phrase. A bell cues the beginning of the chanted section which is approximately 10 minutes long. The words of the sacred phrase are sung to a melody that is different for each Wazifa. Some of the compositions have secondary melodies.As long as there are sufficient voices in a group to maintain a strong primary melody, some participants may choose to sing "Allah" or "Hu" to the secondary melody.

During the singing, the participant may concentrate on a particular point and imagine a colour at that point. Each Wazifa has its own focus and colour: the tip of the nose with the colour yellow, the bridge of the nose, green, the centre of the forehead, red, the top of the head, blue, and above the head, a smoky grey colour.

The end of the singing is cued with the sound of a bell after which the tempo gradually slows to a stop. There follows a three minute meditation which ends with the sound of a Tibetan Bowl being struck. When the sound of the bowl has died away, the group rises with the Wazifa leader. Each participant then bows to the Divine Presence in the middle of the circle. The bow is performed by placing the right hand on the left shoulder, the left hand on the right shoulder and by bending (without exaggeration) toward the centre.