Wasāʾit (means, intermediaries) are the causes of this world (dunyā) and the hereafter that exist between Allah the Exalted and the servant. When one of the shaykhs was asked what wasāʾit are, he gave the following answer: Wasāʾit are of three kinds. The first are means of connection (muwāṣalāt, means that bring near), the second are means of attachment (muttasilāt, means that bind), and the third are means of separation (munfaṣilāt, means that separate). Muwāṣalāt are the manifestations (tajalliyāt) of the Real (God), muttasilāt are acts of worship, and munfaṣilāt are the pleasures of the nafs (the lower self).
Abū ʿAlī Rūzbārī said: Allah has made wasāʾit a mercy for the gnostics (ʿārifūn), so that they may prefer Him over the wasāʾit themselves. (Lumaʿ, 452)
Wasāʾit are the causes to which one clings in order to reach the intended goal. (Hujwīrī, 466)