COURSE CLOSED

Intimacy in Invocation: Exploring the Theology and Art of Duʿaʾ

This course consists of four live, 90-minute sessions, hosted on Zoom.

Dates: June 1st, 8th, 9th, 15th, 2024 [Dhul-Hijjah 1445]

Time: 8 a.m. LA/11 a.m. New York/4 p.m. London/5 p.m. Cairo/11 p.m. Kuala Lumpur.

We know from our religious teachings that duʿaʾ is at the very heart of our devotional lives. We also know this experientially: in many ways, duʿaʾ is an indicator, a litmus test, of our spiritual state and inward alignment.

When we feel deeply connected to Allah, we express this through intimate moments in heartful du‘a’ and we make time for prayerful supplication. When we experience periods of crisis, we turn to Him, awakened to our complete dependence on Allah, imploring Him through whole-hearted and fully-present invocations. And conversely, when we feel out of alignment spiritually, when we are disconnected from our inner world, it manifests in a retreat away from du‘a’.

Many of us also have a fraught relationship with du‘a’. Maybe we’ve prayed and prayed for something, but still await a response. ‘Should I even bother to keep asking after so long? Maybe it’s not meant to happen and I should just stop,’ we might conclude. Or maybe our uneasy relationship with du‘a’ is because of the many, seemingly contradictory, teachings we’ve heard about it. We may wonder: Does du‘a’. change Allah’s decree (qadar) for us? What does it mean for a du‘a’ to be “accepted”? If du'a's are accepted in special times and places, what does that mean if I supplicate at other times?

If you’re curious to explore the various perspectives and answers to these questions, join Dr. Mariam Sheibani in a four-week online course for women exploring an array of topics related to du‘a’. 

Intimacy in Invocation: Exploring the Theology and Art of Duʿaʾ
$85.00
One time

Join Dr. Mariam Sheibani and a community of women in a four-week online course examining our relationship with duʿaʾ and renewing intimate invocation as a grounding spiritual practice in our lives.

✓ 6 hours of live classes across 4 sessions
✓ Live event with access to recordings
✓ Be in community with like-minded women

Course Description

The course will be an active and dynamic communal experience. Participants are strongly encouraged to attend live with their cameras on and ready to actively engage with their fellow community of learners. You’ll be asked to contribute your reflections, questions, and importantly, your favorite duʿa’s for study.

By the end of the course, you will:

Understand the core theological principles underlying the devotion of duʿaʾ.

Gain new insights and perspectives about the many debates and questions circulating about duʿaʾ among Muslims.

Deepen your relationship with Allah through learning and implementing the inward and outward Sunnas of duʿaʾ in the ten days of Dhul-Ḥijjah.

Reflect on your relationship with duʿaʾ in community and explore mental and spiritual roadblocks obstructing your devotion of duʿaʾ.

Apply the principles you learn about the features, expressions, and formulations of Prophetic duʿaʾs to your favorite invocations.

Course Outline

Our course will begin with an exploration of our personal and collective relationship with duʿaʾ. We’ll learn key theological principles that shape the place of supplication in our devotional lives as believers. We’ll then look at diverse perspectives on the best practices - the “dos and don’ts” of duʿaʾ, explored through selected duʿaʾs from the ummah’s cumulative contemplation and practice of invocation. Our journey together will end with a collaborative session studying some of your favorite duʿaʾs from the Quran, Sunna, and early spiritual exemplars.

  • In our first session we begin by diagnosing our personal and collective relationship with duʿaʾ. We’ll then take the first steps to deepen and renew this relationship by learning key theological principles that shape how we engage in the devotion of invocation as believers. Some of the questions we’ll explore:

    • What is the meaning, purpose, and role of du‘a’ in Muslim devotional life?

    • What does the “acceptance” or “answering” of du‘a’ mean?

    • Can a du‘a’ go unanswered or be rejected?

    • Does du‘a’ change God’s decree (qadaʾ wa-qadar)?

