Mihrab Quotes

“Sûfîsm cherishes the esoteric secret of woman, even though Sûfîsm is the esoteric aspect of a seemingly patriarchal religion. Muslims pray five times a day facing the city of Makkah. Inside every Mosque is a niche, or recess, called the Mihrab - a vertical rectangle curved at the top that points toward the direction of Makkah. The Sûfîs know the Mihrab to be a visual symbol of an abstract concept: the transcendent vagina of the female aspect of divinity. In Sûfîsm, woman is the ultimate secret, for woman is the soul.”
― Laurence Galian, Jesus, Muhammad and the Goddess

“Therefore, in this seemingly patriarchal mystery tradition (Sûfîsm), we see that woman is the Hidden Initiatrix, the Shadow Guide, the Blackness that births the Light. 'Da tariki, tariqat' - "In the darkness, the Path," is a Sufic maxim. The void has been described as a dark cave, a shadowy mihrab, the Concealed or Secret Radiance, the Black Stone of the Ka'ba, Ghayb ul-Ghaib ( Mystery of Mysteries ), Amma (Darkness), and returning to the Womb of Fatima ('Alaiha Assalam) the Mother.”
― Laurence Galian, Jesus, Muhammad and the Goddess