said: “Sumnūn said, ‘My Lord, I am content with all that You decree for me.’ Then he was unable to pass urine for fourteen days. He writhed like a snake on the sand, twisting to the right and left. When he could pass urine again, he said, ‘My Lord, I repent to You.’”

Abū Nu‘aym said: “The slightest affliction thus exposed Sumnūn’s error in claiming such contentment.” Yet Sumnūn was proverbial for his love of Allah, and his standing in this regard was renowned. Indeed, it is related that Ibrāhīm ibn Fātik said: “I saw Sumnūn addressing the people in the Sacred Mosque. A small bird came and drew near him, then nearer still, and kept approaching him