A Weekend with Pir Zia: Gathering in Community at the Astana

A Weekend with Pir Zia
Gathering in Community at the Astana
December 12 – December 13, 2026
In person at the Astana, Richmond, Virginia, and online via Zoom

As the year turns toward its close, you are warmly invited to spend a weekend with Pir Zia at the Astana.

This is a chance to gather in person — to sit together in practice, share meals, and be in one another's company — before Pir Zia travels to India for the Centennial Urs of Hazrat Inayat Khan in January.

For those who can't make the journey to Richmond, the weekend will also be offered online, so that our wider community can take part from wherever they are.

Over two days of teaching, meditation, and practice, we'll close the year together in the presence of the teachings that hold us. On Saturday evening, those gathered at the Astana will come together again for an evening of practice.

Details of the program will be shared soon. Registration is open now so that those traveling can plan ahead.

Tuition

Joining in person:

• Supporter $200

• Standard $150

• Limited Income $100

A light catered lunch will be provided on Saturday, so we can share the midday break together. Please let us know of any dietary needs when you register.

Joining online:

• Supporter $120

• Standard $90

• Limited Income $60

Scholarships are available for both. Please email astana@inayatiyya.org before registering.

With advance registration, video and audio recordings will be made available afterward, so you can return to the retreat at any time.

Schedule

Saturday, December 12
10:00 am EST / 4:00 pm CET — Session One
11:15 am / 5:15 pm — Break
11:45 am / 5:45 pm — Session Two
1:00 pm / 7:00 pm — Lunch (provided in person)
2:30 pm / 8:30 pm — Session Three
3:45 pm / 9:45 pm — Close of online day; dinner break in person
7:15 – 8:15 pm EST — Evening Gathering (in person only)

Sunday, December 13
10:00 am EST / 4:00 pm CET — Session Four
11:15 am / 5:15 pm — Break
11:45 am / 5:45 pm — Session Five
1:00 pm / 7:00 pm — Closing

Check your local time: Saturday · Sunday

Please contact astana@inayatiyya.org with any questions, and make sure to plan for travel and accommodations as soon as possible if you hope to attend. Details about travel, parking, accommodations, and local restaurants may be found at astanarva.org.

Biography

Pir Zia Inayat Khan, PhD, 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 the author of Tears from the Mother of the Sun with the visual artist Amruta Patel (Inner Traditions, Feb 2026); Immortality: A Traveler’s Guide; Mingled Waters: Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions; Saracen Chivalry: Counsels on Valor, Generosity and the Mystical Quest; and the editor and compiler of Dream Flowers: The Collected Works of Noor Inayat Khan, for which he also wrote the critical introduction. Pir Zia divides his time between Richmond, Virginia, and Suresnes, France. inayatiyya.org