Tasawwuf and Suluk
Question
(1259) The purpose of suluk is that the heart of the servant [of Allah] should come to seek the good pleasure of the Truth, the Exalted, just as the body seeks food, and that he should have such a longing for worship as a healthy body has for food and water. This is possible only when the heart becomes filled with love and reverence for Allah the Exalted and empties of love and reverence for anything besides Allah.
Answer
(1) The wali (friend of Allah) is one who knows Allah and His attributes to the extent that this is possible, who is constant in obedience [to Allah], who avoids disobedience, and who turns away from indulgence in pleasures and desires. Taking the pledge of allegiance (bay‘a)
Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya
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