Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Umar al-Warraq, whom the Sufi masters titled mu'addib al-awliya (the educator of the saints), was a companion of al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi (Muhammad ibn Ali) and of Ahmad Khidruya, and an author of works on adab (spiritual courtesy) and mu'amalat (right dealing). This concept distills the teaching dramatized in his account: when his master orders him to cast his writings into the Oxus (Jihun), al-Warraq at first only pretends to obey and no sign appears; only when he obeys sincerely does the water part and a chest rise up. The passage frames authentic discipleship as obedience and inner detachment (tajrid) taking precedence over attachment to formal, written knowledge — the very discipline for which al-Warraq was honored as the trainer of aspirants.