Abu al-Abbas al-Qassab was ummi (unlettered), yet Hujwiri presents him as a master whose discourse on Sufism and its foundational principles was of the highest order. Scholars turned to him to resolve difficulties in the sciences of religion, their roots (usul), and the subtleties of tawhid (divine unity). Abu Abdullah al-Hannati, imam of Tabaristan, cited him as living proof that among God's graces is to make a person, without acquired study, a wellspring of religious and mystical knowledge. This encapsulates the Sufi conviction that genuine ma'rifa (gnosis) is granted directly by God rather than attained through formal instruction, here joined in al-Qassab with an elevated spiritual state, truthful firasa (spiritual insight), and abundant karamat (charismatic graces).