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The Afw & Afiyah Retreat
Apollo Bay, Victoria
21-23 August 2026
We are excited to invite you to our upcoming event: the Afw and Afiyah Retreat!
If you have been seeking an opportunity to reset, find your way back for more connection to your faith, community, or self, or simply want to experience a beautiful weekend of spiritual nourishment, intentional rest, and a true renewal, this retreat is for you.
We have put together a carefully curated experience for our sisters seeking an intentional rest, spiritual nourishment, meaningful connections and would love to share this experience with you.
Set at the serene coastal town of Apollo Bay, Victoria, this retreat offers a blend of natural beauty, inward reflection, and refined wellness experiences—designed to help facilitate a return to clarity, calm, and wholeness for our sisters.
Why Afw and Afiyah
Our intention with the Afw and Afiyah Retreat is to facilitate a deep reset and return to self, and hold the space where we can experience a deeper and sincere experience of what it means to seek afw, and to receive it, and find our way to afiyah (all-rounded, complete and thorough safety, wholeness, wellbeing) through afw.
Afiyah: complete and comprehensive safety, wholeness, wellness
Afw: a profound forgiveness, pardon, and purification of sins and faults that gives way to a complete restoration of state as though the offense never occurred.
The Qur’an emphasises seeking forgiveness numerous times, and each time, it is connected to blessings or the alleviation of troubles.
‘Seek your Lord’s forgiveness, ˹for˺ He is truly Most Forgiving. He will shower you with abundant rain supply you with wealth and children, and give you gardens as well as rivers.
(Surah Nuh 10-12)
And O my people! Seek your Lord’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. He will shower you with rain in abundance, and add strength to your strength. So do not turn away, persisting in wickedness.”
(Surah Hud, 52)
But Allah would never punish them while you ˹O Prophet˺ were in their midst. Nor would He ever punish them if they prayed for forgiveness.
(Surah Anfal, 33)
The sunnah is also studded with teachings of forgiveness and remedies for greater afiyah.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ consistently sought forgiveness (more than 70 times a day), even though he was free of sin, and encouraged seeking afiyah in our lives:
“Ask Allah for afiyah, for indeed no one is given anything better than afiyah.”
Not just in wealth and health—but in faith, in heart, in circumstances, in relationships, in the unseen, and every other aspect of our lives.
When asked what to say during Laylatul Qadr, the Prophet ﷺ advised to seek afw:
“Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa’fu ‘anni”
(O Allah, You are Most Forgiving, and You love to forgive, so forgive me.)
Above and beyond eveything else, he chose this as the best thing a believer can ask for in the most blessed night of the year.
So simple yet profound —one that reminds us that true lightness begins with releasing what we carry unnecessarily, shed what isn’t beneficial or serving us, and be cleansed of our spiritual burdens, harmful behaviours, impure thoughts and beliefs.
The Experience
Every element of this retreat has been intentionally designed to feel spacious, restorative, and quietly transformative:
Workshops
Thoughtful sessions that invite depth, clarity, and a renewed connection with Allah through afw, and inviting afiyah in every aspect of life.Collective Prayers & Adhkar
Building new habits, fostering connection and bonding, and restoring our relationship to faith and worship.Coastal & Forest Nature Immersion
Curated hikes through the landscapes of Apollo Bay, allowing you to disconnect from distraction and reconnect with stillness.Art & Reflection
Guided art session designed for expression and reflection.
Breathwork & Presence
Subtle yet powerful techniques to regulate, ground, and bring you back into the moment.Journalling & Introspective Meditation
Spacious moments woven throughout the retreat for integration, stillness, and personal insight including guided reflections, and prompts to continue the journey at home as desired.
Itinerary
Friday, 21 August 2026
You can arrive anytime from 3pm onwards, but the official program will start 6pm.
The first day of the retreat is about grounding, introductions and intentions. We will also assign time and space to rest and for collective adhkar and dua which are a staple for all of our retreats. As a special addition for this retreat, will be focusing on learning and reciting the duas of forgiveness and wellness from the Quran and sunnah throughout the retreat.
Saturday 22 August 2026
This day is all about deep transformation, presence and movement through art, nature, breath work, and spiritual practices centred on forgiveness.
Workshop 1 will focus on forgiveness and its central place in building a life of presence, alignment, and fulfillment.
Workshop 2 will go deeper into our study of afw and afiyah, and explore the worldly and spiritual consequences of sins and forgiveness, generally and subjectively for each person’s unique conditions and circumstances. This workshop will include meditation and journaling activities.
In the afternoon, you will have time to explore the stunning nature surrounding us, go for a walk if you like, and
For the art workshop we will be using watercolors and gouache to create unique calligraphy works using kufi calligraphy techniques. No prior experience is needed.
As the day winds down, group reflections offer a space to share (if you wish), listen, and feel held within a circle of sisterhood.
Sunday 23 August 2026
After our prayers and adhkar, we will have breath work session and assign time for journalling and meditative introspection with guided prompts to help you process your experience on a deeper level and take home to complete.
After breakfast, we will visit Apollo Bay for sightseeing and exploring the area.
Venue
Please contact us directly for the venue information.
