It includes the knowledge of the means by which I reached my mentor, may Allah be pleased with him, followed by what has been related from the Masters, may Their might be glorified, regarding the urging to seek spiritual fatherhood and the preservation of the knowledge of Allah, may His greatness be extolled, and the prohibition of disclosing it except to those whose lineage in the religion is sound and whose fatherhood and means are clear.

Muhammad ibn Muhammad, the servant of the Progeny of Muhammad, may Their might be glorified, said: My master and true father, and he to whom I am a bondservant in slavery, is the Sheikh Abu al-Fath Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Muqatil al-Baghdadi the Judge, known as al-Qati'i—named after a place in Baghdad in al-Karkh known as Qati'at al-Rabi'. May Allah grant him His pleasure, reward him with the best reward, and join him with the stations of the people of purity, and likewise for all the believers; indeed, He is the Hearer of prayer, Compassionate toward whom He wills.

His sheikh and father was Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Abd Allah al-Basri al-Maqri, known as Ibn al-Fahhas (and it is said, Abi al-Qahhash). His sheikh and father was Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Rifa’i. His sheikh and father was our jurist and exemplar, Sheikh Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn ibn Hamdan al-Khasibi, son of al-Khasib, son of Ahmad al-Junbulani—may Allah sanctify his soul. And his father was our master and our path, Sheikh Abu Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Farisi al-Jannan, known as al-Zahid (the Ascetic), who resided in Junbula—may Allah sanctify his essence and ennoble his station. He heard from our master Muhammad ibn Jundub, the "Orphan of the Time," the blessings of Allah be upon him; who was the "Orphan" of the master Abu Shu'ayb Muhammad ibn Nusayr ibn Bakr al-Numayri al-Abdi—to him is total submission.