The prophetic and scholarly abilities of Abu Said were never doubted. His contemporaries even developed a unique way of divination based on his quatrains. Abu Said was also known as a healer, and he lived in the same time as the great physician Ibn Sina. According to legend, the two met and became friends, and both supported each other in their scientific pursuits.
Abu Said’s theological musings were characterized by sniper-like precision, and he was already called the Prince of the Spiritual Path during his lifetime. His teachings emphasized the power of thought as the most important tool given to humans, and that thoughts are energy. He believed that with such tremendous power, humans do not know how to use it properly, and they often submit to weak or insignificant circumstances.
Abu Said’s teachings have been incorporated into the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer, who wrote about the principle preached by the sheikh in his main scientific treatise “The World as Will and Representation.” Abu Said never changed his modest lifestyle, which he elevated to virtue, and on his deathbed, he asked his disciples to read his quatrain-will.
Today, people still seek Abu Said’s help, confirming the truth of the Sufi saying: “How many we honor as living on the back of the earth, but they are dead, and how many we count as dead in the womb of the earth, but they are alive.”
