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According to sharia, mediation means to find closeness to Allah through a person who is Allah's beloved and is already close to Him, who has travelled the mystic path and knows its ups and downs. In Sufism such a person is known as Murshid, Pir or Shaikh i.e. the spiritual guide. A true spiritual guide is the one who perfectly knows the path to Allah, who has crossed the waystations of Faqr teaching the realm of Incomparable and Unknowable and is now fully proficient to guide common people who do not know the Divine path. The perfect spiritual guide saves them from the satanic illusions, distractions of the inciting innerself and all the other obstacles of the path towards Allah. Now the verse may be translated as, "O believers! Find the perfect spiritual guide to reach Allah."
Some people think that 'mediator" refers to faith but the words, "O believers" in the verse show that Allah is addressing those who are already faithful so mediation can never mean faith. According to some people, mediator means pious deeds but the argument against this opinion is that Allah has ordered to "find" mediator, since deeds are intangible, they cannot be found. Hence, it must refer to the perfect spiritual guide because being a physical entity he can be searched and found. Another argument which supports this opinion is that all the pious deeds are not perfect and pure enough to bless the seeker with the ultimate closeness and Divine vision. Only those deeds are acceptable in the court of Allah which are completely free from the impurities of pride, vanity, jealousy, self-conceit, pretence and hypocrisy. To keep religious deeds free from such impure and unacceptable acts is possible only by the guidance and beneficence of the perfect spiritual guide. Thus it is justified to take mediator as the perfect spiritual guide who is the righteous guide on the path to Allah. Hence the verse actually means that every true Muslim should eagerly find the perfect spiritual guide who would sanctify him by his spiritually effective sight and celestial company so that all his esoteric and exoteric deeds are corrected and purified. Then by making the seeker desirable in the Divine court, he takes him to the destination of vision and union.
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