14 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Bakkār narrated to us; he said: Ḥafṣ ibn ʿUmar, the judge of Ḥalab, narrated from al-Faḍl ibn ʿĪsā, from Abū ʿUthmān al-Nahdī, from Abū Hurayrah, who traced it back to the Prophet ﷺ. He said:

“When Allah the Exalted created the intellect, He said to it, ‘Rise,’ and it rose; then He said, ‘Turn back,’ and it turned back; then He said, ‘Come forward,’ and it came forward; then He said, ‘Sit,’ and it sat. Thereupon He—glorified is He—declared: ‘I have not created any creature better, more noble, more excellent, or more beautiful than you. Through you I take and through you I give; through you I honor and through you I am known; it is you whom I reproach; by you reward is granted and upon you punishment is imposed.’”