In this section al-Hujwiri records a saying of Ali ibn Sahl al-Isfahani: al-hudur (presence with the Real) is more excellent than al-yaqin (certainty of the Real). His reasoning rests on a paired contrast: presence is watanat, a settled dwelling that abides in the heart, over which heedlessness (ghaflat) is not permitted; certainty is khatarat, a passing thought that comes and then departs. Because presence is continuous and stable while certainty is intermittent, presence is ranked above certainty among the inner states of the Sufi. Grasping this specific distinction between a settled station and a fleeting thought is needed to understand how this tradition orders and evaluates its spiritual states.