It refers to the spiritual stations (maqām) at which they pause during their journey (sulūk) toward infinite knowledge of their object of worship (mābūd). The phrase wa'ndubi'l-atlālā (mourn for those who remain) means: Weep for those left behind, for my feet never stood where they stood, nor did I remain there with them. Then it says: Ask the rubuʿ (abandoned dwellings), that is, ask those houses (stations); even if you do not see us among those who dwelled there, when the houses inform you of the states of adab (proper conduct) and praiseworthy qualities of those who were with them, let this be a means for you to acquire adab and maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God). Those houses, having changed from the state they were in when those people resided there, are called dārisāt (ruined abodes). The intimacy with those houses ceased after the departure of their inhabitants, following the first path (menhec-i evvel).
Thus, due to their departure, that intimacy disappeared (when the houses were left empty, there was no one left to be intimate with, and the house was enveloped in silence). For the existence of the houses only has meaning through them (the people inside). (Tercümān, 71)