All that they said was 'Our Lord forgive us our sins and our excesses in our affairs and make firm our feet and help us against the unbelieving folk'. They recognized the realities of meaning ḥaqāÌiq al-maʿnā and held their tongues from making any claims. Then they spoke seeking forgiveness and holding to an attitude of shyness just as it has been said: He avoided misdeeds and then even became afraid of them. Instead it was as if his good deeds were misdeeds.
