and, from time to time, abundant pleas for forgiveness in the pre-dawn hours. Such are the hallmarks of the saints and the qualities of the Muhammadan folk—may Allah cause us to die loving them.

With a chain of transmission reaching back to Abū Nuʿaym: Abū Aḥmad the ḥāfiẓ told us, Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz told us, and I heard Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī say: “Whoever looks at this world with desire and affection, Allah removes from his heart the light of certitude and renunciation.” ⦗1⦘

Abū Nuʿaym then related, on the authority of al-Sulamī, the two stories about Aḥmad’s books being thrown into the sea. ⦗2⦘

And with the same chain: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad dictated to us, ʿUmar ibn Baḥr told us, and I heard Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī say:

“While I was in a small domed shelter in the cemetery, without a door save a cloak I had hung down, suddenly a woman began knocking on the wall. I asked, ‘Who is it?’

“She said, ‘A lost wayfarer—show me the road.’

“I replied, ‘May Allah have mercy on you; which road do you wish to take?’ ⦗3⦘

“She wept, then said, ‘The road to salvation, O Aḥmad.’

“I said, ‘Alas! Between us and that road lies a steep ascent, and that ascent can only be crossed by swift travel, by rectifying one’s dealings, and by cutting off distracting attachments.’

“She wept again and said, ‘Glory be to Him who has held your limbs together so they have not been torn apart, and your heart so it has not been shattered!’

“Then she fell unconscious. I said to some of the women, ‘How is she now?’

“They went over, examined her, and found in her pocket a written bequest: ‘Shroud me in these very clothes. If I have any good stored with Allah, that will bring me the greater happiness; and if it is otherwise, then woe to my soul.’

“I asked, ‘What is this?’

“They shook her, and she was dead. I asked, ‘Whose maid-servant is this?’

“They said, ‘A Qurashī girl who has been sorely afflicted. Her companion used to withhold food from her, and she often complained to us of a pain in her stomach. We would consult physicians on her behalf, and she would say…’