Farm of Peace and Sufi Dhikr Circle

As-salam alaykum!  A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the Farm of Peace, located in south-central Pennsylvania in Warfordsburg, PA.  The farm is also accompanied by a retreat center, both of which ally themselves with a Sufi religious framework.  Although having had previous encounters with Sufism this was my first time visiting a farm that had a Sufi background, or the first time visiting a farm with an Islamic background for that matter.

For those not in the know, Sufism is a branch of Islam the name of which derives itself from coarse woolen garments that early followers wore.  These seekers of God inhabit the more mystical realms of Islam, striving a more direct experience with God as a tangible reality in the here and now as opposed to merely waiting to see God after death.  This can be observed in ritual practices such as the dhikr which I will describe later.

The Farm of Peace sits in a small valley, the entrance of which is found in the navigation of a long gravel road.  This in turn leads into one's first view of the farm which consists of large sheep pastures and a holding pen where the sheep are humanely slaughtered.  I was told that the total herd consisted of around 50 and that recently a handful were prepared for the Eid al-Fitr, a fast-breaking celebration commemorating the end of the spiritually and physically challenging Ramadan season.  Sitting behind the pastures are the vegetable fields and a small cohort of young broiler chickens.  The fields, which comprised a few acres, were flourishing with a variety of different vegetables and the chickens were kept in a pen that gave them access to grass and fresh air.

 

 

 

Some photos of the Farm of Peace

 



My contact for the Farm of Peace, Halima, along with her husband Jesse, co-manage the farm which functions as Community Supported Agriculture, or a CSA, in which shares of produce are distributed among members who buy their share all at once at the beginning of the season as opposed to the purchasing of individual produce items.  Although having only worked at the farm for a few years, Halima and Jesse seemed very knowledgeable about the requirements and proper care of the farm as was evidenced by their lush fields and healthy looking animals.  Halima, however, shared her lesson of the need for patience while working in an agricultural setting, using the example of the asparagus plant which she had needed to wait from the beginning of her time at the farm until now simply to see it in its final stages of growth.

Later I was able to join in the dhikr, which functions primarily as a "remembrance" of God.  Participants join together in a circle and repeatedly chant a series of phrases that allow one to more deeply center one's self in this form of remembrance.  The idea is that one passes through the physical "world" into the spiritual and thus comes into closer contact with the Almighty.  Although many phrases are used the one that stuck in my mind and which seemed to be used the most was lā ilāha illa ʾllāh, which means “there is no god but God.” Below I have posted a video from youtube that sounds somewhat like what I heard at the dhikr that I attended.

A key difference between the dhikr that I attended and that of one I attended at a Sufi mosque a year earlier was that in my previous experience it was only the men who formed a circle while the woman stood off to the side.  However, in both genders, and in my recent experience as well, participants swayed back and forth to the chanting with the climax of each movement punctuated by a particular syllable in the chant.

 

The meditation room where the dhikr took place.

 



Overall this provides for, at the very least, a surreal experience in which the chanting and accompanying movements may imbibe themselves in one's mind, thus setting a clear focus and rhythm that becomes a replacement for stray thoughts.  This results in the meditative experience, although I admit that in regards to the immersing of my own mind, I did not seem to enter into any deeper states of consciousness or even produce a sufficiently tranquil state of mind.  Yet I did feel somewhat more centered and as if my head was cleared - the need to thus worry about other perceived concerns was not as strong afterward since those concerns had henceforth decided that they needn't worry me so much for the time being.  Part of me also felt a little awkward and uncomfortable since this was my first time in a new place and therefore those factors also weighed in upon my mental state.

One thing I always find important when dealing with other religions is deciding whether to participate in certain rituals, practices, or other religious activities or whether to simply observe.  It is not always an easy decision and during the dhikr I wondered if I may not have made a mistake when prayers to Muhammad, peace be upon him, were chanted, my own background being Christian.  When attempting to navigate interreligious terrain I feel that one must have a sound understanding of both their own and the other parties beliefs in order to make a weighted decision as to their level of engagement with the other party's beliefs and customs.  If one is not careful they may find themselves engaging in something which they do not truly believe in and thus debase their own beliefs and that of the other.  And yet I think it is important that we push our religious limits and put ourselves into uncomfortable positions in order to remove our biases and gain a greater understanding of other traditions based on an actual spiritual experience of them instead of simply theorizing, in terms of words and concepts, what our relationship to them is.  This is not easy and I feel that I am still very much in the learning process when to act in or when to be able to sit back and watch.  But perhaps if more people joined in there would be less talking and a deeper striving to understand from an inner viewpoint rather than an outer one.