An Activity of the Sufi Order International

Symbology used in Ziraat

The meaning of Ziraat is profound and mysterious, ever-revealing of deeper and deeper levels. Its symbology derives from agriculture, from ploughing and cultivation of the land, from planting and caring for the seed until it becomes a fully blossoming plant. At one most basic level, Ziraat serves to remind us of our sacred relationship with the Creator and with nature, and the crucial need at this time to preserve the fragile balance necessary to sustain life on this planet.

At another level, Ziraat informs us that the first place for the work of protecting the life around us is inside of us. Here, the farm symbolizes the mind, and Ziraat focuses on the purification of the mind and the restoration of our natural and true self. Here, the “work” of Ziraat consists of allowing all the old roots and stems of past harvests to be uprooted, in order that new life may emerge from the fertile earth of our souls. Here also, we come to recognize, by the action of the Divine in our lives, an intimate love relationship and alchemy. ............................................................ Sharifa Norton