Commentary on
the Gold, Silver, Copper, and Iron Rules
of Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

by Pir Zia Inayat Khan

Pir-o-Murshid’s “Rules”

There are four sets of “Rules” that are given by Pir-o-Murshid Murshid Inayat Khan in the Gayan. These are rules that help to cultivate moral culture and instill awareness in our relationships with all beings. They belong to the tradition of spiritual chivalry, called Futuwwa, which is essential to the Sufi path, the way of the knight. The rules may seem, at first, self-evident and obvious, but if one works diligently and with keen attention, I think that one will find that each rule opens up into a rather vast field of inquiry and awareness. We’ll be working with this series of rules in the spirit of chivalry, of gallant chivalrous conduct, and as our participation in the order of knighthood through our initiatic link. In fact it was Shaykh Abd al-Qadīr Jilani who brought the Sufis together in the first-ever Sufi order, the Qadirīyya, and he did so on the basis of a chivalric institution of knighthood called fityan.

Each Rule begins with the reader addressing himself or herself, because the Rule is not coming from an outside authority figure. It is coming from your own conscience, speaking to itself and recommitting itself to the principles that you know to be your own purpose.