but no relief came. He said (1): “Next I sought help from the lord of the Jahmiyyah, yet he did not rescue me; then I sought help from the lord of the Qadariyyah, yet he did not rescue me; then I sought help from the lord of the Muʿtazilah, yet he did not rescue me. Finally, I called upon the Lord of the common folk, and He delivered me.”

Our teacher (2) remarked: “How can these veiled, deficient, bewildered (3) and reckless people be more knowledgeable of Allah—of His attributes, His names, and His signs—than the foremost pioneers among the Emigrants and the Helpers and those who have followed them with excellence: the heirs of the prophets, the deputies of the messengers, the lamps of the night, the banners of guidance? By them the Book was upheld and they were upheld by it; through them the Book spoke and they spoke through it. Allah granted them such knowledge and wisdom that they outshone all other followers of the prophets; they encompassed such realities of understanding that, were the wisdom and sciences of everyone else gathered beside theirs, anyone seeking comparison would feel ashamed! How, then, can the fledglings of the philosophers—followers of India and Greece, heirs of the Magians and idolaters, the misguided Sabians and their ilk—be more knowledgeable of Allah than the heirs of the prophets and the people of the Quran and faith!”