Al-Khaṭīb said: “He was a man of true religion, ever constant in the night-vigil prayer, and abundant in charity—qualities for which he became well-known.”

He composed a treatise on the principles of creed in which he set forth the merit (1) of the Companions and pronounced unbelief upon anyone who asserted that the Qur’an is created.

That book was read aloud every Friday in the ḥadith circle, and people attended its recitation for the entire span of his caliphate, which lasted forty-one years and three months (2).

I say: Bahaʾ al-Dawla established his caliphate, as noted above (3), in the year 381 AH. They summoned him from the Marshes, and their amir, Muhadhdhib al-Dawla ʿAlī ibn Naṣr, equipped him with whatever arms and furnishings he could and provided him with a swift boat (4). When he reached Wāsiṭ, the troops came to him, demanded the customary gratuity for the pledge of allegiance, and caused an uproar (5); he promised them generous payment, and they were satisfied. His stay in the Marshes had exceeded two years; he then set out (6) and, upon arriving, appointed Abū al-Faḍl Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad, the Inspector of Daylam, as his secretary, while making ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Shīrāzī master of the palace. He and Bahaʾ al-Dawla each swore an oath to the other, after which Bahaʾ al-Dawla invested him with authority (7).

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik al-Hamadānī (8) relates that al-Qādir used to dress like ordinary folk and visit the blessed sanctuaries (9). He requested something from Abū al-Ḥasan ibn al-Qazwīnī—