To arrive at this aim, the voyager has three necessary aids: attraction (_indïïdhah_), the act of God which draws all men who have that tendency or inclination to Him; devotion (_ibâda_), continuing the journey by two roads--towards God and in God, the first limited, the second without limit; finally, elevation (_ouroudi_). But the voyage cannot be accomplished alone; it is necessary to have a guide or a monitor taken from the second class (_ibâda_). The believer who, after having been _tâlib_ (an educated man doubting the reality of God) and _mourid_ (desirous of following out his quest), becomes a _salik_ (traveler), places himself under the authority of a Sufi guide who teaches him to serve God until, through divine influence, he attains to the _ichk_ (love) stage. Divine love, removing all mundane desires from his heart, causes him to arrive at _zouhd_ (isolation); he then leads a contemplative life, passes through the _m'arifa_ degree, and awaits the direct illumination of _wadja_ (ecstasy). After having received a revelation of the true nature of God (the _hakika_ stage) he arrives at the _wasl_ stage (union with God); he cannot go further; death alone remains, by which he will arrive at the final degree, absorption in the Divinity. The _Zikr_ are only various forms of devotion invented by the Sufi guides to develop the spiritual life. The conduct of the disciple in the presence of his master is determined by rules which differ little from those imposed upon all dervishes. Some authors distinguish, in the Sufi voyage, seven stages, corresponding to the degrees in the celestial sphere, in order to have the soul received there after death. But, protest metaphysicians, the soul cannot return to a determined place, since it does not come from a determined place. Celestial intelligence, to which corresponds the degree of intelligence reached by man, will absorb the soul after its separation from the body. The Sufis attribute a high antiquity to their doctrines. They do not hesitate to refer them to as far back as Abraham; they pretend that one of the founders of their sect was own son-in-law to the prophet Ali, son of Abou-Tâlib. Finally, «there came a pious woman from Jerusalem, by the name of Rabia, whose words recall the Christian Mysticism.»