  • Our second session will look at diverse perspectives on the best practices - the “dos and don’ts” of du‘a’. We’ll discuss the inward and outward art of invocation through exploring select du‘a’s from the ummah’s cumulative contemplation and practice of invocation. Some of the questions we’ll explore:

    • Is there a single “formula” for an accepted du‘ā’? If so, where does it come from?

    • What etiquettes of du‘a’ did the Prophet Muhammad (saws) teach us?

    • What does it mean for some times and places to be considered optimum for better du‘ā’s to be answered?

    • What does it mean for a duʿaʾ to be general or specific and what are the implications of each? Is it better to ask or not to ask for something?

  • The third session will reflect on thorny questions about how invocation can link us to other beings in both the seen and unseen realms. While participants will determine the implications of these potential connections to the unseen for their personal practice, exploring the basis of these practices and what they tell us about realities beyond the material realm is paradigm-shifting in itself. Some of the theological and legal questions we’ll examine:

    • Do our prayers reach the dead? Do their prayers reach us? What about the Prophet (saws)?

    • Do some people’s duʿaʾ count more than that of others? What are the implications of Islamic teachings on this issue?

    • What role, if any, do the angels play in praying for believers or amplifying their supplications?

    • What are the teachings about and possible implications of making duʿaʾ against a person?

    • Can we pray for non-Muslims?

  • The final session will be a workshop applying our learnings to identify the features, expressions, and meanings of invocations selected by participants from the Qur’an, Sunna, and righteous exemplars. We will also conclude by revisiting course themes and how to meaningfully sustain a renewed relationship with duʿaʾ.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is the course open to everyone?

    The current offering of the course is for women only. Future courses on this and other topics will be open to both men and women.

  • Are there any resources provided for the course?

    The course will include engaging live sessions with reflective learning activities. Participants will receive session slides and a few recommended readings.

  • Will recordings be available?

    Yes, the recordings will be made available to registered participants within 24 hours of the live session. Enrolled participants will have access to the course content until the end of July 2024.

  • What is the expected commitment for the course?

    Creating community for collaborative exploration and reflection is a core feature of Dr. Mariam’s work. Accordingly, the commitment for the course includes:

    (1) Attendance of the live weekly session is the core commitment. While we anticipate that participants may have challenges attending live from time to time, we strongly encourage live attendance of the sessions. Recordings will be made available for those unable to attend live.

    (2) Engagement: Participants will be asked to fill out pre- and post-course questionnaires in which they can pose their questions before the course and evaluate their learning after the course.

    (3) Active participation in the live session is encouraged (but not required). We recognize that while some course participants learn best through discussion, exchange in community, and engaging with the instructor, others participants prefer to simply absorb the content. The course is structured in a way to support both learning styles.

  • What texts are used as a basis for the course?

    For this course, Dr. Sheibani uses a variety of exegeses (tafsīr) of the Qur’an, hadith commentaries, theological writings, and other spiritual works. These texts include Zabidī’s commentary on Book IX of al-Ghazali’s Revival of the Religious Sciences, Shaykh Zakariyya al-Ansari’s Talkhis al-azhiya fi ahkam al-ad’iyya, and commentaries on Ibn ʿAtaʾillah’s Aphorisms (hikam).

  • I'd like to take the course but I can't afford the tuition. Do you provide scholarships?

    Participants unable to afford the course tuition are encouraged to apply for our limited number of scholarships. Scholarship applications close on May 20th, 2024. You will receive an email by May 31st with a response.

    We encourage applicants to apply only when there is a cause or reason that, without a sponsorship-supported placement, would mean they are not able to attend the course or if allocating their resources to finance the course would result in a loss of essential resources. No participants will be turned away for lack of funds.

