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As for the obstacles, they consist of every outward and inward act of disobedience, for such acts block the heart from travelling to Allah and cut off its path. They fall under three headings: shirk (associating partners with Allah), bidʿah (religious innovation), and sin. The obstacle of shirk is removed by pure tawḥīd (unadulterated monotheism), the obstacle of bidʿah by firmly realising the Sunnah, and the obstacle of sin by sound repentance.

These hindrances do not become evident to a person until he dons the gear of the traveller and truly embarks on the journey to Allah and the Abode of the Hereafter. Only then do these impediments show themselves, and he feels how they slow him down in proportion to the vigour of his travel and his readiness for the journey. As long as he remains seated, their latent power and ability to sever his path remain hidden from him.

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The attachments are everything to which the heart clings instead of Allah and His Messenger: the enjoyments of this world, its desires, positions of leadership, people’s company, and reliance upon them. There is no way to cut off and cast aside these three—obstacles, hindrances, and attachments—except through a powerful attachment to the highest aim; without that, their severance is impossible. The soul will not abandon what it is familiar with and loves unless it turns to something it loves more and values above it. The stronger one’s attachment to the sought-after goal, the weaker one’s attachment to anything else—and vice-versa. Such attachment is no more than an intense longing for the goal, and that longing grows in proportion to one’s knowledge of it, its nobility, and its superiority over all else.

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When the Messenger ﷺ perfected the station of utter neediness before Allah Most High, he rendered all creation dependent upon him.