His master Maruf Karkhi and Habib al-Ajami (al-Rai) had an influence on his taking the path of Sufism (tasawwuf).

[4][5] Sari al-Saqati was in conversation with famous Sufis of the period such as Maruf Karkhi, Harith al-Muhasibi, and Bishr Hafi, and is the uncle and master of Junayd of Baghdad.

In Syria, he was influenced by the Sufis who continued Ibrahim bin Adham's understanding of mysticism based on futuwwa and sincerity.

[6] Al-Saqati was the shaykh of prominent sufis of his time such as Junayd al-Bahdadi, Abu Said al-Harraz, Abu al-Husayn al-Nuri, Samnun bin Hamza and Ibn Masruq of Baghdad and Khorasan, and Ali al-Gada’iri and Ismail bin Abdullah al-Shami of Syria.

[7] Abu Nuaym al-Isfahani and Fariduddin Attar wrote about him as a Sufi with knowledge, wisdom, love, ingenuity and compassion.

[8][9] Known for his asceticism (zuhd) and fear of God (taqwa), Sari al-Sakati was sensitive about and avoided eating and using things whose halal status was questionable, and he strongly condemned those who made religion a means of livelihood.

[16] Sari al-Sakati is of the opinion that it is necessary for disciples to learn hadith before they join the path of asceticism and mysticism, otherwise religious life would be dragged into slackness.

Sari al-Saqati said that supernatural wonders (karamat) should not be trusted and given much importance, that the sufi's possession of them would cause them to tear the veils of Divine privacy.

[22] He stated that if they cause peace of mind, it means one is being captive to miracles,[23] and he described "istidraj" as "blindness in seeing the faults of the soul".