Rumi Cafe Night with Jilani and Friends at the Soul Wellness Hub, Friendly, Sowerby Bridge
Saturday 13 December 2025
7-9.30 pm
In honour of Rumi’s Urs
Poetry, Music, Sohbet, Chanting and Zikr
The Soul Cafe will be open serving drinks and cakes
£10 in advance or £15 on the door. Advance tickets can be purchased here.
Contact Jilani with any questions
Join Jilani Cordelia and friends for a Rumi Cafe Night, to celebrate the Urs of the mystic Sufi poet Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi.
In the Sufi tradition, the Urs, or ‘Wedding Day’, marks the moment when the Lover dissolves into the Beloved, the Soul’s return to Bliss and Divine Union.
Jilani will share readings of Rumi’s mystical poetry, accompanied by beautiful live music, on guitar, viola and percussion. There will be times of Sohbet, or Sufi teaching through soulful conversation. Jilani will also lead the group in chanting Zikr and other sacred phrases in Arabic from the Sufi tradition.
Zikr means ‘remembrance’ and refers to the Arabic phrase La illaha il’llah, which could be translated as “no God but God”, “no reality except Unity”, “all separation is illusion”. In practicing Zikr, we practice remembrance of our inherent unity with the Divine, recognising our human tendency to forget. Chanting Zikr can be a powerful and heart-opening experience, unifying a group and harmonising the atmosphere in a vibration of grounded, sacred, loving connection.
The chants are simple and easily learned, not unlike kirtan or bhajan, but rooted in the Sufi tradition. Even if you don’t understand all of the words, you will have an embodied experience, which many describe as inducing feelings of joy, inner peace and a deep sense of connection to the Beloved.
The Zikr journey can pass through times of high energy and ecstasy, usually ending in a space of stillness and silence, resting in awe-filled experience of Unity with All-That-Is.
The gorgeous Soul Cafe will be open, serving hot and cold drinks and delicious, healthy cakes, and providing a friendly and welcoming cafe atmosphere for this sacred time of sharing together.
Jilani is a member of the teaching circle of the Sufi Ruhaniat International, a Universal Western Sufi Order in the Chisti lineage. She travels widely, teaching in many countries including Australia, New Zealand, India and the USA as well as across Europe. Resident in the Calder Valley for nearly 30 years, she is happy to be able to share her work near home as well. Jilani will be supported by a group of talented musicians.
