Abu Turab al-Nasafi compresses the ideal of spiritual poverty (faqr) into a single formula: the faqir's sustenance is whatever he happens to find, his clothing is whatever happens to cover him, and his dwelling is wherever he happens to alight. Each of the three necessities of life — food, garment, and shelter — is left entirely to what circumstance and divine provision supply, rather than to the dervish's own acquisition or planning.

The concept expresses faqr as radical detachment (tajrid) and unconditional reliance on God (tawakkul): the true dervish neither seeks nor secures the means of living, but receives them as they come. Abu Turab's own life of crossing the deserts in solitude, and his death standing upright in the wilderness of Basra, embody this doctrine in practice.