would nevertheless continue to frequent the lessons of jurisprudence, engaging in debate although I was only 16 years old. I then read every branch of philosophy, and whenever a question baffled me or I failed to discover the middle term of a syllogism, I would go to the congregational mosque, perform the prayer, and implore the Originator of all things until the difficulty was unlocked for me. I used to keep vigil at night, and whenever sleep overpowered me I would drink a cup and resume.

He went on: In this way I eventually mastered all the sciences. I read Aristotle’s Metaphysics, yet it perplexed me so greatly that I read it 40 times, memorising it without understanding it, until I lost hope. Then a single volume by Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī on the aims of Aristotle’s Metaphysics (1) came into my hands, and it opened up the purposes of the book for me; I rejoiced and gave a large amount in charity.

It happened that the ruler of Bukhārā, Nūḥ, was struck by a severe illness. I was summoned together with the physicians and joined them in treating him. I requested permission to examine the books in his library, and when I entered I found books beyond counting in every field, from which I gleaned priceless benefits… He continued: When I reached 18 years of age I had completed all these sciences. At that time my memory was keener, whereas today my knowledge is more mature; otherwise, knowledge itself is one and nothing new has been added to me. I composed al-Majmūʿ, in which I treated the various sciences. Our neighbour, Abū Bakr al-Barqī—who inclined toward jurisprudence, Qurʾānic exegesis, and asceticism—asked me for a work, so I produced for him al-Ḥāṣil wa-l-Maḥṣūl in 20 volumes. I then accepted a post in the Sultan’s administration, and at that time I dressed in the garb of the jurists, with a turbaned ṭaylasān. I later moved to Nasā, then to Abīward (2) and finally to Ṭūs.