 have seen women and learned of their secrets what hardly anyone else knows because i was raised in their laps and grew up in their hands and i did not know anyone other than them and i did not sit with men except when i was in the prime of youth and when my face was beginning to blossom and they taught me the quran and recited to me many poems and trained me in calligraphy and my toil and mental effort since my first understanding when i was very young was nothing but knowing their reasons searching for their news and obtaining that. i do not forget anything that i see from them and the origin of that is an intense jealousy that i was born with and a bad opinion of them that i was born with so i overlooked their reasons for more than a little and that will come explained in its chapters god willing.
ولقد شاهدت النساء وعلمت من أسرارهن ما لا يكاد يعلمه غيري، لأني ربيت في حجورهن، ونشأت بين أيديهن، ولم أعرف غيرهن، ولا جالست الرجال إلا وأنا في حد الشباب وحين تبقل وجهي؛ وهن علمتني القرآن وروينني كثيرا من الأشعار ودربنني في الخط، ولم يكن وكدي وإعمال ذهني مذ أول فهمي وأنا في سن الطفولة جدا إلا تعرف أسبابهن، والبحث عن أخبارهن، وتحصيل ذلك. وأنا لا أنسى شيئا مما أراه منهن، وأصل ذلك غيرة شديدة طبعت عليها، وسوء ظن في جهتهن فطرت به، فأشرفت من أسبابهن على غير قليل، وسيأتي ذلك مفسرا في أبوابه، إن شاء الله تعالى.