ʿAlī ibn Ḥātim said, “I heard Dhu al-Nūn declare: ‘The Qur’an is the speech of Allah; it is not created.’
Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥusayn related: “I heard Dhu al-Nūn say, ‘Whatever image your mind can conceive, Allah is altogether different from it.’
I also heard him explain: “Istighfār (seeking forgiveness) is a comprehensive term whose meanings are six:
- remorse for what has passed;
- firm resolve to abandon the sin;
- fulfilling every obligation to Allah that you have neglected;
- restoring all wrongs—whether in property or honor—and making peace over them;
- dissolving every piece of flesh and drop of blood that has grown from the unlawful;
- tasting the pain of obedience as you once tasted the sweetness of disobedience.”
ʿAmr ibn al-Sarḥ recounted: “I asked Dhu al-Nūn, ‘How did you escape al-Mutawakkil when he had ordered your execution?’
He replied, ‘When the attendant brought me in, I said to myself: “O You in whose sight there are no drops in the seas, no gusts in the racing winds, no hidden things in the earth, and no secret thoughts in the hearts except that they all point to You, bear witness to You, acknowledge Your Lordship, and stand bewildered before Your power—by the power through which You grant refuge to all who are in the heavens and on the earth, I beseech You to bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and to divert his heart from me.”
‘At that, al-Mutawakkil rose, stepped toward me, embraced me, and said, “We have inconvenienced you, Abū al-Fayḍ.”’
Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥusayn also said: “I attended al-Mutawakkil’s gathering with Dhu al-Nūn. The caliph was captivated by him, preferring him above the ascetics. He asked, ‘Describe for me the friends of Allah.’
“Dhu al-Nūn answered, ‘O Commander of the Believers! They are a people whom Allah has clothed in the radiant light of His love, enveloped in the splendor of His intent to honor them, and crowned on their brows with the diadems of His joy.’ He then continued with an extensive discourse.”
Ibn ʿAsākir has recorded Dhu al-Nūn’s story in full in his History, and Abū Nuʿaym has done likewise in his Ḥilyah.