The Wonders of the Qur'an

Shaykh Salih al-Ja'fari says that a scholar from Dongola related to him how Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿĀli used to give lessons every morning and night like his father Shaykh Ahmad ibn Idris. He used to teach according to the way of the Moroccans, which was to have a reciter who would recite a verse to him, and then he would explain it. One time, the reciter, ʿAbdullāh Klamsid, recited to him the verse, {Exalted is He Who made the constellations in the heavens and made therein a sun and a shining moon} (25:61), and the shaykh explained it. The next day, a scholar asked the reciter to repeat the same verse to see if the Shaykh could give a new commentary on it. The Shaykh is said to have given a new and excellent explanation. When the third day came, it was Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿĀli himself who recited the same verse and then proceeded to give a new commentary on it that astounded the listeners. Shaykh Klamsid kissed his hand and began to cry. Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿĀli said to him, "What makes you cry, our brother shaykh Abdallah?" He said, "My master, I cry because you came to our town when I was already old, and I wish that I was still a strong young man so that I could receive this knowledge." The Shaykh replied, "If I stayed with you as long as Noah stayed with his people I would have given you a new explanation every day." - Reassurance for the Seeker, pp. 39-40.