The tariqat (spirtual path) is the way by which the sufi comes into harmony with the Divine Nature. This way is comprised of spiritual poverty (faqr), devotion and the continuous, selfless remembrance of God (dhikr), which are represented by the cloak of the dervish (khirqah).

Spiritual Poverty
This is both the feeling of being imperfect and needy, and the desire for perfection. The Prophet, Muhammad has said in this regard, "My honor is from spiritual poverty. I have been honored over and above all prophets by being graced with spiritual poverty." And God revealed to the Prophet, "Say, God increase my true knowledge of You." As this saying indicates, even though Muhammad was given the honor of Prophethood, it was still necessary that he feel his poverty and desire to be nearer to the essence of God.

The Cloak of the Darvish
The khirqah is the darvish's garment of honor and devotion. It symbolizes the Divine Nature and Attributes. Some people have mistakenly imagined that the cloak actually possesses these properties and that if one was to wear such a cloak, one would become a saint. However, wearing spiritual clothing does not make one spiritual. A sufi wears what he or she likes while being in harmony with what is socially approved. 'Ali said, "Wear those clothes that neither cause you to be looked down upon nor admired and envied." Thus, it is not the clothes that make the sufi; rather, it is the sufi's actions and inner being.

Recline on the throne of the heart,
and with purity in manner be a sufi.
-- Sa'di

The cloak is sewn with the needle of devotion and the thread of the selfless remembrance of God. One who wishes to be honored by this cloak of poverty must, with devotion, surrender to a spiritual guide. True devotion draws one's heart towards the Beloved. It involves continuous attention to the Truth and constant effort to let go of attention to the self. This includes unquestioned obedience to one's spiritual guide.

The guide, by spiritual means, penetrates to the depths of the disciple's soul, transmutes his or her negative qualities, and brings to nothing the impurities of the world of multiplicity. In other words, the guide takes the needle of devotion from the disciple's hand and with the thread of the disciple's selfless remembrance of God, sews the sufi cloak upon the disciple. Then, by the grace of this cloak of Divine Names and Attributes, the disciple will become a perfect human being.

Continuous, selfless remembrance of God
Contained in Absolute, Infinite Unity are forces which emanate and become manifested as created beings. Each being, according to its nature, receives grace from these forces. In the realm of words, the manifestations of these forces, or truths, are expressed by Divine Names. Examples are: the Living (al-Hayy), meaning the life of creation is directly connected with Him; and the Transcendent (al-'Ali), meaning the force of the universe is with Him.

The Divine Names, in the continuous, selfless remembrance of God (dhikr), are prescribed by the master of the spiritual path, in order to cure disciples of the disease of the self and its desires and fears. But this remembrance is of no value unless all of one's senses come to be fully centered on the meaning-reality of the respective Names. It is only by full acknowledgment and love of the reality of these Divine Names that attention to the self falls away. Then, the self becomes purified and adorned by the Divine Attributes.

For so long did the Beloved
face my open heart
That except for His Attributes and Nature,
nothing remained of that heart.
-- Maghrebi

Only in such a fashion can the repetition of the Divine Names be called the selfless remembrance of God (dhikr).

The disciple is like a machine whose energy comes from devotion. This machine, by means of the selfless remembrance of God, transmutes all of the self's desires and fears into Divine Attributes. Gradually, the disciple's self passes away and the Divine Nature becomes manifest; then the disciple truly becomes the recipient of the sufi cloak, and the heart and soul become illuminated by the grace of the Divine Attributes. At this point the disciple is worthy of entering the spiritual feast of the sufis, which takes place in the "Tavern of Ruin" (kharabat>. This is the spiritual state of 'passing away of the self in God' (fana). Here, the sufi directly perceives the secrets of the Truth. As is said in the Koran,

"Only the purified experience It (the Truth)."

These purified ones, in Sufism, are called perfect human beings.