The original meaning of ribāṭ is the place where horses are tethered. Later, it came to refer to a type of refuge where people would take shelter and defend themselves. A murābiṭ is a mujāhid (one who strives in the path of God) who protects those behind him. A person who resides in a ribāṭ for obedience to Allah, through his dua (supplication) there, repels calamity that may befall the land and its people. (ʿAwārif, 66)
The conditions sought in those who dwell in the ribāṭ are as follows: to sever ties with people and begin dealings with the Real (al-Ḥaqq, i.e., God), and, through the men of the unseen/men of God (rijāl al-ghayb/rijāl Allāh), to suffice with the Cause of causes (Allah) alone. 811