Shaikh Mufti Muhammad Shuaibullah Khan (Allah preserve him) said,
‘It must be very clear to all of us that bayah is not synonymous with keeping pious company (suhba) of a Shaikh.
Lot of people are under the false assumption that they are both the same. They make bayah and become content. They do not make effort to improve their spiritual condition.
The knowledge and motivation for this effort to improve is derived from the pious company of the Shaikh. One has to ask for guidance and supplications from the Shaikh whenever faced with hardships or laziness in these spiritual efforts.
Moreover, it must be understood that the pious company of the Shaikh must be with the active intention of improving one’s spiritual condition. Without such intention mere pious company is not optimally beneficial in itself. ‘