Clarification that the rank of ihsan in Islam has been misunderstood by some people, as is done by some Sufi orders through what is called al-rabita (linking the aspirant's heart to the heart of his Shaykh)

The Shaykh : Therefore, it is a grave error to transfer this high, exclusive rank between the servant and his Lord to a human servant, under any interpretation or justification. Some people try to justify that the servant should monitor a servant of Allah while he is remembering his Lord. They claim that this servant whom the servant should monitor is one of those who have reached Allah, and that he, in turn, conveys this servant who is monitoring him in his remembrance. This is what is called al-rabita in some well-known orders: linking the aspirant's heart to the heart of his Shaykh, whom he does not see and knows nothing about—whether he is in remembrance or heedless. Then, this one who is in remembrance himself knows nothing about the state of his Shaykh either—whether he is in remembrance or heedless? And so the matter becomes, in addition to its fundamental contradiction with the Islamic Shari'ah, entirely illogical. For the one whom a person should monitor must be believed to know the one who is monitoring him, knowing his need, his supplication, his request, and the like of these prescribed points. How can it be reasonable to monitor the incapable, the ignorant, and the heedless? This is nothing but what some of the Sufis themselves said, but from the early ones, not the modern ones: seeking aid from a created being from a created being is like a prisoner seeking aid from a prisoner. He is in prison, so he needs to be saved; thus, the servant who is monitored is like this monitor, both of whom are in need of turning to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) and monitoring Him with true monitoring. It is regrettable that this high station among the stations of Islam and faith, namely the rank of ihsan where the servant faces and monitors his Lord, is diverted to this servant monitoring a Shaykh of his. This is part of the regrettable deviation that has affected some Muslims today.