One morning when the weather was moderately warm, my companion expressed the desire to visit the Hira' Cave. At noontime he mounted a compliant mule and rode off with me. By nighttime we had reached the Mountain of Light (Al-Nur) region. I hurriedly tied up the mule and gave it some food and drink. I then carried an exhausted Abu al-Hasan up to the cave. Once there I handed him his blanket and lit some candles so we could emulate the practice of the Prophet, lord of the messengers and model for monotheists. We spent most of the night this way, not closing our eyes and only using gestures and glances to discuss the cave and its contents. We went back down to our residence immediately after performing the dawn prayer, our souls deeply moved by the experience and filled with a spirit of joy and sanctity.
I accompanied Al-Shushtari on many other visits both to the cave and to the Valley of Solomon's Spring. In the valley we used to spend the night, either in his hut or in a tent. During the daytime he introduced me to the Maghribi peasants one by one, beginning with their chief, Hamada the Zanati. He made a point of extolling my virtues to the skies, then gave me the benefit of his wide knowledge of the vegetable and fruit species that they were cultivating so expertly-species that were previously unknown in the Arabian Peninsula. All I could do was to congratulate these folk for their skill and ask God's blessings on them. They in turn thanked us profusely and asked my colleague and me to pray for them and their families. We both proceeded to do just that, both together and separately.
When the weather was really hot in Mecca, I used to convene sessions for students and followers in the orchards of the valley, with Abu al-Hasan in attendance. The topics of those lessons would involve questions that they posed to me or that I would direct at them. The majority concerned matters of jurisprudence and Sufism. The sessions used to begin between afternoon and sunset prayer times, and some of them extended into the evening. We would continue them, spending pleasant hours performing litanies, Sufi rituals, and recitations. On one occasion I preferred to dismiss the group so that I could spend some time alone with Abu al-Hasan and ask him about Sultan Baybars. That was because the sultan's shadow had recently started to insert itself into my dreams.
"Abu al-Hasan," I told him once we were left alone, "in my dreams I keep seeing Baybars issuing threats against me.
"`I'm told,' he keeps saying, `that you've blasphemed, if I've understood things correctly, by claiming that the Prophet Muhammad, Ibn Amina, exaggerated widely when he said, "I am the seal of the Prophets." What is your response to this charge?'
"I have then replied, `That is not an idea I've ever expressed. I might have misquoted someone else, or else while I was daydreaming or asleep. In any case, there's no harm in denying its validity once I acknowledge it when I'm fully conscious!'
"`You're wrong,' he goes on. `The whole thing has now spread far and wide.'
"As I've already told you,' I reply, `I've explained the context and amended the text. Now that the circumstances have been explained, there's no cause for surprise.'
"And who can vouch for the fact that you've only proclaimed such things in dreams?'
"`God and His apostles,' I've replied. `If I dreamed that I wanted to kill you, would you punish me simply because of the dream?'
"`Is that what you really want?' he asked.
"'Life, 0 Sultan, consists only of dreams. Only God knows how to interpret them.'
"`Take him away and slit his throat so we can be rid of him."'
Abu al-Hasan gave me a sympathetic look. "Holy man of God," he said, may I be your ransom! Don't bother about predictions you see in your dreams. You need to concentrate on the danger signs of your wakeful existence! If the Mamluk sultan comes to Mecca demanding your head on a plate, don't seek refuge with the sharif, with Abu Numa, or even in the cave on the Mountain of the Bull, which is already renowned for hiding the Prophet of God. Go to my hut and spread word that you've gone back to the Maghrib. That's a subterfuge of the kind the Prophet himself used, and it's one you'll need to use till the danger period is over. These Maghribi peasants will be your protection; they would not betray you for any amount of money. Now, Ibn Dara, get up and let's go and pray at Abraham's own house."
As usual, this beloved colleague managed to restore my confidence. I stood up and embraced him. "You're absolutely right," I whispered in his ear.
At the conclusion of the third year of Al-Shushtari's residence in Mecca, he started to look much better.
"Abu al-Hasan," I used to say to him, "it's all a sign of good things to come!" whereas he would reply, "Or maybe one last burst of spirit!"
He made up his mind to travel to Medina for a month, although he categorically forbade me to go with him, knowing full well that the governor of that city was an enemy of mine. At the end of Dhu al-Qa`da, he returned to Mecca. His health had greatly improved; by now he had recovered a good deal of his enthusiasm and energy. He urged me to join him in performing the pilgrimage ceremonies for that year, and I welcomed the invitation. We performed the rituals in the company of the large group of my students and his followers. But no sooner were the ceremonies over and the festival celebrated with the arrival of the month of Muharram than my companion told me with a certain degree of alarm that he had to return to Bijaya. He had had a dream in which his poor wife was begging him to return to the Maghrib as soon as possible.
How could I possibly do anything but agree with his decision to return to his homeland and family that was longing to see him? If circumstances allowed me to do the same, would I hesitate for a single second? At this point I recited his wonderful lines, while he accompanied me:
The difficult parting took place in the middle of the month of Safar. My only consolation was that Abu al-Hasan promised to return whenever he could, bringing with him news of my family and loved ones. He then urged his students to keep me company and follow my example. When the time came for the Jedda caravan to depart, I embraced him, my eyes brimming with tears.
"My master, haven of all that is good," he whispered in my ear, "no bond can be stronger than ours!"
Everyone now crowded round to say farewell to the shaykh, their voices uttering fervent prayers and their hearts bursting with fierce emotions. Behind me, a whole group, the majority of them from the Maghrib, recited some of Abu al-Hasan's wonderful verses:
The fact that Al-Shushtari had now departed from Mecca did not escape Abu Numa's notice. It was just a few days later, right after sunset on a steaming hot Friday afternoon, that he sent for me. He received me in a small lounge that was extremely sparsely furnished. I got the impression that he wanted to check on my health and activities; no one else was included. All that separated us was a small table, with some dried fruit and yoghourt on it.