Al-Būshanjī was one of the great authorities of his time on both doctrinal exposition and spiritual practice (muʿāmalāt). At the same time, the fact that he was devout, ascetic and an adept in the way of futuwwa who felt himself duty-bound to help anyone in need (al-Sulamī, 481; Anṣārī, 421; Jāmī, ed. ʿĀbidī, 230) is borne out by a number of anecdotes related about him (al-Ghazālī, 2/179; al-Qushayrī, 249; ʿAṭṭār, 2/76; Ibn al-Mulaqqin, 254–255; Ibn al-Jawzī, 204).

On his return to Būshanj from Iraq, al-Būshanjī was accused of being zindīq (ʿAṭṭār, 2/75). As Anṣārī (p. 421) puts it,…