—not even kings. His heart was ever alert, his tongue constant in remembrance, and his renown far-reaching.

From early boyhood he would slip away and lie down in the scrubland of Yunīn (1); passing travellers would take him back to his mother. Later he devoted himself to worship on Mount Lebanon and frequently joined the frontier expeditions.

Shaykh ʿAlī al-Qaṣṣār said, “I stood in awe of him as though he were a lion, but once I drew near I wished I could rip open my own heart and place it inside his.”

It is related that al-ʿĀdil once came while the shaykh was performing wuḍūʾ, put a handful of dinars beneath his prayer-rug, and left. The shaykh returned the money, saying,

“Abū Bakr (2), how can I pray for you when wine is being served in Damascus and a woman who sells but one uqiyyah is forced to surrender a slip of paper as tax?”

Al-ʿĀdil thereupon abolished the practice.

It is also reported that al-Muʿaẓẓam sat before him and asked for his supplication. The shaykh said,

“ʿĪsā, do not be an evil omen (3) like your father; he introduced debased coinage (4) and ruined people’s dealings.”

Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ṣamad recounted, “By Allah, since the day I entered the service of Shaykh ʿAbd Allāh I have never seen him lean back, cough, or spit.”

I have treated his life at greater length in The Major History, recording his miracles, disciplines, and subtle indications. He would never rise for anyone out of reverence for Allah, and he hoarded nothing. He possessed a single coarse garment and, in winter, wore a fur cloak—yet he might give even that away despite the cold. At times he went hungry and survived on the leaves of the trees.