A long discourse took place between him and me. When I intended to depart, I said to him: "O my master, I am Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Hamid." He said: "Glory be to Allah! Who was your means (sabab)?" I said: "Ali the Teacher." He said: "Then you are Ali ibn Ali." I said to him: "By the right of our master Abu Shu'ayb, peace be upon him, how did you know that I am Ali ibn Ali, when it is something no one has ever known from me?" He said to me: "Our master Abu Shu'ayb, peace be upon us, informed me of that." I said: "O my master, from before I knew [the truth], or how was that?" He said: "By Allah, our master Abu Shu'ayb, peace be upon him, has never been absent from me; I see him and witness him."

(66) Our Master al-Alim, may His might be glorified, was asked about the word of Allah the Exalted: {Then let man look at his food} (Abasa: 24). He said: "Food is knowledge; so let man look to whom he takes it from."

(67) He, may His might be glorified, said: "Whoever enters into this matter through other than its gate, without fulfilling its rights or establishing its obligations, must inevitably exit from it just as he entered it."

(68) He, may His might be glorified, said: "Whoever enters the religion through the opinions of men shall exit from it through their opinions."

(69) From al-Alim, may His might be glorified: "He whose spiritual fatherhood is not established, his brotherhood is not valid."

(70) Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Surur al-Suri al-Hiyaji—may Allah have mercy on him—told me, from Sheikh Sa'id Maymun ibn al-Qasim al-Tabarani—may Allah brighten his face—who said: I asked my master, the trustworthy Sheikh Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jali—upon him be the prayer of the Sublime King—regarding the saying of the Messenger, may His might be glorified: "A believer should not enter upon the transaction (sawm) of his brother."