Spirituality and connecting to the Divine

  • Week 1: The nature of humanity

    • The various components of the human being and the relations between them: body, mind, heart, soul, and spirit

    • What are the relations between human, the rest of creation, and God?

  • Week 2: Piety through perfecting and purifying the soul (tazkiyat al-nafs)

    • What is the relation between moral character and piety?

    • What is the end-goal of "purifying the soul" and what do we achieve by doing so?

    • What are the "diseases of the heart" and how do we go about purifying ourselves from such defects?

  • Week 3: The Relationship with God through God-consciousness (taqwa) and love (mahabbah)

    • What are different ways of envisioning our relationship with God? What are different models of spirituality?

    • How do we understand our relationship of slavehood (`ubudiyya) to Allah? What is the role of worship/service, fear, obedience, and mindfulness of God in our spiritual life?

    • What does it mean to love Allah? and to be loved by Allah? How do we develop a loving relationship with God?

    • What does it mean to be a "friend" (khalil) of God? How do we develop such a relationship?

  • Week 4: Returning to God and Divine Union

    • How have mystical paths understood our return to God?

    • What is union with God, both in this life and the next?

    • How do prepare ourselves to return to God?