Start: Arrival from 3pm onwards on Friday 21 August 2026
End: 5pm Sunday 23 August 2026
Apollo Bay, Victoria
21-23 August 2026
We are excited to invite you to our upcoming event: the Afw and Afiyah Retreat!
If you have been seeking an opportunity to reset, find your way back for more connection to your faith, community, or self, or simply want to experience a beautiful weekend of spiritual nourishment, intentional rest, and a true renewal, this retreat is for you.
We have put together a carefully curated experience for our sisters seeking an intentional rest, spiritual nourishment, meaningful connections and would love to share this experience with you.
Set at the serene coastal town of Apollo Bay, Victoria, this retreat offers a blend of natural beauty, inward reflection, and refined wellness experiences—designed to help facilitate a return to clarity, calm, and wholeness for our sisters.
Why Afw and Afiyah
Our intention with the Afw and Afiyah Retreat is to facilitate a deep reset and return to self, and hold the space where we can experience a deeper and sincere experience of what it means to seek afw, and to receive it, and find our way to afiyah (all-rounded, complete and thorough safety, wholeness, wellbeing) through afw.
Afiyah: complete and comprehensive safety, wholeness, wellness
Afw: a profound forgiveness, pardon, and purification of sins and faults that gives way to a complete restoration of state as though the offense never occurred.
The Qur’an emphasises seeking forgiveness numerous times, and each time, it is connected to blessings or the alleviation of troubles.
‘Seek your Lord’s forgiveness, ˹for˺ He is truly Most Forgiving. He will shower you with abundant rain supply you with wealth and children, and give you gardens as well as rivers.
(Surah Nuh 10-12)
And O my people! Seek your Lord’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. He will shower you with rain in abundance, and add strength to your strength. So do not turn away, persisting in wickedness.”
(Surah Hud, 52)
But Allah would never punish them while you ˹O Prophet˺ were in their midst. Nor would He ever punish them if they prayed for forgiveness.
(Surah Anfal, 33)
The sunnah is also studded with teachings of forgiveness and remedies for greater afiyah.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ consistently sought forgiveness (more than 70 times a day), even though he was free of sin, and encouraged seeking afiyah in our lives:
“Ask Allah for afiyah, for indeed no one is given anything better than afiyah.”
Not just in wealth and health—but in faith, in heart, in circumstances, in relationships, in the unseen, and every other aspect of our lives.
When asked what to say during Laylatul Qadr, the Prophet ﷺ advised to seek afw:
“Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa’fu ‘anni”
(O Allah, You are Most Forgiving, and You love to forgive, so forgive me.)
Above and beyond eveything else, he chose this as the best thing a believer can ask for in the most blessed night of the year.
So simple yet profound —one that reminds us that true lightness begins with releasing what we carry unnecessarily, shed what isn’t beneficial or serving us, and be cleansed of our spiritual burdens, harmful behaviours, impure thoughts and beliefs.
The Experience
Every element of this retreat has been intentionally designed to feel spacious, restorative, and quietly transformative:
Workshops
Thoughtful sessions that invite depth, clarity, and a renewed connection with Allah through afw, and inviting afiyah in every aspect of life.Collective Prayers & Adhkar
Building new habits, fostering connection and bonding, and restoring our relationship to faith and worship.Coastal & Forest Nature Immersion
Curated hikes through the landscapes of Apollo Bay, allowing you to disconnect from distraction and reconnect with stillness.Art & Reflection
Guided art session designed for expression and reflection.
Breathwork & Presence
Subtle yet powerful techniques to regulate, ground, and bring you back into the moment.Journalling & Introspective Meditation
Spacious moments woven throughout the retreat for integration, stillness, and personal insight including guided reflections, and prompts to continue the journey at home as desired.
Itinerary
Friday, 21 August 2026
You can arrive anytime from 3pm onwards, but the official program will start 6pm.
The first day of the retreat is about grounding, introductions and intentions. We will also assign time and space to rest and for collective adhkar and dua which are a staple for all of our retreats. As a special addition for this retreat, will be focusing on learning and reciting the duas of forgiveness and wellness from the Quran and sunnah throughout the retreat.
Saturday 22 August 2026
This day is all about deep transformation, presence and movement through art, nature, breath work, and spiritual practices centred on forgiveness.
Workshop 1 will focus on forgiveness and its central place in building a life of presence, alignment, and fulfillment.
Workshop 2 will go deeper into our study of afw and afiyah, and explore the worldly and spiritual consequences of sins and forgiveness, generally and subjectively for each person’s unique conditions and circumstances. This workshop will include meditation and journaling activities.
In the afternoon, you will have time to explore the stunning nature surrounding us, go for a walk if you like, and
For the art workshop we will be using watercolors and gouache to create unique calligraphy works using kufi calligraphy techniques. No prior experience is needed.
As the day winds down, group reflections offer a space to share (if you wish), listen, and feel held within a circle of sisterhood.
Sunday 23 August 2026
After our prayers and adhkar, we will have breath work session and assign time for journalling and meditative introspection with guided prompts to help you process your experience on a deeper level and take home to complete.
After breakfast, we will visit Apollo Bay for sightseeing and exploring the area.
Venue
Please contact us directly for the venue information.
Start: Arrival from 3pm onwards on Friday 21 August 2026
End: 5pm Sunday 23 August 2026