The Khankah of the Heart is a vision of a Sufi community, a Khankah, based not in a building of bricks and mortar, but in the relationships between the deep and loving hearts of its members. All fervent seekers are welcome to join, whether new to this or having been walking the path for many years. The core of this community will be the practices and teachings of Murshid Sufi Ahmed Murad Chisti (Samuel Lewis) and the Sufi and Dance lineages that he birthed. Dances of Universal Peace will be central to our group practice. In our experience and understanding, the Dances of Universal Peace are rooted in the whole of S.A.M.'s teachings and practices including the Walks and that they will flourish more fully, firmly attached to their roots from which they can not be separated.

In 2024 Jilani Cordelia Prescott & Shamsia Sandra Sunfire initiated our gathering together with a shared purpose. The Khankah of the Heart is envisioned to meet in different places at different times with different people guiding us through retreats. We are living in the UK but retreats here will welcome those from other countries and future retreats could also be held in other countries.

An annual retreat will happen around the time of the Urs of Samuel Lewis, the anniversary of his death, of when he returned to the Source from which he came.
There is a hope to expand this to a week long annual retreat, with other online and in person gatherings keeping us in touch in between. The retreats are envisioned to serve and nourish the Sufi community and friends, wherever we may call home, returning to our home in the heart, our Khankah of the Heart, where we can gather to "eat, dance and pray" together.

We are guided by our teachers. We follow in their footsteps, walking with them.

We are already looking forward to the next Khankah of the Heart Retreat at the Oblate Retreat Centre in Crewe which will be 14th~17th January 2027. 

We will focus on The Illuminated Souls mentioned in the Sufi Invocation of Hazrat Inayat Khan. These radiant beings of all time and no time, the shining ones, open the door and point the way as we polish the lamps of our own souls to reveal the illuminated breath here and now.

We are very grateful to have received a grant from the Oneness Project to support an ongoing bursary fund to enable us in turn to support those encountering financial difficulties so that they can join us. We have previously been supported by Dances of Universal Peace International. This bursary fund will be available to all including those who will in future serve and support our communities, the young people. 

We recognise that these are challenging times and that financial challenges are becoming more widespread and that a bursary fund will help our community to be more supportive and inclusive.
If you are experiencing abundance and feel inspired to support our bursary fund, please contact us.