and al-Jāḥiẓ, the man who maligned Islam; the very “jibt” of this community, an-Naẓẓām; the openly debauched al-Jubbāʾī and his foolish, foul-mouthed son; al-Lāḥiqī and Abū Hudhayl, supporters of unbelief in every disastrous guise; the blind doubter Dirār, and all those of their ilk who live in perpetual suspicion.

To proceed: faith consists of word and deed, and intention is inseparable from them. At times it grows through resolute striving, and at times it diminishes through negligence. Loving the Prophet’s Companions is an obligation, and lauding them is both a devotional act and a duty. The best of the Companions is al-Ṣiddīq, followed by the refined al-Fārūq.

Among the sound reports that have reached us, well known and widely circulated since earliest times, is that our Lord descends—without any doubt—every night to the heaven, without being bounded or described in any specific manner. Transcendent is He, the All-Powerful, the All-Subtle.

Likewise established is the believers’ vision of the Sovereign, the Compeller: that we shall behold Him with our very eyes on the Day of Resurrection, without crowding—just as one sees the full moon unobscured by clouds.

Also affirmed are the constriction of the grave upon the buried person and the questioning of Munkar and Nakīr.

All praise belongs to Allah, who has guided us to the manifest sunnah and chosen us for it.

This is, in fact, a very lengthy urjūzah (didactic poem).

Abū ʿAmr died on the fifteenth of Shawwāl in the year 444 AH, and he was buried the same day after the ʿAṣr prayer in the cemetery of Dāniyya. The ruler of the city walked before his bier, and a great multitude followed his funeral procession—may Allah Most High have mercy on him. (1)