other and heard what he had not heard from anyone else. Among what he heard from him was that he had witnessed a city at the edge of the earth that cannot be reached; in it are a people, believers, gnostics, and fulfillers of the truth. There is no opposer among them, nor any denier, nor any adversary, nor anyone with a defect or ailment. They are equal in every state; they recite the Quran, fast the month of Ramadan, and pray the five prayers. They ask Allah for whatever they choose and He gives to them. They harvest what they did not sow. The Truth is manifest among them; they see it with the vision of the eye. There is no state among them that is denounced, nor is there among them anyone with leprosy, tubercular disease, muteness, or any other of the rest of ailments and afflictions.

I said to him: "Has anyone reached these people and their dwellings?" He said to me: "I do not think so, unless Allah wills." I asked: "How did you reach these people, saw them, gathered with them, and witnessed them?" He said to me: "It is not possible to explain that." I said to him: "Tell me about these people: by which path are they reached, and in which region of the earth are their dwellings?" He said: "Are you among those who wish to travel to these people? Perhaps you are in delusion and great danger." I asked: "How is that?" He said: "Because their dwellings are on the shore of the Encompassing Ocean (al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ), and the Encompassing Ocean is not reached except after crossing the Encompassing Mountain. It is not reached on a mount, nor in a sea, nor on land." I asked: "And why is that?" He said: "When the traveler reaches the last of the lands of India, he finds a magnificent wilderness that cannot be crossed or traversed, and there is no path in it. Whosoever seeks to travel to these people with his physical body is surely in a great delusion, unless he be a man who has sent forth righteous deeds, by which he deserves to leave this murky, dark world and reside with these people; for then Allah — Exalted Glory — eases that for him, brings him near, and facilitates it for him." Then the man left me and I did not see him after that day.