Meet your instructor

Dr. Mariam Sheibani

Dr. Mariam Sheibani is a scholar, educator, and researcher. She is a professor of Islamic thought and community educator who is passionate about engaging key issues facing Muslims and Muslim communities. Dr. Sheibani offers new paradigms and frameworks for coherently integrating religious commitment with lived experience. She empowers people to think through critical issues, co-construct solutions to shared challenges, and offer practical tools for cultivating a God-centered and meaningful spiritual life. Drawing on over two decades of traditional training in the Islamic sciences, graduate training at the University of Chicago and Harvard University, and pedagogical expertise honed from at world-class universities and hundreds of community programs, Dr. Sheibani delivers accessible, relevant, and research-based courses.

What students have to say

  • “Professor Sheibani was a great professor. She made sure we discussed the course concepts thoroughly, shared our own opinions, and raised questions on the course material. She made all the students feel comfortable and connected to one another and ensured they respected each other's opinions. I also loved how she combined both western academic sources and traditional Muslim sources to broaden our understanding with different perspectives.”

    - Student at the University of Toronto, Early Islamic History Seminar

  • “This course really showed the complexity and breadth of Sufism. The scope of what was covered in a relatively short time was incredible. The delivery was excellent and easy to follow – a good systematic and chronological treatment without being rigid. I learnt so many new things and the course really shifted my thinking. Explanations of contentious issues were very even handed and dispassionate. This was a refreshing approach because of how antagonistic discussions of these topics are in Muslim communities today.”

    -Student in What Is Sufism?, an on-demand course at Cambridge Muslim College

  • “I thoroughly benefited from the course What is Sufism? taught by Dr. Mariam Sheibani. She taught the course in a very systematic and engaging way. She connected the dots for me about Sufism through an intellectual historical perspective. The course was easy to follow and the content was very well organized. As a Learning Experience Designer by profession, I really appreciated how the content was divided appropriately into smaller segments that flowed logically. I also appreciate that it was self-paced which allowed working professionals like me to go through it at their own pace.”

    - Ateka, student in What Is Sufism?

  • “The class was immensely informative largely because Professor Sheibani has such a strong command in the expansive fields of Islamic history, Islamic law, and Islamic theology. No question was left unanswered or without a nuanced explanation from her. Excellent course.”

    - Graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, Seminar on Islamic Ethics

  • “I see this course as a defining moment in my studies at Harvard Divinity School. Professor Sheibani is an excellent instructor who utilizes a variety of pedagogical strategies to provide a holistic learning experience.”

    - Graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, Seminar on al-Ghazālī’s Thought

  • “Professor Sheibani is a gifted instructor who surpassed my expectations of a professor. She is clearly passionate and knowledgeable about her work and it's contagious to students.”

    - Graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, Seminar on Islamic Ethics

  • “Professor Sheibani is a gem! She should be nominated for teaching awards (and I am sure she will be!). She did a stellar job with every aspect of teaching and inspired each of her students - in a very diverse class - to learn more than they thought they could. I wish I had the opportunity to take more classes from her.”

    - Graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, Seminar on Islamic Ethics

  • “Dr. Mariam is an expert in Hadith sciences. But more than that she deeply cares about her students and connecting them to this science. She is a skilled educator who breaks down complex concepts and makes them digestible and applicable for all. I loved learning from her and with her. She is an incredible teacher who models sincerity, accessibility, and humility, which is beautiful to witness. She is a clear communicator, and she engages difficult subjects with grace and frankness.”

    - Rahile, student in Hadith seminar in Cairo

  • “I loved how Dr. Sheibani explored specific Islamic laws and presented the differences between the rules and the spirit or purpose of the law. There was so much compassion in law the way she taught it, even on the toughest questions. I also liked how she transitioned into therapeutic applications and made room for classroom discussions. It was always clear that things are not black and white and listening to different experiences from fellow practitioners enriched the discussion.”

    - Practitioner-student in the Cambridge Muslim College, Islamic Psychology Diploma

  • “If you want to understand Hadith, Sunnah, and Fiqh, the four sessions called ‘Holding Fast’ by Dr. Mariam Sheibani are the best video resource available online. She’s a phenomenal teacher, and I highly recommend learning from her.”

    - Abdullah Saleh