He said: 'I was lying in my bed in which I sleep, until I saw your Companion, Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi—peace be upon us [from him]—and he had entered upon me in the room where I was. When he entered it, the room illuminated until it almost cast forth light and radiance from its sides. And behold, he was in a form that I cannot define, nor describe, nor qualify, in [its] perfection, awe, and majesty.

He said to me: 'O Ali ibn Ahmad the Scribe.'

I said: 'At your service (Labbayk), O my Master.'

He said: 'Wake up (pay attention), for you are asleep.'

I said: 'I am speaking to you and understanding your speech, yet you say to me: You are asleep?'

So I sat up, then I stood up and sat down, and said: 'I am not asleep.'

He said: 'Yes [you are], O Ali ibn Ahmad.'

I said: 'At your service! Say whatever You will, ask me about it, and command me with whatever You like so that I may do it, in order for You to know that I am not asleep.'

He said: 'This is a note from Ibn Ayyub in which he explains his condition to you.