he reached the prayer ground, he ascended the pulpit—if this report is authentic (1), for I have reservations about it—then praised Allah, extolled Him, and proclaimed His greatness (2).

Among the words preserved from his sermon and supplication were:

“All praise is for Allah, Lord of all worlds, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment. There is no god but Allah; He does whatever He wills. O Allah, You are Allah; there is no god but You. You do whatever You will. O Allah, You are Allah; there is no god but You. You are free of all need, while we are in need. Send down rain upon us, and make what You send down a source of strength and sustenance for us for a time” (3).

Then he raised his hands and began earnestly pleading, beseeching, and supplicating, raising them so high that the whiteness of his armpits became visible. He then turned his back to the people and faced the direction of prayer. While facing it, he reversed his cloak, placing its right side on the left and its left side on the right, turning its outer side inward and its inner side outward. The cloak was black and patterned. He began supplicating while facing the direction of prayer, and the people did likewise. Then he descended and led them in two units of prayer like the Eid prayer, without an adhān (call to prayer), an iqāmah (call to commence prayer), or any summons whatsoever. He recited aloud in both, reciting in the first, after al-Fātihah, “Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High,” and in the second, “Has there come to you the story of the Overwhelming?”