When he was young, he is said to have been sent by his father to Baghdad with merchandise costing 40,000 dinars to engage in commerce, but while there he met the famous Sufi Abū Bakr al-Shiblī (d. 334/945) and became overawed by his presence. Al-Shiblī encouraged him to give away all his wealth as alms and embark upon the Sufi path. As a result, Bundār b. al-Ḥusayn began practising asceticism (zuhd) and spiritual detachment (tajrīd) (Ibn ʿAsākir, 180–181; al-Dhahabī, 16/108–109). Although this report is not mentioned in the earlier sources, what is certain is that he …