The 10 Sufi Thoughts

Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

There are ten principal Sufi thoughts, which comprise all the important subjects with which the inner life of man is concerned.

In a few instances, Hazrat Inayat Khan's original gender-specific wording of the 10 Thoughts and 3 Objects has been slightly altered, by Pir Moineddin Jablonski, Murshid Wali Ali Meyer, and Pir Shabda Kahn, as a reflection of ongoing guidance. The commentary associated with each Thought has been extracted directly from the Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Volume I, Part 1: The Way of Illumination (© 1979, International Sufi Movement, All rights reserved.), and as a quoted passage, Hazrat Inayat Khan's use of gender specific language has not been updated.


1. There is one God
the Eternal, the Only Being,
None exists save God.

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2. There is one Master
the Guiding Spirit of all souls,
who constantly leads all followers toward the Light.

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3. There is one Holy Book
the Sacred Manuscript of Nature,
the only Scripture that can enlighten the reader.

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4. There is one Religion
the unswerving progress in the right direction,
toward the Ideal, which fulfills the life's purpose of every soul.

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5. There is one Law
the Law of Reciprocity, which can be observed
by a selfless conscience together with
a sense of awakened justice.

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6. There is one Family
the Human Family, which unites the Children of Earth
indiscriminately in the Parenthood of God.

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7. There is one Moral Principle
the Love which springs forth from a willing heart,
surrendered in service to God and Humanity,
and which blooms in deeds of beneficence.

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8. There is one Object of Praise
the Beauty which uplifts the heart of its worshipper
through all aspects, from the seen to the unseen.

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9. There is one Truth
the true knowledge of our being, within and without,
which is the essence of Wisdom.

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10. There is one Path
the effacement of the limited self in the Unlimited,
which raises the mortal to immortality,
in which resides all Perfection.

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