The murīd’s (aspirant’s) stagnation (waqfa) is worse than his fetret (laxity). The difference between fetret and stagnation is as follows: Fetret is a turning away and departure from being a murīd; stagnation, on the other hand, is showing sluggishness in one’s journey by succumbing to states of laziness. No good comes from a murīd who stagnates at the beginning of the spiritual journey (sayr sulūk). A shaykh who wishes to test (imtihān) his murīd should instruct (talqīn) him in one of the dhikrs (remembrances of God) he deems appropriate. The shaykh first commands his murīd to recite a Name with his tongue, then orders him to include his qalb (the heart) in the dhikr with the tongue, saying: You are eternally in the presence of your Lord with your heart. As much as possible, let nothing else come from your tongue but this Name! Then the shaykh commands his murīd to always be in a state of outward ṭahāra (ritual purity) with ablution. He tells him not to sleep unless sleep overcomes him, and to gradually, little by little, reduce his food intake to what he can bear. He does not command him to abandon his habits all at once.
Then the shaykh instructs his murīd to prefer retreat (khalwa) and seclusion (ʿuzla), and in this state, to exert effort (gayret) to repel religious thoughts that cannot be eliminated and the nafs (lower self) impulses that occupy his qalb. Know that someone at the beginning of murīd-hood is rarely protected from doubts about belief while in retreat. This is especially so if the murīd has a sensitive qalb (heart). There are very few sāliks (travelers) who do not encounter such doubts at the beginning of their path. These matters are the tests (imtihān) that murīds face. In this situation, what the shaykh must do, if he sees discernment (kıyāset) in the murīd, is to direct him to rational proofs. For a sālik who takes the path of maʿrifa (gnosis), it is possible to be saved from such doubts through knowledge.
If the shaykh discovers in his murīd a strength for the path of Sufism (taṣawwuf) and steadfastness (s̱abāt), he commands him to persist in sabr (patient endurance) and dhikr until the lights of acceptance shine in his qalb and the sun of union rises in his innermost secret. (If the murīd obeys), results are achieved in a short time. However, this method of training can only be applied to a select few murīds; it does not yield successful results for everyone. The training of most murīds is possible by having them resort to evidence and reflect on verses (āyāt) to the extent necessary, provided they acquire the essential knowledge of methodology. (Kushayrī, 198)
Fetret is the cooling (khumūd) of the fire that was burning at the beginning. (Iṣṭilāḥ, 534)
Fetret is the cooling (khumūd) of the fervor of the initial necessary seeking. (Kāshānī, 136; Jāmiʿ, 91)