I was told by my father, on the authority of Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn Yazīd, on the authority of Isḥāq ibn Manṣūr that
‘Abd al-A‘lā ibn Ziyād al-Aslamī said: One day I saw Dāwūd al-Ṭā’ī standing on the bank of the Euphrates in a state of amazement. "What has made you stop here?" I asked him.
He said: "Look at the eddies in the river, and how they whirl in obedience to God’s command, be He exalted."
From the Ornament of God's Friends of Abu Nu‘aym al-Isbahani
