Healing Sounds of the
Abrahamic Faiths
Master of Divinity Program
Course Descriptions: Healing Sounds of the Abrahamic Faiths
Holy Ministry in Sufi Sound Healing
3 credits
This course focuses on the student’s growth into their divinely-inspired ministry of sacred Sufi sound healing. Students will be invited to deepen their understanding and experience of the sacred holy music in themselves and in all creation. They will be guided to embody and minister from a holy place of love, harmony, deep respite, and healing; and then to begin to identify their particular task or inspiration in Sufi sound healing. Examples of love, wisdom, holiness, humor, and more will be gleaned from the lives of the prophets, the companions, and the holy women and men of Islam.
Origins of Holy Sound
2 credits
“Kun”—students will be introduced to the human being as created by and creator of holy sound. The course includes exploration of the first holy sound and its foundation for all creation will be offered. Students will be invited to experience their own holy reality and how it unfolds into their life; and by extension, understand and minister to the creation. A focus will be on students’ creative life of music, healing, teaching, and more.
Holy Sound Ministry – Skills
1 credit
Skill development offered includes but will not be limited to: ministering to different realms of the heart, the “five-minute ministry,” clearing negative patterns with prayer beads, and water ministry.
Holy Self-Ministry
2 credits
Methods of self-care will be taught, including practices such as the Jewel Supplication, Holy Water Healing, Hizb-ul Bahr, self-compassion remembrance, and more. Students will be guided to identify signs of the need for self-care, such as feelings of overwhelm, burn-out, and flagging enthusiasm (himma).
The Holy Healer in the Way of the Prophets
2 credits
Students will be invited to taste and to deepen in their ability to become the pure vessel of healing from the Divine. The holy healer will be illustrated in teachings from Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal, and from the examples of Abraham, Jesus, Muhammad, and other saints and prophets.
Holy Healing Methods in Sound
3 credits
This course will include the ethics of spiritual healing, listening and interviewing skills, alignment with the Light of God, connecting with the heart of the client, and transmission of the Light of God. Holy healing methods from Sidi Muhammad al Jamal, from the Qu’ran, and from the Sufi way will be introduced and practiced, including the Tawba Healing with Special Qualities, Letter of the Prophet Healing, the 99 Supplications, the Authentic Authorized Healing, and more. A variety of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual issues will be addressed.
Holy Methods of Protection
1 credit
Specific prayers/healings, Sufi litanies, and Qu’ranic recitations for protection of person and place will be presented and practiced. These will include, but are not limited to Hizbul Bahr, the Enemy of the Devil smudge healing, the Sacred Water Protection, and the Adhan Protection.
Seven Dimensions of the Soul and Its Healing
1 credit
Students will be guided to examine, experience and learn how to heal seven different aspects of the human soul. The relationship of these aspects to the creation—including minerals, plants and animals—to the spiritual development of the human being, and to certain qualities of Allah will be explored.
Theory and Nature of Sufism: Selected Stations of the Heart
3 credits
Students will be guided to examine and deepen their experience and embodiment of the world of the soul (Jabarut) and the individual way-stations of the soul as described by Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal in Music of the Soul and in He Who Knows Himself Knows His Lord. Students will also be guided to dip into the stations of the secret and the essence of Laila (the deep secret love of God); and into tasting and walking in the deep light of the Prophet Muhammad (saws) as it pertains to their personal growth and their ministry. Deepening into the experience of—and healing ability with—the Divine Qualities of God will also be offered.
The Divine Flute
1 credit
Students will be introduced to the Prophet Dawood (saws) and his Divine Flute as a basis for celebrating Allah through holy music. Topics will include his level of surrender and his gift of hearing the speech of animals; and sources will include Sidi Muhammad al Jamal, the Qu’ran and hadith, contemporary Sufi musicians, and more. Experiential exercises invite the students into their own experience of and capacity with the Divine Flute.
Holy Play
1 credit
This course will offer simple and creative tools that invite newcomers into collective creative play, group chanting and worship. Methods will include movement, individual and group music, and healing improvisation.
Capstone Project in Holy Sound Healing
3 credits
In this course students have the opportunity to integrate theory, their walking and practical experience, demonstrating the knowledge and skill they have gained by a research project based on their interest, or by a service project related to a community or societal issue. Challenges, issues, and their relationship to real world problems will be explored as opportunities to bring the light of Allah into the world. A service project or paper on the student’s inspiration and learning is to be completed before graduation.
Topics in Holy Sufi Sound Healing
1 credit
This will include the value of sacred languages and the rights and benefits of each letter, varied supplications in healing, contemporary Sufi musical artists, and other topics as they arise.
