Hadith for Following the Sufi Way
with `Abd al-Haqq Godlas
Tuesdays, September 16, 23, 30, 2025
إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَمِيلٌ يُحِبُّ الْجَمَالَ
‘Abdallah ibn Mas’ud reported that the Prophet Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—said, “Indeed, Allah is exceedingly beautiful and loves beauty.”
(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, chapter 39)
لقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ
You certainly have in the Messenger of Allah a beautifully noble model.
(Qur’an, Surat al-Ahzab 33:21)
Hadith for Following the Sufi Way
A 3-part class with `Abd al-Haqq Godlas
Deepen your walking through understanding the sayings of Muhammad, the Seal of the Allah’s messengers, upon whom be peace.
On the path of Islam, among the principal sources that aid our hearts and minds in becoming aware of Allah and in receiving Allah’s merciful love are Qur’anic revelation—received by Muhammed ﷺ from Allah—as well as hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. Hadith are statements he made or direct reports of what he did.
In this three-class series, we will study hadith as a part of our spiritual journey. This class will provide a roadmap for understanding how to navigate some of the vast knowledge that has come to us through the Prophet ﷺ, and for incorporating that guidance within our own spiritual understanding.
Class Descriptions
Class 1
Class 1 will cover topics including:
- The significance of the hadith and why they matter to us
- A framework for understanding hadith in the light of the Sufi way, including what they tell us about knowledge, God and reality, humanity, consciousness, life’s purposes, and methods of fulfilling those purposes
- Basic terminology, structure, collections, and reliability of the hadith
Classes 2 & 3
Classes 2 and 3 will provide examples of specific hadith that relate to the topics introduced in class one and that are especially beneficial within our Sufi path, including subjects such as:
- Modes of knowing (‘ilm and ma’rifa) and their interpretation
- God’s qualities and signs, levels of reality, creation, and the hereafter
- Human nature, key categories of humans (e.g., prophets and saints) and human identities
- Psychological and spiritual faculties of consciousness, and states and spiritual stations
- The purposes of creation and human lives, and methods of fulfilling those purposes, including spiritual, legal, social, and political methods
About Dr. Godlas
Dr.’ Abd al-Haqq Godlas has been practicing both American and traditional Islamic forms of Sufism since 1973. After practicing with Sufis and studying in universities in Iran, Egypt, Turkey, and Berkeley, he became a professor at the University of Georgia, where—from 1991 until his recent retirement—he taught courses on the world’s religions, Islamic Studies, Sufism, and Arabic. Sidi first invited him to teach in the Shadhiliyya Tariqah in 2003.