then their chief assistant, the teacher Askar ibn Muslim, the chief assistant of the group.

THE DIVISION OF THE ATTENDEES BETWEEN A SUPPORTER AND AN OPPONENT

Then we were present after that, I and he, in the village of Isfin, so the study took place in that which was [between us] ¹ , and he became severe against me through Ali ibn Mansur al-Muaddib, and he also was of his family and his relatives, so he spoke [before him to clarify] ² what his belief is, and I spoke with what I refuted upon him, so he testified [for me] ³ Ali ibn Mansur al-Muaddib, may God be good to him, that the truth is with me, and he followed me upon that saying [and what I refuted upon him] ⁴ and he said: This is the truth, and we parted after that, so when the people of the villages heard our disputation , most of them inclined toward me, so I established for myself a deputy over them, Ali ibn Mansur al-Muaddib, [nourishing them with esoteric knowledge] ⁵