us to stop for him, so we stopped until he drew near to us. When he approached, he dismounted to the ground and threw himself upon our feet to kiss them. We prevented him from that, took him by the hand, and he walked with us until we reached the place where we sought shelter. We entered, and the youth entered with us. When we sat and were settled in the place, he turned to us and said: "I adjure you by Allah to inform me: by what did you attain this high station and reach this impenetrable degree?" The Noble One turned to him and said: "By gnosis, faith, and fear of the All-Merciful." The youth asked: "What thing indicates that?" The Noble One said:
The saying of our Master — Exalted Glory —: "Whosoever fears Allah, everything fears him; and whosoever does not fear Allah, he fears everything."
He said: "It is as if the beasts knew that you are gnostic believers and fearful of Allah, so they feared you out of their knowledge of you, while the humans were ignorant of you." The Noble One said: "Behold, they only recognized us by signs that appear to them from us." The youth asked: "And what are they?" The Noble One said: "Faith is a rope of light extended from Allah to the heart of the fearful, gnostic believer. If gnosis grows strong and his actions improve, his faith grows strong and his lights shine. If he looks, he looks by the light of Allah; if he hears, he hears by the light of Allah; if he speaks, he speaks by the light of Allah; and if he walks, he walks by the light of Allah, while the light of Allah protects and guards him. If a beast sees him, that extended light terrifies it; and if a Sultan, an opposer, or an envious one sees him, he stands in awe of him because of that light."
The youth said: "I bear witness that the matter is as you stated. I have seen you both while the light protects you, so I stood in awe of you and venerated you for that light, not for any other reason. So will you favor me, O Noble One, with a grace for which Allah will magnify the reward for you, and find from me praise and thanks?" The Noble One asked: "And what do you want from me?" The youth said: "I want you to teach