In reply to an aspirant’s request to be accepted as a murid Hakim al-Umma Shaikh Mawalan Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) wrote,

‘1. In this path (tariq) the demeanor of every Shaikh is unique.

2. The essential criteria to benefit is the mutual compatibility with this demeanor (i.e.  between Shaikh & murid).

3. Rushing to select a Shaikh is a (major) contraindication in this path.

4. The demeanor of an individual can only be ascertained by keeping his company for a considerable duration, (…..) or by visiting him repeatedly and corresponding with him for a long period.’

Tarbiyet us Salik, volume 1, page 37