Experiencing the Divine Word: A Women’s Spiritual Gathering in Beirut

Fifteen-to-thirty women come together on a weekly basis in a Sunni neighbourhood in Beirut to practice the dhikr. Dhikr, the remembrance of God, is a central rite of mystical Islam. Trimingham (1998) describes the practitioner of mystical Islam as: “... anyone who believes that it is possible to have direct experience of God and who is prepared to go out of his way to put himself in a state whereby he may be enabled to do this”. Most mystics trace dhikr back to the qur’anic injunction “… remember God frequently and glorify Him morning and evening”. The performance of dhikr varies according to the rules of the different mystical orders and local practices. It mostly includes the invocation of God by the repetition of his names, control of breath, bodily movements, often also chanting and the employment of musical instruments