some distance from us, listening attentively to my words. A few days later, he passed by us and said to Muhammad al-Farrāʾ, ‘I testify that I have embraced Islam anew at the hands of this man,’ pointing to me.”

I say: Perhaps he had some doubt or mistaken view concerning the spirit’s being created, as sometimes happens to people.

He also said: I heard Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Sulamī say: I heard that Husayn al-Fārisī said: I heard Ibrāhīm ibn Fātik say: I heard al-Junayd say, “How could He who has neither likeness nor equal ever be connected with one who has a likeness and an equal? Far from it! What an astonishing supposition! This can only be through the gracious favor of the Most Subtle, beyond perception, imagination, or encompassing knowledge—with nothing but the indication of certainty and the realization of faith.”

I say: These words imply that people have come to know their Lord only through His graciously making Himself known to them and guiding them by what He has bestowed upon them—not through knowledge that comprehends and encompasses Him. This is sound. It may also contain an element of refutation of the approach of those who engage in rational inquiry and regard it alone as sufficient to yield the knowledge sought.

He also said: Muhammad ibn al-Husayn related to us: I heard ʿAbd al-Wāhid ibn