He was among those who traveled through towns, living in deserts, mountains, and plains, being an ʿābid (ascetic worshipper) and zahid (ascetic). He would meet with quṭb (spiritual poles) and ʿabdāl (substitutes). He had extraordinary spiritual states, mukāshafāt (mystical unveilings), and mujāhadāt (spiritual struggles). He traveled in various directions and regions. Initially, he recited the Qurʾān. He memorized the Ḥanafī madhhab's Kuddu-rī book. Then he engaged in muʿāmalāt (practical dealings) and riyāḍāt (spiritual exercises). Toward the end of his life, he settled in Dimashq (Damascus). Finally, he passed away there this year and was buried in the cemetery at the foot of Mount Qāsyūn. Beautiful things are narrated from him. Once he said:
“While traveling, I stopped at a town. I was outside the city. My nafs (lower self) wanted to enter there. I swore that if I entered, I would not eat anything, and so I entered the city. I was passing by a man washing clothes; he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. I feared him and ran out of the city. He chased me. He came to me holding food. He said, ‘Eat! You have just left the city now!’ I asked him, ‘You, who have reached such a high maqām (spiritual station), do you wash clothes in bazaars and markets?!’ He replied, ‘Do not raise your head nor look at the deeds you have done. Be a servant of Allah. Even if He makes you work in the toilet, be content with what He has done.’ After saying this, he recited this poem to me:
‘If I were told to die, I would say, “With pleasure.” To the Angel of Death, I would say, “Welcome and greetings.”’”
Shaykh ʿAbdullāh also relates this anecdote: “Once while traveling, I visited a nun in a monastery. She asked me, ‘O Muslim! What is the nearest way that brings you closer to Allah?’ I said, ‘It is opposition to the nafs.’ The nun turned her head toward her monastery. During the Hajj season in Mecca, I saw a man greeting me near the Kaʿba. When I asked him, ‘Who are you?’ he replied, ‘I am that nun!’ I asked, ‘How did you reach this maqām?’ He answered, ‘By what you told me.’”
According to another narration, the nun said, “I offered Islam to my nafs. My nafs did not accept. Then I realized that Islam is the truth. I opposed my nafs and became Muslim.” Thus, the nun attained salvation.
Shaykh ʿAbdullāh relates another anecdote as follows:
“One day while wandering in the mountains of Lebanon, I encountered Crusader bandits. They captured me and chained me. They tied my bonds tightly. I suffered greatly among them. When daytime came, they ate and drank and fell asleep. While I was chained, I saw Muslim bandits approaching from afar. I woke the Crusader bandits. They took refuge in a cave and escaped from the Muslim bandits. After the Muslims left, the Crusader bandits came out of the cave and said to me, ‘Why did you do this? They could have saved you.’ I said to them, ‘You fed me. As a matter of friendship, I should not deceive you.’ They offered me worldly goods. I refused and they released me.”
Sibt said about him: “Once I visited him in Bayt al-Maqdis. I had eaten salted fish. While sitting beside him, I became very thirsty. He had a pitcher with cold water beside him. I was ashamed to ask for water. But he reached for the pitcher. His face was flushed. He handed me the pitcher and said, ‘Take it, how long will you hold yourself back?!’ I took the pitcher and drank the cold water inside.”
When Shaykh ʿAbdullāh al-ʿArmanī was about to leave Bayt al-Maqdis, its walls were intact and standing. Sultan Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Ayyūbī had built them. The walls had not yet been demolished by Malik Muʿaẓẓam. He stood among his friends, bidding farewell and looking at the walls. Then he said, ‘I seem to see that soon these walls will be destroyed by shovels!’ When asked, ‘Will these walls be destroyed by the shovels of Muslims or Crusaders?’ he replied, ‘No, by the shovels of Muslims!’ and it happened as he said.
Many beautiful spiritual states of Shaykh ʿAbdullāh have been observed. It is narrated that he was originally Armenian and embraced Islam through Shaykh ʿAbdullāh al-Yūnīnī. According to another narration, he was originally Rūmī (Byzantine) from Konya. Wearing a garment resembling a monk’s robe, he came to Shaykh ʿAbdullāh al-Yūnīnī, who said to him, ‘Become Muslim.’ He replied, ‘I have submitted to the Lord of the worlds and become Muslim.’ His mother was the wet nurse of the caliph’s wife. Strange events had happened to the caliph’s wife, but thanks to Shaykh ʿAbdullāh, she was saved from these troubles. The caliph also appreciated him and released him.”