URS August 19, 2020
This was Feb. 29, 2020, when Nur-al-Haqq presided over a wonderful night of talent and fun at Rising Tide in Sarasota. He was full of corny jokes including:
“A new restaurant opened in Sarasota, called the Karma Cafe. They don’t have menus, you just get what you deserve.” Groan and LOL
– -Noor Mary Lee Slettehaugh
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I remember Nur al Haqq with great fondness. We journeyed to Israel together with Shahabuddin. He had great Ju-Ju! morning meditations with him were a delight.
Also, when I happened to be in Florida and took a chance to drop into the center in Sarsota to find a meal and Sufi’s gathered. Nur al Haqq greeted me immediately as a friend on the Path and inquired if I could use some healing energy. I agreed. And we stood there facing each other as he poured it in. I will never forget his great generosity. He had great Ju-Ju!
Nur al Haqq has left this world. How I miss him and still haven’t accepted the loss down deep. Rising Tide was so blessed when he chose to retire here after finding his dream house on a lake with a pool nearby to the Center. I greatly benefitted from his teachings and so deeply appreciated the 1 to 1 time exchanging breakfasts. He served his breakfasts on his patio overlooking the lake. Mostly we sat together quietly or explored a spiritual topic of mutual interest. He always carefully listened and pulsed before he spoke. Then wisdom came forth. Thank you Nur al Haqq. My heart aches but I know you are continuing your journey.
I got to know and appreciate Nur-al-Haqq during a retreat in Sarasota with Shahabuddin in February 2020. He was a very interested and attentive listener.
One day Shahabuddin had no time, so Nur-al-Haqq took over Shahabuddin’s job with Rebecca. It was very interesting what ideas he had to help me with.
He was a very nice and caring person. I will miss him!
Dear Nur-al-Haqq, I wish you a good arrival in the “other world” and I will think of you and pray for you.
Love, Light and Peace
Gudrun from Germany –
I remember Nur-al-Haqq as a gracious, refined, and very-talented teacher with a deep understanding of the nuances of both the topic and the delivery.
He was unassuming and had the humility that comes of deep self-knowledge and fearless personal inquiry. He could meet you wherever you were, right to the bottom of your personal hell. There is an inner “order” of mostly-hidden adepts, and I feel that he was one of its lights.
Toward the One is where Nur-Al-Haqq journeys now, where he typically was when in physical form too. Whether moving in meditation, or meditating in stillness he embodied presence that was beyond what appeared. What a privilege to know him. What a privilege to feel his essence when speaking of him. A soul who will live in the many hearts he touched.
Richard, a gentle, deep soul. God be with you on your journey.
I have great sadness learning of Richard’s passing. He is a kind and gentle man and I will always cherish my brief knowings of him. Richard is now at oneness with love.
Nur-Al-Haqq was one of the kindest, most compassionate, and gentlest men i have ever known. he would listen without judgement, encourage and support his friends and he would cheerfully do whatever he could to help. his great big smile and sparkling eyes were like a beacon of light that gave comfort and friendship to all. knowing Nur-Al-Haqq has been a privilege for which i am very grateful.
with love-filled memories,
tajali elena burge
Richard was a beautiful dancer and teacher. I am heartbroken to know of his passing.
I knew Richard only briefly; the interaction after a silent retreat was lovely and full of light. His courageousness in facing profound heartache exemplified the depths of his soul. The world is a better place because of his generous sharing of his many gifts and talents.
Our lives intersected for a short while when he was living in the Baltimore area. I was fortunate to share a few meals in his home, and attend a few of his educational offerings. His being was gentle, generous and deep. He was an outstanding exemplar of balance, sincerity and devotion to service, and, he had a sparkling sense of humor. I trust he is thriving, whirling in the galaxies with his many beloveds. Bon voyage!
Now dear friend, you have been invited to the court of the king,
to the “divine unveiling”… the wait is over.
I am told in the fabric of celestial light it will be like a beautiful child: innocent” and free from pain.
Beyond multiplicity into unity. Haqq La ilaha illa ‘Llahu
May you, Nur-al-Haqq’, be endowed with everlasting life and light.
We met Richard back in 2002 when he was my daughterAbby, gymnastics teacher. He was a great influence on her life. Abby progressed so much under him that he actually told her that he couldn’t teach her any more and that she should go to a larger gym. She accelerated to Jr Elite on Team USA for Acrobatic gymnastics. Abby and I never forgot where she started and visited Richard often. He was a great teacher, kind and patient. He will be missed.
