Such examples are too numerous to explain at length. Despite this, if you observe and compare the eating, drinking, sleeping, walking, and all movements of any of these mentioned individuals, you will find that their actions resemble the beasts they have grown accustomed to and loved. All of this is made pleasant and beloved to them because they are being transferred into their likeness.

[13] This is supported by what Abu 'Ali Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik al-Basri narrated to me, saying: The Bedouin narrated to me from 'Abd al-Malik ibn al-'Ala', from Muhammad ibn Sadaqa, that Abu 'Abd Allah—exalted is His might—said: "These movements are transferred while they are still in human forms into the movements of metamorphosis (al-Masukhiyya). Thus, they grow accustomed to their deeds until it is as if they are not humans at all, and they might even feel estranged from people and they find intimacy with beasts. Have you not observed among them the birth of one of the metamorphosed species—those two or three [offspring]? The ewe gives birth to twins, the cow gives birth to one, and the cat gives birth to five or six. Among birds, some lay two or three eggs, while the francolin, the sandgrouse, the chicken, and the duck may gather ten, fifteen, or more eggs. Mice, rats, and most insects and wild beasts produce many offspring. The spirit that resides in the human and metamorphosed body does not divide or fragment; it is generated within the human offspring.