About H. Sajidah Kazmi

“No matter what life throws at you, there is a way to live life with a full and wise heart and remain connected to the Divine.”

~ H.S. Kazmi

This is the aspiration that has driven H. Sajidah Kazmi to learn and discover the deepest meanings of life throughout her education and careers.

Sajidah (SAH-je-dah) grew up in a suburb north of Chicago, Illinois USA, but as a contemplative child, she cherished her summers in the deep woods of Wisconsin. At the age of twelve, Sajidah had an unexpected spiritual experience that was so full of divine love and blessings that it left her amazed and yearning for more. Because of this experience and her contemplative nature, she was motivated to learn about the larger concepts of life in an attempt to understand the inner workings of humanity; art, design, music, literature, poetry, education, psychology, philosophy, business, finance, religion, and spirituality.

Sajidah began meditating in 1970 during her bachelor’s degree and undertook supplementary studies in eastern religions. She participated in anti-war protests and became an active conservationist. After graduation, she worked in educational administration at the Illinois State Board of Education and undertook post-graduate work in educational and public administration while still deeply involved with various eastern spiritual practices.

Ten years later, she returned to university, obtained a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from the University of Illinois, and began a career in business and finance while continuing her spiritual practices, explorations, studies, and world-wide travels.

After another ten years, she felt she had reached the edge of her tolerance regarding finance, and changed her career once again, finally aligning with her spiritual and philosophical interests.

She joined the staff at the Ojai Foundation in Ojai, CA, and then, after moving to Los Angeles, she undertook extensive post-graduate coursework in Religious Studies at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

Desiring a even broader worldwide view of religion, she moved to London to obtain a master’s degree in Religious Philosophy (MA) from the University of London—School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

It was in London that she came in front of Maulana Ash-Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani al-Qubrsi an-Naqshbandi ar-Rabanni, the International Head of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order (tariqat), during one of his visits to London. He accepted her as a student (mureed) and she took bayat (allegiance) with him.

Before he left London, Maulana Shaykh Nazim introduced her to Maulana Zainulabedin Kazmi, a Sufi Saint of a very high station, and Sajidah became his spiritual partner and wife. For the next twenty-three years, Maulana and Sajidah lovingly worked together side-by-side, travelling the world as they held zikrs (chanting ceremonies for the remembrance of God), lectured, healed, taught, and counselled hundreds of thousands of people.

Once it was confirmed that she was indeed the spiritual partner Maulana had been searching and praying for, Sajidah’s spiritual training intensified and she learned and practiced the teachings with him twenty-four hours a day every day for 23 years. She obtained the title ‘Hajjah’ in 1999 after completing the pilgrimage, the Hajj, with Maulana in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Of the many religions she studied and practiced, Hajjah Sajidah chose Sufism because, as she says, “I found no other religion that supported such intellectual inquiry, that contained such depth of philosophical thinking, that required prophetic authenticity by its teachers, that most importantly offered such profound mystical experiences, and that provided a proven pathway to reaching nearness to the Divine Presence, to God, and all of this advanced and deepened through the strong guidance and teaching-tradition of living Saints (Awliya-Allah), the Masters, the Friends of God, who know the way.”

Maulana passed away 28 August 2021.

Now, after six decades of intense spiritual journeying, H. Sajidah Kazmi returns to share a portion of what she has gained by presenting it to others on their own spiritual journeys in a way refreshed for the 21st century.