about him, according to the consensus of those versed in his hadith and Sunnah.

As for the report mentioned by Muhammad ibn Tāhir al-Maqdisī in “The Question of Listening” and “On the Nature of Sufism,” and transmitted through him by Shaykh Abū Hafs ʿUmar al-Suhrawardī, author of ʿAwārif al-Maʿārif, it relates:

“A Bedouin recited these verses to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

‘Love’s serpent has bitten my heart;
No physician can heal it, no reciter of charms,
Except the beloved with whom I am enraptured—
With him are my healing charm and antidote.’

“He then gave expression to ecstasy until his cloak fell from his shoulders. Muʿāwiyah said to him, ‘How delightful your amusement is!’ He replied, ‘Gently, Muʿāwiyah! One who gives no expression to ecstasy when the beloved is mentioned is not noble.’”

This report is a lie and a fabrication, according to the consensus of the scholars versed in this field.

Even more blatantly false is another report in which they relate:

“When he gave the poor the glad tidings that they would enter Paradise before the rich, they gave expression to ecstasy and tore their clothes. Gabriel descended from heaven and said, ‘O Muhammad, your Lord asks for His share of these scraps of cloth.’ He took a scrap and hung it upon the Throne, and that is the zīq (collar) of the poor.”

Such reports are narrated only by people who are among the most ignorant of the life and circumstances of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, his Companions, and those who came after them, and who have the least knowledge of Islam and faith.