Umrah: A Journey to the Heart

Umrah: A Journey to the Heart

The Call of the Path;
Sometimes, a call descends into the heart—
A voice... not from the outside, but from within.
It tells you that you must be on a path—
But you don’t yet know where that path leads.

Umrah is the courage to step into this unknown.
It is a journey from existence to emptiness, from ego to surrender.
The quietest of all paths, the one with the deepest purpose.

"O traveler, the journey you embark on is not an ordinary trip—
it is the first step in returning to your heart."

The Path:

The journey is not a walk of the body, but a turning of the soul toward its qibla.
Each step strikes at the thick walls of the ego.
Each pause is to draw back a veil.

This path does not reach the outskirts of cities—
It reaches the very essence of the heart.

You set out with a group, but the road is solitary.
No one can see the Kaaba within you.
What you see along the path
is simply a reflection of what lies within you.

And the Lord says:

"I am closer to you than your jugular vein,
but unless you journey to Me,
you cannot feel that closeness."

(A Philosophical Note):

This journey is, in a phenomenological sense,
a reconstitution of the self.
Habits, attachments, social roles are left behind.
The question "Who am I?"
finds its answer on the road.
For one can only hold a mirror to the self while in motion.

A Sufi Reflection:

This journey is Seyr-u Sulûk.
Perhaps not with a guide (mürşid)—
but with the direct guidance of the Most Merciful.

On the path, you realize:
Every step holds a hidden letter.
And as those letters come together,
they whisper the Name of the Truth:

HU

Dr. Özer Akpınar
Researcher – Historian