One basic Sufi principle is to live in the world and still pursue the highest mystical goals. To serve others is, in a real sense, to serve God, and this service is considered by many saints to be the highest form of worship. It is not enough simply to love or to know. We have to act on our love and our knowledge.
To be a dervish is to love and serve others. The dervishes seek to love one another, to speak kindly, to show gentleness to one another, and also to serve one another. That is actually the duty of the human being.
— James Fadiman, Robert Frager, Essential Sufism by James Fadiman, editor, Robert Frager, editor