Preparing the Heart for Ramadan
Rumi Center invites you to join us for a special online experience streamed live from the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, designed to help you prepare your heart for the sacred month of Ramadan.
This retreat offers a sacred pause: an invitation to go inward before the month begins.
Together, we'll immerse ourselves in remembrance, contemplation, sacred study, & creative expression.
Enter Ramadan with presence, clarity, and an awakened heart.
Join live or follow at your own pace.
All sessions are recorded and remain available for viewing throughout Ramadan.
ONLINE RETREAT ACCESS INCLUDES
A 7-Day Live Online Retreat
A week of live-streamed teachings, meditations, sacred music, dhikr, and guided discussions.
Live + On-Demand Access
Attend sessions live or watch on your own schedule. Recordings are uploaded the same day and remain available for viewing throughout the entire month of Ramadan.
Instant Access Upon Registration
You’ll receive details immediately after registering with instructions on how to join live sessions and access all retreat materials on our course website.
28 Hours of Total Content
Watch live or return to the teachings and practices throughout Ramadan at your own pace.
YOU CAN LOOK FORWARD TO
Daily live sessions with Baraka Blue and Imam Adeyinka Mendes exploring themes of transmission, transformation, and transcendence through reflection on the Qur’an and the classical texts of Islamic spirituality (Sufism).
Sacred music and dhikr, led by the world-renowned Al-Firdaus Ensemble and Pearls of Islam, guiding us in the remembrance of the Divine through voice, rhythm, and presence.
Plants in the Qur’an with Rabiah Mali, drawing on Qur’anic language about the natural world to deepen understanding of creation as a sign of Divine order and mercy.
Guided meditations (Murāqaba) and contemplative writing practices (Muhāsaba) designed to support introspection, clarity, and inner awakening, offering space for the heart to listen and respond.
Community Connection: Opportunities to submit questions to your teachers and participate in a retreat Facebook and WhatsApp community for shared reflection, support, and companionship.
Intentional space between sessions to rest, reflect, journal, and integrate the teachings—allowing participants to carry the rhythm of the retreat into their own homes and daily lives.
A PATH OF PREPARATIOn
Too often, Ramadan arrives while we're still catching our breath. We enter the month distracted, depleted, or simply unprepared, and spend the first weeks finding our footing instead of deepening our practice.
This retreat is an invitation to arrive differently.
Preparing the Heart for Ramadan creates space to slow down before the sacred month begins. To remember, reconnect, and awaken the soul's longing. So when Ramadan comes, you're ready to receive.
Open to all. Whether you come to deepen your practice, reconnect with your essential self, or simply rest in a community of remembrance, you are welcome.
Registration
After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the live sessions and accessing retreat materials through our course platform.
THE THREE BOOKS:
SIGNS ON THE HORIZON AND WITHIN
THE CENTRAL THEME OF OUR INQUIRY AND REFLECTION WILL REVOLVE AROUND THE QUR’ANIC VERSE:
We will show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the Truth.
(Qur’an 41:53)
THROUGHOUT THE RETREAT, WE WILL CONTEMPLATE THE THREE GREAT BOOKS OF REVELATION
The Book of Nature (the horizons) — the cosmos as a mirror of divine order and beauty.
The Book of the Human Soul (the self) — the inward landscape as a reflection of the Infinite.
The Sacred Scripture (the Qur’an) — revelation that illuminates both nature and the soul.
Through study, reflection, and spiritual practice, we will explore how these three unveilings complement one another and invite us to awaken to reality, to see through the veils of separation and to live in harmony with the nature of things and the One who created all things.
YOUR TEACHERs & GUIDEs:
Baraka Blue
Baraka Blue is a Sufi poet, musician, author and founder of Rumi Center. In addition to releasing multiple studio albums, authoring books of poetry, and performing internationally, he has a degree in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Washington and a Masters in Islamic Studies from Berkley’s Graduate Theological Union. After a life-altering encounter with Rumi’s poetry as a teenager he has been a student of Sufism and Sufi poetry for the past 20 years.
ADEYINKA MUHAMMAD MENDES
Imam Adeyinka Mendes is co-founder of the Bilal Spiritual Center and the African-American Healing, Ancestry, and Development (AHAD) Collective. He is currently the Senior Scholar at WASAT.
Adeyinka Mendes is an Ohio native with Yoruba, Brazilian, and African-American ancestry, he embraced Islam at seventeen and went on to study history at Morehouse College and Arabic at the Ohio State University, as well as the Islamic sciences primarily in Syria, Mauritania, Nigeria, and the United States. He works as an interpreter of sacred texts, teacher of Arabic and Islamic Sciences, and community Imam, as well as a rites of passage leadership consultant who continues to read with scholars and students.
FEATURING SPECIAL Musical GUESTS:
Sakinah Lenoir and Rabiah Mali FROM PEARLS OF ISLAM
Sisters Sakinah Lenoir & Rabiah Mali form Pearls of Islam — a British duo of African-Caribbean heritage whose music beautifully bridges faith, culture and soul. Blending traditional qasāʾid (Islamic poetry) with contemporary sounds, their songs weave English and Arabic lyrics through gentle harmonies, rhythmic hand drums, and acoustic guitar. Their performances are heartfelt and devotional — an offering of remembrance (dhikr), reflection, and spiritual uplift — creating a warm, grounded atmosphere that invites listeners into stillness, joy and connection.
Through their organization The Rabbani Project - they have been leading women’s retreats based on Islamic spirituality and the arts for over a decade.
Ali Keeler & Omar Benlamlih from the al-firdaus ensemble
Ali Keeler & Omar Benlamlih are members of the Al Firdaus Ensemble, based in Granada. The group takes its inspiration from the word “Firdaus,” which is the Arabic name, of Persian origin, for the highest abode in Paradise.
The unique sound of their music is due to a synthesis of different musical styles. These include original compositions of a more Western classical character, with influences from both Celtic and Flamenco traditions, and new arrangements of songs drawn from the rich heritage of traditional sufi music from Arabic, Andalusi, and Turkish sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions? Take a look at the FAQ or reach out anytime. If you’re feeling ready, go ahead and register.
-
It allows you to experience the full 7-day retreat from home through live streaming and on-demand recordings.
-
All main teachings, meditations, sacred music sessions, and dhikr gatherings.
-
Once you register, you’ll receive an email with course login details and zoom link information before the retreat begins.
-
The retreat begins on Sunday evening (Moroccan time), insha’Allah, and continues through Saturday evening. A detailed schedule will be posted closer to the retreat.
-
Yes. All main sessions will be recorded and available for the entire month of Ramadan.
-
No. Each registration provides access for one participant only.
-
No installation needed. All sessions will be held on Zoom and recordings accessed on our course website.
-
Contact us at birdofmysoul@gmail.com and our team will assist, insha’Allah.