White and orange text promoting "The Assembly of Lovers Dhikr Circle" is set against a black background featuring a glowing solar eclipse at the top.

BAB AL ILM INC.

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<h2 fr-original-style="" id="isPasted" style="width: 100%; box-sizing: inherit;">Learn About The Gathering</h2>The Assembly of Lovers is a group practice rooted in Sufi tradition: an evening of remembrance, prayer, chanting, rhythm, silence, and presence, done together. It is not a performance or a lecture. The circle exists because people sit in it and practice side by side. In the circle we use words and phrases from the Islamic tradition, such as Allah&nbsp;and Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim, and many more. We also speak of God, the Divine, the Beloved, the One. You do not have to believe anything in particular to take part, and you do not need to know the words beforehand. You will be guided. People come from many backgrounds. Some have practiced for years and know this tradition well. Some are meeting it for the first time and are simply curious. Some grew up inside Islam or another tradition and carry a complicated relationship with it, whether that is distance, hurt, doubt, or something harder to name. You are welcome here, wherever you are. Above all, this is not a space of judgment. No one is measuring how much you know, how you pray, or where you stand with faith. You can be as familiar or as unfamiliar with all of this as you are. What to Expect We gather, settle into the circle, and set a brief intention for the evening. From there, we move into roughly an hour of simple, repetitive chants accompanied by drum. You&rsquo;ll be guided, and you can participate with your voice, your breath, your hands, or simply your presence. If the night calls for it, there may also be room for others to join in with the instruments they&rsquo;ve brought. After the chanting, we rest together in 5 minutes of silence, with no guidance and no expectation, just space to notice what is here. We close with a brief blessing and gratitude. There is no lecture to follow and no particular experience you need to have. Some evenings may feel deeply moving. Others may feel quiet or ordinary. We come to practice being present enough to experience ourselves more directly, with a little less of the mind standing between us and what is here. What to Bring If you play an instrument, please bring it. Frame drums, medicine drums, ceremony drums, and other hand drums are welcome, along with other instruments you feel at home with. We can&rsquo;t promise a set moment to play, because we follow what the night asks for, but if it calls for it, we&rsquo;ll make room. If you don&rsquo;t play, your&nbsp;breath and presence are more than enough. Wear something comfortable that you can sit, breathe, and move in. This Circle Is For You If...<ul fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><li fr-original-style="" id="isPasted" style="box-sizing: inherit;">You feel a subtle spiritual longing</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">You are curious about Sufi practice and have never sat in a circle like this</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">You are returning to a tradition after distance, doubt, or a complicated history with it</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">You already practice and want to chant and sit with others</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">You value sincerity more than belief</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">You want a devotional practice without dogma or judgment</li></ul>This practice is rooted in Sufi tradition and open to anyone. The focus is remembrance, the return to what the heart knows beneath thought. If you can sit with not knowing and let the rhythm carry you, you will feel at home here.

Learn About The GatheringThe Assembly of Lovers is a group practice rooted in Sufi tradition: an evening of remembrance, prayer, chanting, rhythm, silence, and presence, done together. It is not a performance or a lecture. The circle exists because people sit in it and practice side by side. In the circle we use words and phrases from the Islamic tradition, such as Allah and Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim, and many more. We also speak of God, the Divine, the Beloved, the One. You do not have to believe anything in particular to take part, and you do not need to know the words beforehand. You will be guided. People come from many backgrounds. Some have practiced for years and know this tradition well. Some are meeting it for the first time and are simply curious. Some grew up inside Islam or another tradition and carry a complicated relationship with it, whether that is distance, hurt, doubt, or something harder to name. You are welcome here, wherever you are. Above all, this is not a space of judgment. No one is measuring how much you know, how you pray, or where you stand with faith. You can be as familiar or as unfamiliar with all of this as you are. What to Expect We gather, settle into the circle, and set a brief intention for the evening. From there, we move into roughly an hour of simple, repetitive chants accompanied by drum. You’ll be guided, and you can participate with your voice, your breath, your hands, or simply your presence. If the night calls for it, there may also be room for others to join in with the instruments they’ve brought. After the chanting, we rest together in 5 minutes of silence, with no guidance and no expectation, just space to notice what is here. We close with a brief blessing and gratitude. There is no lecture to follow and no particular experience you need to have. Some evenings may feel deeply moving. Others may feel quiet or ordinary. We come to practice being present enough to experience ourselves more directly, with a little less of the mind standing between us and what is here. What to Bring If you play an instrument, please bring it. Frame drums, medicine drums, ceremony drums, and other hand drums are welcome, along with other instruments you feel at home with. We can’t promise a set moment to play, because we follow what the night asks for, but if it calls for it, we’ll make room. If you don’t play, your breath and presence are more than enough. Wear something comfortable that you can sit, breathe, and move in. This Circle Is For You If...<ul><li>You feel a subtle spiritual longing</li><li>You are curious about Sufi practice and have never sat in a circle like this</li><li>You are returning to a tradition after distance, doubt, or a complicated history with it</li><li>You already practice and want to chant and sit with others</li><li>You value sincerity more than belief</li><li>You want a devotional practice without dogma or judgment</li></ul>This practice is rooted in Sufi tradition and open to anyone. The focus is remembrance, the return to what the heart knows beneath thought. If you can sit with not knowing and let the rhythm carry you, you will feel at home here.

BAB AL ILM INC.

The Assembly of Lovers - Brooklyn

Bay Ridge

In Exchange

$20

In Gratitude

$30

In Abundance

$40

Pay What You Can

Free

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