- ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us; he said: Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qurashī narrated to us; he said: Ḥusayn al-Juʿfī narrated to us, from Zāʾidah, from Abū Ismāʿīl, the muʾadhdhin of al-Barājim, who said:
We used to sit in the company of Manṣūr ibn al-Muʿtamir, and whenever he wished to rise from the gathering he would supplicate:
“Allāhumma ijmaʿ ʿalā al-hudā amranā (O Allah, unite our affairs upon guidance),
wajʿal at-taqwā zādanā (make piety our provision),
wajʿal al-jannata maʾābanā (make Paradise our place of return),
warzuqnā shukran yurḍīka ʿannā (grant us gratitude that earns Your pleasure),
wawaraʿan yaḥjuzunā ʿan maʿāṣīk (and scrupulousness that shields us from disobeying You),
wakhalaqan naʿīshu bihi fī an-nās (and a character by which we may live among people),
waʿaqlan tanfaʿunā bihi (and an intellect through which You benefit us).”
Whenever he mentioned “ʿaql” (intellect) I could not help but laugh. One day he said to me, “Abū Ismāʿīl, why are you laughing? A man may possess this and that, but if he lacks intellect, he possesses nothing at all.”