The Lexicon of the Sufis is an in-person course only. As a new experiment, we plan to share the audio as a podcast to be launched early in 2024. Registration for Astana RVA programs opens on Friday, March 10, 2023. 

This spring we return to regular in-person classes at the Astana, the Inayatiyya’s North American headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. All friends, new and returning, are invited to join us as we explore the terminology of the Sufis as set out in A Glossary of Sufi Technical Terms by Abd Al Razzaq Qashani, a key textbook in Sufi circles for the last six and a half centuries. 

We will begin with an eight-part series Spring 2023, Tuesday evenings from 6-8 pm, April 25 to June 13, 2023. A second eight-part series will be offered Fall 2023, also on Tuesdays from 6-8 pm, October 10-November 14, December 5 & 12, 2023. 

Please attend all or any of the classes, knowing that recordings will not be available until 2024. Advanced registration is required, with a suggested tuition per series of $64 and $8/per class. Also a donation of any amount is welcome in lieu of tuition. There is also an option to come as our guest. Please see a link to register in the sidebar.

Registration opens on Friday, March 10, 2023.

Please note that the Astana always opens its doors a half hour before class begins, with bookstore sales after each class. Our current Covid Policy is shared below. 

If you have any questions about The Lexicon of the Sufis, please email us at astana@inayatiyya.org. We very much look forward to being together this spring!

ASTANA COVID POLICY 2023

The Astana is pleased to once again host in-person classes and programs in 2023. As we continue to follow CDC guidelines, we will not require wearing a mask or vaccination to attend Astana gatherings. We welcome your wearing a mask and/or taking other precautionary measures as needed. We ask that if you have any signs of illness, or if you have been exposed to Covid within 10 days of a program, that you forgo coming to Astana events. We will continue to monitor community levels and update our policy to meet current needs. The health and welfare of our community remains our top priority. If you have questions about the Astana’s Covid Policy, please email us at astana@inayatiyya.org.

BIOGRAPHY

Pir Zia Inayat Khan, Ph.D., is a scholar of religion and teacher of Sufism in the universalist Sufi lineage of his grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan. Pir Zia is president of the Inayatiyya and founder of Sulūk Academy, a school of Sufi contemplative study and practice. He is author of Immortality: A Traveler’s Guide; Dream Flowers: The Collected Works of Noor Inayat Khan with a Critical Commentary by Pir Zia Inayat Khan; Mingled Waters: Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions; and Saracen Chivalry: Counsels on Valor, Generosity and the Mystical Quest. He is editor of Caravan of Souls: An Introduction to the Sufi Path of Hazrat Inayat Khan and A Pearl in Wine: Essays in the Life, Music and Sufism of Hazrat Inayat Khan. Pir Zia divides his time between Richmond, Virginia and Suresnes, France.