It is, as said before, a distance of four months in the same state: no shade, no water, and no companion to be found in the land, according to the wrath that encompassed its people and the anger by which Allah the Exalted took vengeance upon them, until He left them and their palaces and buildings as ashes. We seek refuge with Allah from His wrath and believe in Him from all aspects.

When we looked out upon the desert, we saw in it a great gloom and a terrifying darkness; no one could find guidance in it due to the intensity of its darkness and the density of the gloom. We were overlooking it while the day was high. The King said to us: "This is the path to the place you intend, and there is no arrival or path for you except this destructive wilderness. Reflect upon it and verify it; do not throw yourselves into destruction while you see it, and do not deceive your intellects."

The King ordered to alight; the tents were struck there and we alighted. When we were settled, facing that wilderness—the desert and path to where we intended—we reflected upon it. Its affair terrified us and what we saw was momentous.

We said to the King: "We find no path to tread other than this one."

He said to us: "It is adjacent to the south toward the Great Sea. You have no way to sail it, for it is barred between the seas and this desolate wilderness by Serendib. The valleys and deserts in these mountains are isolated; between them are seas, islands, and places that cannot be trodden. This wilderness has been as such since the lands within it were burned and since the inhabitants and civilization I mentioned to you perished, as found in the histories. If you choose for us to descend together until we are near the place where the first traces of the burning are, so you may witness the reality of what I mentioned, then do so."

We said: "We do not refuse that."

The King descended walking, and we walked with him until we reached the edge of the land which is the start of the burned wilderness. We