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The Barakah of Marriage and Family

A 7-class series with Nura Laird, Salima Sanford, Salim Yorkhall, Mahabbah Luz Vega, and Maryam Furfaro

May 6 – June 17, 2025

Marriage and Family in the Sufi Way

“The main reason that we are here on this earth is to learn the truth and to carry the quality of goodness.”

– Sidi Muhammad, The Guide, p. 34

The relationships we have with those closest to us–our spouse, children, and parents–are based in a holy love, a love that is given and blessed by Allah, Most High. While that love is at the core of these relationships, all people also experience the challenge of having a lower ego (nafs). The nafs sees the world through its own lens and is constantly urging us to fulfill its desires while reminding us of past traumas. Without a deeper understanding of the Divine purpose of marriage and family, the nafs will lead us into irreconcilable misunderstandings and conflict.

This series is comprised of 7 classes designed to help us transcend the challenges inherent in these close personal relationships. Using a variety of teaching methods, each class will help you to gain a deeper understanding of its topic, leading to healthier and happier relationships with your spouse, children, and parents, insha’allah.

Registration

Schedule

Register once to attend any or all of the classes in this series, insha’allah.

After you register, the Zoom access information for all classes will be emailed to you. If you don’t see this email, please check your spam or junk folder. All classes will be recorded.

Classes 1 & 2: Love and Discord, Remaining Unchanged Within, Parts 1 & 2 with Salima Sanford

Date: Tue, May 6 & Tue, May 13, 2025
Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm PT / 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET

“When He opens up your understanding of deprivation and constriction then the constriction becomes same as giving and expansion. Through this constriction the contentment of the Beloved with the lover is actualized and that contentment becomes the spring of your expansion.”

– Sidi Muhammad, The Secret of the Love of God, p. 178

Exploring our Relationships

God is the Source of everything, alhamdulillahi rabbil `alamin (All praises to God, Lord of the Worlds). He is all we need, though at times we may forget this when conflict arises. 

The discomfort we feel in the presence of conflict is Allah’s way of showing us how much we need Him. If, in the discomfort of our neediness, we can stay present and seek help from Allah, the Wise, the Merciful, the Loving, then greater self- knowledge and closer intimacy with God may be our reward, insha’allah.

What to Expect

In our two classes we will explore relationships from two perspectives:

  1. Recognizing and sharing our particular patterns of discord and the outcomes of the responses we choose.
     
  2. Because our inner state affects our responses, there will be experiential time to be reminded of the holy light we all carry, our fitra, our connection to the One. When we radiate from this place of connection with Allah, everyone benefits.

“To the extent that there is sincerity and purity in the heart, hearts are not separated but are one, like one house. If the looking of a person is divine, they see by the light of God and see all the people in the house as one.”

– Sidi Muhammad, The Guide, p. 112

About Salima

Salima Maryam Sanford has been on the Sufi path for 19 years and is a Muqqadim Murabbi in her Sufi community. She received her Master of Divinity degree in 2009, from the University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism. It was her thesis that inspired her first book, Healing Your Marriage by Healing Yourself. She has taught for the Institute of Spiritual Healing, ISH, fostering four groups of students. 

Salima has an ongoing healing practice and continues to teach for various Sufi communities, the topic of marriage being her main passion. Her second book, Nurturing Love, was completed in 2023, and its Companion Guide, in 2025.  Her next book, Remaining Unchanged Within, is now underway. She looks forward to teaching and learning from her two upcoming classes for the Shadhiliyya Sufi Community.

Classes 3 & 5: Marriage: Magic or Mujahadah, The Walking of Marriage with Nura Laird

Date: Tue, May 20 & Tue May 27, 2025
Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm PT / 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET

“In this world only love is the bridge to God. The person who has no love has no heart, and the person who has no heart has no God. The walker on the path to God needs a light, because the path is dark and wild. That light is love.”

– Sidi Muhammad, The Guide, p. 67

“Marriage is half of your religion”

Are you married and committed to seeing your marriage as your walking to Allah (Exalted is He)? Or are you new to the path and learning to see your partner as your mirror? Perhaps you are currently single and seeking a spouse…

This 2-part class with beloved teacher Nura Laird is for everyone, regardless of marital status or how long you’ve been on the path. Take this opportunity to learn vital communication and other skills that will benefit all of your relationships!

In Sufism, Allah is a necessary ingredient for this path of relationship because Allah is the Source of everything. And Allah uses our marriage (and all our closest relationships) to bring us to know ourselves and to know our Lord. We gain this knowledge and wisdom through the ups and downs of our relationship. Every up and every down contains lessons for us about ourselves, about another, and about Allah.

Marriage, or making an intimate relationship work, is not magic. It may begin as magical during the early romantic phase, but usually this phase fades away. The couples who split up are often missing the point, which is to walk into proximity to our Lord. Through the work of marriage. Allah can walk us into unity with Him and with our partner. When this happens, the real romance begins and the real love is born.

