He left behind celebrated treatises; yet whoever sought right guidance in them lost the way and became bewildered. From those works Ibn Sīnā graduated. We ask Allah for success.

Abū Naṣr perfected his command of Arabic while in Iraq. There he met Matta ibn Yūnus (1), the logician, studied under him, then travelled to Ḥarrān where he attached himself to Yūḥannā ibn Jīlān the Christian. He went on to Egypt and eventually took up residence in Damascus.

It is said that he entered the court of the ruler Sayf al-Dawlah ibn Ḥamdān dressed in Turkish garb. According to reports he knew seventy languages, and his father had been among the Turkish commanders. He seated himself at the head of the gathering and began debating the scholars in various fields. His discourse towered above theirs, his superiority became manifest, and they listened to him in silence.

Then—much to their surprise—he proved the most accomplished performer on the ʿūd: he produced a lute from its case (2), tuned it, and played, so that everyone present rejoiced and laughed out of delight. He then changed the melody, whereupon, so it is said, everyone there fell asleep, even the doorkeeper. He rose and left (3).

It is further claimed that he was the first to invent the qānūn (4). He loved solitude and would compose (5) in pleasant, open places, seldom preparing a fair copy of what he had written (6).