For our first ever crossover episode, Zara speaks to Imran Ali Malik, host of the American Submitter podcast. They discuss the concept of travel as a 'mutual unveiling' and share 'transformative' travel experiences. Imran talks about his time in Guinea Bissau, where tribes were converting to Islam after an elder dreamt of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), and tells us about the Wali Songo, the 'Nine Saints' of Indonesia.
Al-Hujeireh mosque sits quietly, nestled among its neighbours, seeking little attention. Walk...
Mustafa Briggs on spiritual seclusion in The Gambia The small coastal town of Gunjur lies just an hour away from The Gambian capital Banjul. After a few minutes spent driving...
Sidi Bou Said: Tunisia’s Trendy Coffee Town & its Hidden Sufi Connection...
Each year in Rabi al-Awwal, the small island of Lamu plays host...
One of the peculiar sensations seasoned wayfarers fail to mention, as you pack your bags in preparation for your journey to heaven-scented-sacred-lands, is what happens to you when you return...
The erudite spiritual master and saint Ibn Ata’illah, may God have mercy...
Our last stop on our trip to Kenya lay just off its...
The cultural fabric of Kochi has been elegantly woven by the beauty of Islam. Known as the ‘Princess of the Arabian Sea’, the city is a well known tourist hotspot...
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There it stood, where I least expected it. Perhaps not the most...
Upon entering the maqam of Sunan Gunung Jati in Cirebon, one dives into a sensory deluge. Shrine keepers wave you over, clasping your hand and your back with a hearty...
“Look! It’s Dino Merlin,” whispers the man beside me. A well groomed white...
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Zara Choudhary on visiting the Companions (Sahaba) of Jordan Memory is a fickle thing; clear one minute, hazy or gone the next- but I remember the perfume clearly; a beautiful,...
Riding through the Kenyan countryside on the modern standard gauge railway one...
It was a blistering hot day right in the middle of the Mauritanian Sahara desert, and my friends and I were heading towards a small village, embarking on what felt...
Abu Ayyub on Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi, the Patron saint of Istanbul The...
A walk through the old sections of Istanbul and one will inevitably come across many graves and mausoleums. For the keen-eyed, it will be a journey through Islamic history, a...
Asha Ahmad crouches around a symbolic green tomb of Ali Hamdon, one...
For centuries, the dargah (zawiya/tomb) of Moinuddin Chishti, otherwise known as Hazrat Khwaja...
Muhammad Ayaz Ramjaun visits the sufi saints of Mauritius White sand beaches and clear-blue sea; underwater waterfall illusions, tropical weather; these are the things that Mauritius is best known for....
Walking through the heart of the old city, one may find its...
As soon as I stepped out of the taxi I knew I...
Those who have followed Sacred Footsteps for some time will know that one of the things we aim to do is promote what we term as ‘spiritual travel,’ that is,...
A journey through the Mauritanian wilderness to visit Murabit al-Hajj Night was...
On the hills in and around Cape Town, you will find 300 year old Muslim graves belonging to notable individuals who arrived on the southern tip of the African continent in chains, as slaves or political prisoners of colonisers. They brought nothing with them, except faith in their hearts and the remembrance of God on their tongues.
Friday prayers were about to begin; our taxi driver sped through the ancient streets of Jerusalem, towards the Sacred Sanctuary of al-Aqsa. The road ahead was closed. He turned right into...
This post deals with one of the questions we get asked most often: ...
Mohammed Khan on visiting Imam Jazuli and the 7 Saints of Marrakesh...
Zara Choudhary on 7 places to visit in Fes, especially as a Muslim traveller. At more than a thousand years old, Fes is often considered the spiritual heartland of Morocco. The...
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