42. Abú `Abdalláh Muḥammad b. `Alí al-Tirmidhí.
He is the author of many excellent books which, by their eloquence, declare the miracles vouchsafed to him, e.g., the Khatm al-Wiláyat,[[88]] the Kitáb al-Nahj,[[89]] the Nawádir al-Uṣúl,[[90]] and many more, such as the Kitáb al-Tawḥíd[[91]] and the Kitáb `Adháb al-Qabr[[92]]: it would be tedious to mention them all. I hold him in great veneration and am entirely devoted to him. My Shaykh said: “Muḥammad is a union pearl that has no like in the whole world.” He has also written works on the formal sciences, and is a trustworthy authority for the traditions of the Prophet which he related. He began a commentary on the Koran, but did not live long enough to finish it. The completed portion is widely circulated among theologians. He studied jurisprudence with an intimate friend of Abú Ḥanífa. The inhabitants of Tirmidh call him Muḥammad Ḥakím, and the Ḥakímís, a Ṣúfí sect in that region, are his followers. Many remarkable stories are told of him, as for instance that he associated with the Apostle Khiḍr. His disciple, Abú Bakr Warráq, relates that Khiḍr used to visit him every Sunday, and that they conversed with each other. It is recorded that he said: “Anyone who is ignorant of the nature of servantship (`ubúdiyyat) is yet more ignorant of the nature of lordship (rubúbiyyat),” i.e., whoever does not know the way to knowledge of himself does not know the way to knowledge of God, and whoever does not recognize the contamination of human qualities does not recognize the purity of the Divine attributes, inasmuch as the outward is connected with the inward, and he who claims to possess the former without the latter makes an absurd assertion. Knowledge of the nature of lordship depends on having right principles of servantship, and is not perfect without them. This is a very profound and instructive saying. It will be fully explained in the proper place.