Sufi Aromatherapy™ is a framework that promotes a spiritual approach to aromatherapy. It builds upon Islamic mysticism, known as Sufism, and modern aromatherapy, the practice of using essential oils to enhance well-being. Most contemporary aromatherapy encyclopedias include detailed profiles (descriptions) of an essential oil’s botanical properties and physical, mental, and emotional uses. Rarely do these profiles include spiritual uses, and if they do, none are from a Sufi or Islamic perspective. Sufi Aromatherapy™, as detailed in Sufi Book of Essential Oils, presents each essential oil’s spiritual use, or Mystical Use, inspired by Sufi teachings of the Divine Names.

 

The Divine Names, or Al-Asma Ul-Husna (The Beautiful Names), is a collection of 99 Divine Names of Allah ﷻ. Each DivineName is an Attribute that describes an Aspect, Characteristic, or Quality of God. God has countless Attributes, but the collection lists 99. The Divine Names are a spiritual pharmacopeia to ease human suffering. Each Divine Name is a balm with a specific Mystical Use. Each essential oil in Sufi Aromatherapy™ is paired with a Divine Name. By pairing essential oil with Divine Name, we form an association that allows for a somatic experience of the Divine Name and a mystical application of the essential oil. We turn to a specific essential oil based on its corresponding Divine Name’s Mystical Use. In this way, the essential oil becomes a spiritual salve.

 

The pairing of essential oil with Divine Name, the foundation of Sufi Aromatherapy™, is based on a methodology that draws relationships between the categories of Divine Names and the categories of essential oils. This methodology builds upon the work of past and present mystics and aromatherapists. During the Islamic Golden Age (the period of remarkable intellectual, scientific, and spiritual advancements that took place in the Islamic world from the 8ᵗʰ to the 14ᵗʰ centuries CE), physicians and perfumers practiced aromatherapy and made fundamental contributions to aromatherapy. However, there are only a few extant sources, and even fewer translated into English, of this work. Furthermore, these sources do not provide profiles for the vast array of essential oils that are available today. This methodology, which is both an art and a science, provides us with a framework to use essential oils in a mystical way. Please note, you do not need to “understand” the methodology to start using essential oils for their Mystical Use. An open mind is necessary, but the heart is what leads. Exploring the Divine Names through aromatherapy is ultimately a spiritual journey to open, soothe, inspire, guide, and fortify the heart.

 

One of the greatest joys for me when developing Sufi Aromatherapy™ was discovering how Prophet Muhammad ﷺ loved fragrance, the role of fragrance in the growth of Islam, and the literary uses of fragrance to describe the spiritual journey. As I immersed myself in the Holy Qur’an, the hadith (sayings) and sunnah (lifestyle) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and the work of great Sufi poets, it struck me how nature is a central theme. Gardens and aromatic plants are mentioned throughout, as well as emphasized in Islamic art, architecture, and textiles, because gardens, and the aromatic plants there within, symbolize the blessings of Allah ﷻ in this life and the next. They undergo rebirth and renewal. They remind us of the Paradise from which we came and give us a glimpse of the Paradise to which we hope to return. Fragrance is from Paradise itself, and brings Paradise to this world. Fragrance has the power to make the mundane sacred.

 

Fragrance is so powerful because olfaction (our sense of smell) is directly connected to our limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for behavior and managing emotions. Olfaction bypasses the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for reasoning and processing information. Additionally, olfaction requires and affects respiration (breathing), which in turn affects the parasympathetic nervous system – the network of nerves responsible for the body’s ability to relax and recover from stress. Fragrance can trigger memories, activate the subconscious, and ease the body. Although fragrance is invisible, it is palpable – like faith itself. We can deepen our faith by incorporating the use of natural fragrance, such as essential oils, in our spiritual practices, especially in prayer and meditation. The purpose of Sufi Aromatherapy™ is to offer a fragrant path toward the Divine.