The directing-sheik became an authority for those seeking training and a strengthening of their moral and intellectual character. The shift from teaching-sheik to directing-sheik brought about an unprecedented focus on decorum (adab). Directing-sheiks core characteristic was set within the Sufi context of training others to approach God more closely and intimately.[5] Overall the experience of learning the mystical path of Sufism underneath the guise of the directing-sheik was much more intense than that of the teacher-sheik.