Then he related what had been reported concerning divine highness. He said that he had heard Imam Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Fūrak say that he had heard Muhammad ibn al-Mahbūb, the attendant of Abū ‘Uthmān al-Maghribī, relate:

“One day, Abū ‘Uthmān al-Maghribī said to me, ‘Muhammad, if you were asked, “Where is the One you worship?” what would you say?’ I replied, ‘I would say: Where He has always been.’ He asked, ‘And if someone said, “Where was He in pre-eternity?” what would you say?’ I replied, ‘I would say: Where He is now.’ He explained that this meant that He existed when there was no place, and He is now as He was then. He approved my answer, took off his shirt, and gave it to me.”

Abū al-Qāsim said: “I heard Abū Bakr ibn Fūrak say: ‘I heard Abū ‘Uthmān al-Maghribī say: “I used to hold a certain belief regarding direction, but when I arrived in