he discussed the spiritual knowledge of the Sufis, he was like someone who took an enemy of the Muslims and dressed him in Muslim clothes. The leading scholars of the religion criticized Abū Hāmid for this in his books. They said, “The Cure made him ill,” referring to Ibn Sīnā’s philosophical work, al-Shifā’ (The Cure).

It contains weak hadiths and transmitted reports—indeed, many fabricated ones. It also contains some of the Sufis’ errors and absurdities. Nevertheless, its material from knowledgeable, upright Sufi shaykhs concerning deeds of the heart that accords with the Quran and Sunnah, together with other material on worship and proper conduct that likewise accords with them, outweighs its objectionable content. For this reason, people have differed in their assessments of it and disputed over it.