What to Expect

During your time together, Nura will guide the group in exploring and practicing some of the ingredients that lead to a strong, healthy marriage insha’llah. Some of the key skills Nura will begin to address include:

  • Knowing and loving yourself
  • Listening well for understanding
  • Speaking clearly without blame
  • Accepting individual differences
  • Untangling past personal trauma from present reality
  • Releasing the pain of the past instead of acting it out in the present
  • Walking through differences and conflict to restore love
  • Seeing and sensing your partner’s heart and soul
  • Walking together in all four worlds through what comes up in your relationship

*** These skills are useful in all our relationships-with our children, with our friends, with co-workers, even with acquaintances. ***

Register now

Class 4: Raising Children in the Holy Way: Sacred Parenting in a Secular World with Salim Yorkhall

Date: Wed, May 21, 2025
Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm PT / 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET

Is there a spiritual path for raising children?

If you have children in your life, their care is among the most pressing, most challenging, and most rewarding of your priorities. There is so much to consider regarding your child’s well-being, and it can be difficult to get your own needs met as well! If you have multiple children the questions become more and more complex, and if you add a spiritual path into the mix you may find yourself in a real conundrum of time, resources, and attention. 

Is there a spiritual path for raising children? There must be a way to parent from the heart that allows parents to thrive while helping our children thrive, that shields our families from the worst of the world’s chaos and overwhelm, and that allows us to live deeply into our spiritual values…right? 

What to expect

In this talk Salim will explore how the Sufi teachings can enrich family life and encourage children to discover their world through a lens of sacred beauty. Bring your questions, reflections, and yearnings! There are no set answers for the problems of parenting in the modern world, and there will be time for heart-to-heart discussion.

To get you thinking

Here is a short list of sincere questions I have asked on my journey:

  • How important is it to teach my children spiritual practices?
  • What should I do about discipline?
  • I wasn’t raised Muslim.  What should I teach my children?
  • To media or not to media?
  • Doesn’t Allah want me to have time to pray?
  • How important is sleep, anyway?
  • Is it what I say, what I do, or what I feel that affects my children most?
  • What about money?
  • What about my partner?
  • Everything just fell apart.  What now?

I could go on, but…you get the drift.  I look forward to connecting with you and hearing about your parenting journey inshallah. 

About Salim

Salim Chandler Yorkhall is a Minneapolis-based healer, bodyworker, and Sufi teacher, serving his community since 1995. Raised in a deeply Christian home, he has walked deeply on the Yoga and Qigong paths as well, and first encountered Sufism through the teachings of Bawa Muhaiyadeen in 1999.

The father of four children ages seven through nineteen, Salim has found parenting to be a powerful workshop for Sidi’s teachings about mercy, faith, sincerity, forgiveness, and purification.

Salim struggled mightily with depression and despair from his early years, at last finding deep healing and relief through the teachings of Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal. He wants people to know: “No matter how hard it is–and I know it can get really, really hard–there is Hope; there is a Way; and you are meant to Shine in this life.”

Salim has done healing work in private practice, hospital, and clinical settings, continuously integrating mind-body medicine, hands-on healing methods, and spiritual healing.  Also trained as a hospital chaplain, he is passionately in service to the revelation of the Divine within each and every human heart.

Register now

Class 6: The Vital Role Holy Families Play with Mahabbah Maritza Luz Vega

Date: Tue, June 10, 2025
Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm PT / 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET

Foundations for Holy Families in Modern Times

In this transformative presentation, we establish the sacred foundations for family life amidst today’s complex challenges. Drawing from timeless wisdom and practical spirituality, you’ll understand the power of families and how to support them to thrive. Whether you’re starting your preconception healing, beginning your family journey, are seasoned parents or grandparents, divorced, or are simply seeking to break through family patterns for your own well-being, this presentation offers essential insights for building holy families where Love can grow in all family configurations.

About Mahabbah Maritza Luz Vega, M.Div.

As a Family Foundations facilitator, I specialize in helping individuals and small groups transform deeply rooted ancestral and life patterns and beliefs (nafs) that limit their ability to live in Love, purpose, and connection (in the Unity). Clients experience profound shifts that free them from generational cycles and self-limiting beliefs.  Our beloved guide, Sidi, asked me to help families in this country after receiving two Masters in Divinity focusing on Holy Families from USHS (2010 & 2012).

I work with a diverse range of clients seeking profound breakthroughs: women and couples preparing for conception of their first child, pregnant women navigating their sacred journey to motherhood, men embracing the transformative path to fatherhood & partnership (even if on rocky status), families with infants who experienced challenging births, and women and men of all ages who desire to live authentically from their Wholeness.

My integrative approach combines Sufi spiritual healing, family constellations, and conception, gestation, & birth experiences for adults & infants, creating safe experiential spaces where transformational healing occurs naturally. Whether working one-on-one or in small group retreats, I guide participants through powerful experiential processes that honor their unique journeys while facilitating breakthroughs for meaningful, lasting change.

Register now

Class 7: Parenting on the Path: Attention, Intention, & God-gazing with Maryam Furfaro

Date: Tue, June 17, 2025
Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm PT / 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET

1 To gain a basic understanding of the nafs (the lower ego) and how it operates, read Music of the Soul and He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord by Sidi Muhammad. Both books can be purchased from Sidi Muhammad Press.