Confraternity of the Message
“The Sufi message is the answer to the cry of humanity today; for it is in agreement with science, and it stands in defence of all religions. Our movement renders service to God and humanity, without any intention of forming an exclusive community, but of uniting in this service people of all the different religions. This movement, in its infancy, is only beginning its work, but its culmination will be a world movement. It is the world message, and the religion which will be the religion of the whole of humanity; a religion which does not distract the mind of any person from his own faith, but makes it more firm, more enlightened, more sympathetic to his own religion. It is a religion which teaches tolerance towards the faith of another;a religion which opens the heart to words of wisdom, no matter what direction they come from. This is not only a church, but a school in which to learn a lesson, the lesson of tolerance; to learn to revere all teachers and to respect all scriptures; a lesson which teaches us that we need not give up our own religion, but that we should embrace all religions in order to make the sacredness of religion perfect.” Hazrat Inayat Khan
Original document of the Confraternity from the 20’s
This Confraternity has been formed by the Seraj-un-Munir to provide a method by which sincere and devoted members of the Universal Worship´ (Church of All) may unite in a daily form of prayer for spreading the Message.
It is divided into two parts called:
1. The Duty
2. The Task
The first is obligatory upon all who join; the second is voluntary, the form of both is given below.
The Duty
- To repeat at Sunrise, or upon waking, the prayer Saum – a devotion from the Gayan, – “May the Message of God spread far and wide” (101 times*), and the prayer Pir from the Vadan and the prayer for the Universel [see morning prayers]
- To repeat at midday the prayer Salat – a devotion from the Gayan, – “Pour upon us Thy Love and Thy Light” (101 times*) and the prayer Nabi from the Vadan and the prayer for the Universel [see mid-day prayers]
- To repeat at sunset the prayer Khatum – a devotion from the Gayan – “Disclose to us Thy Divine Light” (101 times*) and the prayer Rasul from the Vadan and the prayer for the Universel [see evening prayers]
*the current version in the Sufi Order International is 11 times
A sacred vow to fulfill these devotions will be taken with the Seraj-un-munir, or the Seraj of the country, by the candidate for membership in the Confraternity of the Message.
NOTE: When there is a church or a chapel of the Universal Worship these devotions may all be done at one hour as a form of collective Worship; in this case the Candle of the Message [also called the Spirit of Guidance candle] should be lighted from the Center Light [commonly called the God light or candle] and the words repeated aloud by each person at the same time. The ribbon and medal** of the Confraternity should be worn at a Collective Devotion, and also for the Hours.
The Task
The Task which may be undertaken voluntarily by Members of the Confraternity, is to learn by heart each day one sentence of the Gayan, until the entire book has been committed to memory. When the Member can inform his/her Seraj that he/she has done this, the sacred distinction of the name Gayani will be conferred upon him/her by the Seraj-un-Munir.
He or she may then proceed in the same manner with the Vadan, and if he/she succeeds in learning this book also, the sacred distinction of the name Vadani will be conferred upon him/her by the Seraj-un-Munir.
NOTE: It is not necessary that the Books be learned in such a way that any part can be remembered at any time, although this should be the ideal before the one who undertakes this sacred task, but each verse must be learned thoroughly at the time when it is studied.