The Sama School offers both monthly online Sama sessions, open to all, as well as individual instruction for those who wish to learn the tradition of Sufi Way musical zikr practice with the harmonium, under the guidance of Omar Inayat-Khan.

Monthly Sama
These monthly online sessions, held on the second Thursday of every month, are communal musical meditations unique to the Sufi Way. Led by Omar and Suzanne Inayat-Khan, they are deep, harmonious zikrs sung in unison, each with its own evocative theme, such as the Zikr of Gratitude, the Zikr of Becoming, the Zikr of Longing, the Zikr of the Stream of Love, the Alleluia Zikr, the Zikr of Intimacy, the Zikr of Peace, and many others. As with the other “Every Thursday” sessions, Sama is open to all on our mailing list.

Individual Instruction
The Sama School offers individuals the opportunity to learn and practice the art of Sama, especially musical zikr, in the style and tradition of the Sufi Way.  It is an experiential in-depth training, covering the learning of music, and technical development of playing Sufi Way zikrs on the harmonium, which is the leading instrument for musical zikr in our tradition.  If a student has a different instrument they wish to develop in contemplative style for personal spiritual work, we can adapt the sessions to include that. We also work with our voices, breath, posture and the wider aspects of Sama, such as poetry and practices, often offered as part of a Sama Circle, before the zikr is sung.

The training itself is student led and is a journey of self-exploration.  It can take a year or continue through life.  What we do in any lesson depends the student and their reasons, their hopes and an inner desire for learning Sama.

Some students join with an objective of becoming a zikr leader or Centre leader in their community.  For most it remains a form of personal spiritual practice.

What really matters is that the student loves to participate in Sama and enjoys singing zikr. Sama means deep listening, which means not just listening to the audible melody or the sung words or sounds, but listening to the deeper experience, and ultimately, the silence that holds all in its embrace.  Offering zikr is simply offering prayer to that.

Being able to read music is helpful but not essential. Similarly, having a developed singing voice or keyboard skills, also not required.  What will be useful is a deep calling to learn and a dedication towards practice. 

How to enquire
Email omar@sufiway.org so we can arrange for a conversation about your hopes and intentions for joining the Sama School. We can discuss some of the details of the school and our way forward.

How it works
In practical terms, there is usually one lesson a month, lasting about an hour, via a common video Conference platform.  What we cover in the lesson depends very much on the student and our agreement together. Typically, a student is then assigned some music related homework or practice and will at some point make a recording which will be reviewed either offline or during our next session together.

In our lessons we first focus on learning how to play a musical zikr on the harmonium.  To do that, the student must develop a relationship with the harmonium.  Every harmonium is different, and the student will learn how to listen to and to feel the harmonium responding to their playing.  With practice, the student's technical ability to play improves, and so does the relationship, ultimately becoming an expression of heart and soul through sound.  Along the way, the student learns how to clean and make minor adjustments and repairs to their instrument.

As the student becomes more experienced and is able to hold the musicality of the zikr, we are able to let go of some of the technical aspects and work together with more atmospheric aspects of Sama.  The different zikrs each have a different expression, offering a different experience, mood, emotion, quality.  We also consider aspects of Sama, such as poetry and practices which help a Sama Circle prepare for singing zikr together.  What is our adab, our way of behaving, whilst in Circle. What is expected at the end of the zikr. 

Costs and Payment
The recommendation is to set up a regular monthly donation of $20, £20 or €20 (or more if you can afford it) to the UK Sufi Way by clicking on the button below.  This will help the Sama School to keep running through the year and into the future, for ourselves and for those to come who are drawn to the music of the Sufi Way.