One night we met in [the house of] King Abū Ja‘far b. Bābawayh in Sijistan, and the conversation was about the philosophers of Islam. The King said: ‘We have not found among them – despite their large numbers – anyone who to us is of the rank of Socrates, or Plato, or Aristotle’. [They] said to him: ‘Not even al-Kindī [d. c. 870]?’ He replied: ‘Not even al-Kindī! Despite the profusion and excellence of his conclusions, his wording was poor and lacked sweetness, his performance was mediocre, and he frequently attacked the philosophical [ideas] of [his fellow] philosophers. Thābit b. Qurra [d. 901] is more authoritative and more committed to that art. Then after those two all the [rest] are much of a muchness. [Those] two are at the forefront ... ’

Then he [i.e., Aristotle as al-Suhrāwardī saw him in his dream] praised his divine teacher Plato to a degree that baffled me, so I said: ‘And have not any of Islam’s philosophers attained his [level]?’ He replied: ‘No. Nor as much as a thousandth part of his level’. Then I cited a group who were familiar to me and he did not regard them as being of any account.