The Shaykh said, may Allah be pleased with him, "Know that the Tariqa (Path) is built on the word of Tawhid (Divine Unity), La ilaha illa'llah (There is no god but God). It is incumbent on the seeker to busy himself with remembrance of it, for it is its foundation.
As he remembered it with his tongue, he made it present with his heart, his affair became upright thereby, and his heart lived. Thus the heart becomes illuminated with the light of gnosis, and the seeker becomes amongst the travelers to the presence of the Divine. So he said, may his blessings be upon us, "Whoever dies knowing that there is no god except God, enters the Garden". He has also said, upon him be peace and blessings, "Renew your faith". They said, "How do we renew it, O Messenger of God?" He said, "Increase in saying 'La ilaha illa'llah'".
On the tongue of the Shaykh, may Allah be pleased with him, the Tariqa is "to perform religious obligations and avoid what is forbidden, accompanying good leaders, and following the Sunna, and cleansing of what is other than God".
The disciples must accompany a Shaykh who has entered into this door and whose heart has achieved illumination thereby. Through this, the disciple's way is safeguarded. Thus he must seek out someone whose affair is firmly established in the path, who will train him in good manners, will lead him through the way of good conduct, and will take him to the Haqiqa (Reality). If he finds such a person, he must hold firm to him, and if not, he must continue searching with persistence until he finds him.
He (the Shaykh) has said, may Allah be pleased with him, "For everything there is an instrument. And the instrument of this affair is the Shaykh, one who does not merely say words, but one whose state embodies them. By his state he is able to give to whoever He wills from His servants, and he withholds from whomever He wills. Thus if you find such a one, embrace him with both hands and do not leave him. For if you leave him you will find no one like him. All of them are but scholars of words, whereas this one is a scholar of states".