Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)
Does someone have to visit Tarim in order to attain the attributes of the great Imams of the past?
This is one of the means to do so but what is required above all is complete determination and true focus on the path regardless of where you are in the world. The only time when it is compulsory to travel is to perform Hajj (if it is incumbent upon you) or to seek knowledge which is compulsory for you to learn. Travelling to visit the pious, to visit blessed places and to seek other types of knowledge is recommended. In general, travelling is permissible, unless it is undertaken for something that is forbidden, in which case it is forbidden. The Prophet ﷺ informed us that the Jewish scholar told the man who wished to repent to leave a land inhabited by evil people and to travel to a land inhabited by pious people. He informed us that Allah showed mercy to him due to his proximity to the land of the pious. This shows the merit of going to the places where the pious reside.