The al-Ishq Relationship Circle: A Safe Space to Walk Together
A monthly support group with Hassan Roy Martin & Latifa Kira Martin
Relationships as a mirror
Our relationships often show us where our deepest spiritual work is. The people closest to us, whether a spouse or partner, a family member, a friend, or a member of our community or tariqa, can reveal what is alive in our hearts. Those relationships can be hard. They also invite us into deeper listening, greater awareness, healing, and a more open heart.
The al-Ishq Relationship Circle is a monthly space for exploring that walking. It is a place to bring a relationship you are navigating and to be held with gentleness, mercy, and compassion while you look at it honestly.
When the walking gets hard
Sometimes walking with another person is exhausting, and the best we can manage in the moment is to step back. When our usual skills are not enough, this circle offers something more specific: practice.
Sidi taught that everything is a mirror. When we are triggered, our nafs are involved in some way. Walking with another person gives us a chance to see that more clearly, and to let go of what keeps us stuck, so we can reach the deeper truths of our hearts and souls.
What we practice together
The circle draws on the teachings of the Jami’ Initiative, the wisdom of the Sufi path, and peacemaking traditions. Over the months we work on seven skills:
- Reflective listening: listening deeply and reflecting back what we hear, in a way that deepens connection
- Guessing feelings and needs: doing our best to understand the feelings and needs moving within ourselves and within others
- Cultivating curiosity: listening to understand rather than to respond, especially when what someone says doesn’t seem to make sense
- Making requests: asking in ways that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely, so they set us up for success
- Sitting in silence: making space for what Allah moves within us, and around us, before we speak or respond
- Speaking consciously: saying what we need to say concisely and authentically, from the heart, for our own wellbeing and the benefit of all
- Staying open: being willing to be with the full range of what Allah sends into our lives and our beings
We are not trying to bypass pain. We are learning to use it as a doorway, to see our blind spots, and to invite mercy into our wounds, so our hearts can return to witnessing love.
Who it’s for
The circle welcomes anyone who wants to walk more closely with a beloved: a partner, a family member, a friend, or someone in your community. You do not need to be in crisis, and you do not need to have it figured out.
Join us!
