We humbly invite you to join with us in studying the teachings of Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen(Ral.). He taught us that we are all the children of Adam(A.S.), with one Mother, one Father, one family, and one God. Calling us the jeweled lights of his eyes, he told us:
Prayers that come from the heart and actions that come from the heart go directly to Him. Nothing else will be of any use to you at all, my precious children.
Āmīn. Āmīn. May we surrender all responsibility to God, the limitless Ruler of grace and incomparable love. Āmīn. May our life, its exaltedness, the good times and the bad be His responsibility. Āmīn. May He be responsible for our birth, our life, and our death, and for the good and evil we do. May He alone be responsible for the exaltedness of our life, for the grace that will take away our sorrow, and for the duty that will make us grow and bring us to the other shore. Āmīn. [A Book of God’s Love, pp. 50-51]
What Is the Fellowship?
“… on the way to God, there will be the darkness of four hundred trillion glitters in the qalb [the innermost heart], along with maya, elemental spirits, and ghosts. A thirsty man will push them all aside and look only at the Light. He will push them aside with his wisdom, look only at the Light, and drink in the sound of the grace. He will push aside all the other things and take in only the honey of that grace. He must drink in that honey of wisdom in order to quench the thirst of his birth.”
Keep the Pond Clean
M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)
The Essence
“ ‘Sufi’ is a clear, pure essence that has filtered and settled slowly, deep within…. It is the essence which has been filtered from all four religions by wisdom.”
Sufi: A Brief Explanation
M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)
In his book, The Tree That Fell to the West, M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) told us:
“Before I arrived at 46th Street in Philadelphia for my first visit, Bob Demby, Carolyn Secretary, Zoharah Simmons, and some others sitting here arranged for me to come. They formed a society for that purpose, to invite me here. I did not come to Philadelphia with the idea of establishing a fellowship. There is only one Fellowship and that is Allāh’s. There is only one family and one Fellowship. We are all the children of AdamÆ, and Allāh is in charge of that Fellowship.”
Established in 1971 by that small group of people, the Fellowship has grown to be a reservoir of wisdom for all who are seeking God’s truth, a place where all mankind can gather together to study the truth of God, outwardly through the teachings and example of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) and inwardly through listening with clarity and determination to the great truth within — one’s own conscience.
The Fellowship brings together as one family people of all colors, races, and religions who strive to study, know, and realize the meaning of their human birth: Who is Man? What is the nature of human existence? What is the birthright of Man, and what is his present state? What is Man’s destiny? Who is God? What is the relationship between God and Man?
The path upon which we can come upon the answers to these questions is one of constant affirmation that there is nothing other than God.
The Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Established as a reservoir of wisdom for all who are seeking God’s truth, all who strive to study, know, and realize the meaning of their human birth, the main Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA was where Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) stayed with us while he was in the United States. His presence is alive here and remains the center of our community.
The main building serves as a meeting house where people of all colors, religions, and races gather to learn from the teachings and example of our beloved Shaikh, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen(Ral.) . Its archives contain thousands of hours of his audio and video discourses and songs.
Public meetings in which the discourses and songs are played are held during the week and on weekends. The Sunday morning meeting starts at 10 a.m. and is followed by a vegetarian meal. These songs, talks, and meetings are streamed live on audio through BMF 786 Radio on the Fellowship Live Channel: and on video when available, through Twitch. Audio songs, discourses, and talks are also available on the Bawa 24/7 Channel and the Daily Discourse Channel. all channels are available on the Streaming page.
The Fellowship is run purely on a donation basis. Everyone is welcome and invited to visit.
“… children, you must walk on the path of truth. You must study that which is known as wisdom. There are many, many wonders.”
The Map of the Journey to God
M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)
The Mosque of M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen is located on the same property as the Fellowship. This beautiful building was designed by Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) built by the hands of the Fellowship community, and dedicated in 1984. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.) described the Mosque as the heart of the Fellowship, saying, “We have this Mosque to reach God, to be in unity with each other, and to pray.” He referred to it as “God’s House,” a place where men and women can find renewal and respite from the world.
The Mosque is open daily for five-times prayer, the Friday congregational prayer, and early morning recitation and remembrance of God (dhikr). Recitations (maulids) are offered honoring the Prophet Muhammad (Sal.), ‘Abdul-Qādir al-Gīlānī (Ral._, and Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.).
“There are many ways that we pray. There are many methods of prayer, and there are many steps for prayer. Dearest children, we need to understand that our prayer is like lighting a house. Just as we put light in a house, just as we decorate a house, and just as we clear and beautify it, we must do this to our own house, the cage of our body.”
Prayer
M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)
The Mazār of Shaikh M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen is located in Chester County approximately forty miles from Philadelphia. This beautiful Mazār, the first in the United States, was designed and built by members of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship and dedicated in 1987.
Since that time it has become an important destination for pilgrims from all over the world who wish to pay their respects.
All are welcome to visit the Mazār of Shaikh M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. Please see the Mazār page for hours and details of visitation.
“… we should honor the wise ones who have come—the Qutbiyyah (Ral.), the Rasūlullāh (Sal), and the prophets. Until the time when we commune with them as one, we should at least honor them in this way and give all praise to Allāh.”
Why We Recite the Maulids
M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)
786
To visit the Fellowship, the Mosque, or the Mazār or to receive information about meetings, events, and branch locations, please see the pages on this website,
or contact
Office of the Secretary
Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship
5820 Overbrook Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131
1-215-879-6300 info@bmf.org
“These are the ways in which all of you should act, and the Qualities, Characteristics, and Conduct that you should imbibe.
“In the same way that the One God bestows His Compassion on all beings, without any animosities, and provides them with food and love, and protects them, all the children in the Fellowship must imbibe Divine Qualities and be tolerant, and forbearing, and preach the good Wisdom, and embrace everyone with Love. This is a Divine Characteristic, and the first thing that I have to say to you is that all those who are seeking God should first achieve His Qualities.
“All of the Prophets of God, that is, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, David, Jesus, Mohammad, Job, Joseph, Jonah, and all of the 124,000 of them [may peace be with them] were faced with innumerable distresses, hostilities, and satanic animosities. They had to face the many divisions that arose among those of the same kind. They had to face the separations that arose in the unity of God, and they had to face several other difficulties. In the midst of all these things, without paying heed to the difficulties that beset them, they imbibed the Divine Qualities. What they did pay heed to was the Divine Commandments; not their own difficulties. Similarly, whatever difficulties you might be faced with, without being set back by them you must find happiness in God’s happiness. It is the Grace of Truth and the plenitude of it that you must spread to the creatures of the world.”
Preamble to the Bylaws
of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship
Everyone is welcome. Please join us.