Then he departed, heading up to Iraq, and that was the last that was known of him—may God have mercy on him.

Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Nisaburi, the preacher, narrated to me in the last ten days of Jumada al-Akhira in the year four hundred and forty-three—he was among the scholars of Hadith in the outward sense and among the masters of the Sufis—saying: Abu Bakr al-Shibli—may God have mercy on him—took Sufism from Abu al-Qasim al-Junayd ibn Muhammad al-Qawariri. Junayd took it from Sari ibn Mughallis al-Saqati, who was his maternal uncle. Sari took it from Abu Mahfuz Ma'ruf ibn Firuz al-Karkhi, who was a Magian and embraced Islam at the hand of his Master al-Rida, Ali ibn Musa—exalted be his glory. He accompanied him and took the Sufi path from him. One day, people crowded at the door of our Master, Imam al-Rida—exalted be his glory—while Ma'ruf was acting as his doorkeeper. They pushed him, breaking his rib, and he died. His grave is in Baghdad on the western side in the place known as Nahr Tabiq. He had two paths in Sufism: one from his Master al-Rida—exalted be his glory—and the second from Dawud al-Ta'i, from Habib al-Ajami, from al-Hasan ibn Yasar—who is Abu al-Hassan al-Basri—from our Master Amir Almuminin, exalted be his glory.

(227) He narrated to me from reliable sources, from Abu al-Hassan ibn Yasar al-Basri—who was a client (mawla) of Mu'adh ibn Jabal—who said: I was riding behind the Messenger of God—exalted be his glory—and he said to me: "O Mu'adh, what is the right of God upon the servants?" I replied: "God and His Messenger know best." He said: "O Mu'adh, the right of God—the Mighty and Sublime—upon His servants is that they worship Him and associate nothing with Him." I said: "Yes, O Messenger of God." He said: "O Mu'adh, and what is the right of the servants upon God if they do that?" I replied: "God and His Messenger know best." He said: "O Mu'adh, the right of the servants upon God if they do that is that He forgives them and does not punish them." This is a fine witness, even if related by the People of the Outward, that worship is only for the Meaning—exalted be his glory.