“My son, I shall make the question easier for you and reduce the number by five hundred and ninety-seven. Describe to me a creature with three wings, its third wing attached somewhere other than the two places where the other wings are attached, so that I may understand.”

He replied, “Abū Sa‘īd, we have proved unable to describe the creation, and we are far, far less able to describe the Creator. I call you to witness that I have renounced that view, and I ask Allah’s forgiveness.”

‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Abī Hātim also related: Ismā‘īl ibn Abī al-Hārith narrated to us, saying: Suwayd ibn Sa‘īd narrated to us,