I met Richard at the senior center in Westminster, md. I believe in 2004. Joined his meditation and Tai chi class. Learned so much from him. When he moved to Florida we were all at a loss. Another class has never started that everyone loved as much. What a wonderful man. He shall be greatly missed. My sympathy to to his family.
I met Nur al Haqq in the QiGong class he offered at APG several years ago, and asked if I could continue taking lessons with him. He taught a few classes in his home, which held such a sacred and welcoming vibration. He helped me feel at home in Sarasota by inviting me to go with him to different music venues where we both could play. Nur al Haqq played classical guitar with grace and discipline… he made you think ~ ‘Ah, this is how a dancer plays the guitar!’
Searching for what to say at his memorial, I wrote some words to help convey my gratitude and awe.
For Nur al Haqq
For bringing truth to gentleness, we give you thanks.
For embodying will and strength as you danced your prayers,
straight as an arrow to our hearts ~
your prayer becoming our prayer ~
we give you thanks.
As you lifted us, may you be lifted.
As you healed us, may you be healed.
As you gave us your love and understanding, may you receive our love and gratitude
now and forever more.
Nur-al-Haqq had a remarkable dance/prayer he would perform with the words of Salat. That prayer quickly mentions 10 great Prophets, so quickly that I find it impossible to switch one’s attunement from one to the other. So for me they merge into one Spirit of Guidance. Maybe that’s the point. But somehow in his dance/prayer Nur-al-Haqq could portray each one instantly. It was quite remarkable and remains as a key image of him for me.
He also had an striking way of interacting with people. I greatly respected him as a teacher, but in talking to him it felt as if we were all colleagues. It was as if we were all here on earth to help each other on the path of illumination. Some kind of spiritual respect that’s hard to describe.
He’ll be greatly missed.
Richard was my best friend for fifty years, both gymnasts and dancers, we formed the Musawwir Gymnastic Dance Company along with his wife, Lynn Perrott. He and I both studied Sufism under the guidance of David Shahabuddin Less who helped “raise us above the distinctions and differences which divide us.” We were often as one. We still are. His spirit is with me daily when I swim, appearing as reflected light in the water, so his support, love, and encouragement are still part of my life. I have been blessed by his love and will love him forever.
My first encounter with Nur al Haqq took place in India on a trip with Shahabuddin.
I knew very few people in our large tour group and looked longingly into the faces of our “caravan of Beauty” to see where my heart could found something familiar. And there was Nur al Haqq. With large, warm, receptive eyes and ?love facial features, in which life had written its honest experiences. With a simple cloth bag in his hand. There my heart became calm. The feeling for all of us, for our common goal was found.
?I see in front of me how he opened himself with all his soul to all the touching experiences on our journey, in holy places, in every place, with every person, how he leaned forward slightly to absorb everything. I saw devotion. I can only think of the word loving truthfulness, which is like a ray of light and breaks through the illusion of the outside world.
?What is so difficult, I can discover it in Nur al Haqq. Every encounter with him was loving and mindful and is a treasure and an encouragement for my heart. There wasn’t a moment that wasn’t a gift. I would like to share my best experience with you because it is full of laughter:
We did a retreat together with our wonderful teacher Shahabuddin. I was right in the retreat and Nur al Haqq attended as a guest, who was allowed to receive our experiences and learn from the reflection of our search, our exercises and our finding. He did it with all his heart. In our daily meeting to share and receive new exercises he always sat next to Shahabuddin. And we all were sitting in a circle.
Somehow something on his presence disturbed my inner openness, as if something was diverting my full attention. My old wound of “injustice” was awakend . And I was desperate and also angry because I had traveled such a long journey and struggled with so many difficulties to be here and now it was disturbed. At the same time my heart knew that I had a dear person before me, on the same search, with the same longing.
And so I went to him, to the dear friend, and shared with him. How it bothers me and makes me sad. And he listened to me very lovingly and calmly and my fear of myself, of my anger, was allowed to pass. Nur al Haqq told me, so kind, so warm what he felt. That he, the closer he sat to Shahabuddin, the better could feel and absorb everything. And we both had to laugh so heartily when I told him I felt the same way … We didn’t have to say more. The next morning I was the first in the room where we met. I looked at the chair Nur al Haqq would sit on. And I sat on it, testing how it feels. It didn’t feel good. I went on my old place again . And the room filled. And Nur al Haqq sat in our circle, between us, and merged with us. And the chair stayed empty.
I could still cry out of gratitude now. Out of gratitude for the kindness to comfort and respect my little hurted heart.
How nice were our encounters and how much can a kind heart change the world.
Oh friend We are wandering together without a doubt.