Al-Nūrī once journeyed through greater Syria, where he studied under Aḥmad ibn Abī al-Ḥawārī. A severe ordeal later befell him: when Ghulām Khalīl’s crackdown on the Sufis erupted in Baghdad, he fled the city and spent a period in seclusion at al-Raqqah.
Abū Saʿīd ibn al-Aʿrābī relates: “He eventually returned to Baghdad, but his circle of companions and kindred spirits had disappeared. His strength had waned and his eyesight had grown weak, so he withdrew from people.”
Abū Nuʿaym says: “I heard ʿUmar al-Bannāʾ al-Baghdādī in Mecca recount the ordeal of Ghulām Khalīl. He said:
‘The Sufis were branded heretics, so Caliph al-Muʿtamid, in the year 264 AH, ordered their arrest. Al-Nūrī was seized along with them and they were ushered into the caliph’s presence, who commanded that their necks be struck. Al-Nūrī rushed forward to the executioner. When asked why, he said, “I preferred their lives to my own for a single moment.”
The executioner hesitated and referred the matter back to the caliph, who in turn sent them to the Chief Judge, Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq. The judge questioned Abū al-Ḥusayn al-Nūrī on various matters of worship, and he answered well. He then added, “Beyond this, there are servants of Allah who speak by Allah, eat by Allah, and hear by Allah.”
Ismāʿīl the judge wept and said, “If such men are heretics, then no monotheist remains on earth.” So they were released.⦗1⦘’
Abū Nuʿaym ⦗2⦘ also reports: “I heard Abū al-Faraj al-Warthānī say that ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm said:
‘I visited al-Nūrī and found his legs badly swollen. When I asked him about it he replied, “My soul craved some dates. I resisted, but it persisted, so I bought the dates. After eating them I said to it, ‘Get up and pray.’ It refused, so I swore, ‘By Allah, if you so much as sit on the ground for forty days…’ Thereafter I did not sit at all—meaning, except during the prayer.’”