—al-Sijzī, who said: Ibn Bākuwayh related to us; Ḥamd ibn al-Ḥallāj informed me, saying:

My father was born at Mount al-Bayḍāʾ and was raised in Tustar. He studied under Sahl for two years and then went up to Baghdad. At times he wore coarse wool, at other times a durrāʿa (long robe), a turban, and a qabāʾ (over-coat), and sometimes he walked about in only two rags. His first journey from Tustar to Basra was when he was 18 years old. He then went to ʿAmr al-Makkī and stayed with him for 18 months; after that he proceeded to al-Junayd. A dispute arose between him and al-Junayd over a certain issue, and al-Junayd accused him of making unfounded claims. Feeling estranged, he took my mother and returned to Tustar, where he stayed for a year and won full acceptance there. Meanwhile ʿAmr ibn ʿUthmān kept sending letters filled with grave accusations against him until my father became resentful, cast off the Sufi garb, put on a coat, and began keeping company with worldly people.

He then left again and was absent from us for five years, reaching Transoxiana. When he returned to Fars he began preaching, holding assemblies, calling people to Allah Most High, and writing books for them. He would speak about what was in people’s hearts, so he was called “the Cotton-Carder of Secrets,” a title that stuck.

Afterwards he came to Ahwaz and summoned me, so I was brought to him. He then travelled to Basra, and from there to Mecca, donning a patched cloak, with a large group accompanying him. Abū Yaʿqūb al-Nahrajūrī envied him and spoke against him. He then came back to Ahwaz, took my mother and a group of the leading people of Ahwaz to Baghdad, and stayed there for a year.

He later set out once more for India and Transoxiana, calling people to Allah and composing books for them. Upon his return they would correspond with him, addressing him from India as al-Mughīth (the Helper), from the lands of Māṣīn and Turkistān as al-Muqīt (the Sustainer), from Khurasan as Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Zāhid, and from Khuzistan as Shaykh Ḥallāj al-Asrār (the Cotton-Carder of Secrets).