In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Shaikhul Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said, “It obligatory to know that the reason behind the misguidance of the Christians and their ilk – amongst those who go beyond bounds, such as those devoted in worship, the Shiites and other than them- is due to three affairs: Firstly, utilizing ambiguous general terms and terms that are difficult to understand, and then turning away from terms that are clear and unambiguous. Whenever they hear a term that carries ambiguity, they cling to it and embrace it in their religion, even if it not a proof for it. As for the explicitly clear terms that are in opposition to their path, either they abstain from utilizing them or give them a false interpretation just as the people of falsehood do. They follow the ambiguous intellectual and divine proofs [i.e. terms and meanings which can either be used for truth or falsehood when not explained in detail and distinguished] and then turn away from the unambiguous and explicitly clear proofs. Secondly, Khawaariq – [Phenomena that is attributed to something beyond what is usual or what normally happens, but not equated to the miracles of the Prophets] – which they think are divine signs (evidences, proofs etc), but they are actually affairs related to the devils. This is from that which often misguides the polytheists and other than them, such as shaytaan entering an idol and speaks to the people, the devils informing a magician about the affairs of the unseen and definitely lying as well. (1) Aa’isha [may Allaah be pleased with her] said, “I heard Allah’s Messenger [peace and blessing of Allaah be upon him] saying, ‘The angels descend in the clouds and mention this or that matter decreed in the Heaven. The devils listen stealthily to such a matter, come down to inspire the soothsayers with it, and they add to it one-hundred lies of their own'”. (2) Thirdly, reports transmitted to them which they think are true, but instead they are lies. Neither the Christians [i.e. those Christians who change the religion of the Messiah] nor others amongst the people of misguidance have any sound intellectual proofs or sound reports to support their falsehood. When they speak about intellectual proofs, they speak based on ambiguous general terms, but when the meanings of those words are explained and its truth and falsehood are distinguished, then that which it contains of deception and ambiguity becomes manifest. And when they speak about reports, then either it is correct and does not support their falsehood or it is not authentic, rather it is lies.

Likewise, that which they mention regarding miracles, either it is sound and did take place from a Prophet such as the miracles of the Messiah and those before him, such as Ilyaas, Al-Yasa‘ (Elisha), Moosaa and other than them amongst the Prophets [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon them], then this is truth; or they are miracles that occurred from some of the righteous people, such as the disciples. However, this does not necessitate that the disciples are infallible like the Prophets, because indeed the Prophets are infallible in that which they relate from Allaah and they do not speak about Allaah except that which is true and no falsehood is found in their statements- neither deliberately nor mistakenly. As for the righteous people, they can definitely mix up affairs by mistake and err, regardless of the miracles that occur from them, so neither does this remove them from the fact that they are righteous men nor does it necessitate that they are infallible. And if one was to claim that he is infallible even though he is not a Prophet, then he is a liar and his lies will definitely manifest, the devils will accompany him, misguide him and thus the statement of Allaah applies to him:

هَلۡ أُنَبِّئُكُمۡ عَلَىٰ مَن تَنَزَّلُ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينُ
تَنَزَّلُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ أَفَّاكٍ أَثِيمٍ۬

Shall I inform you (O people!) upon whom the Shayatin (devils) descend? They descend on every lying (one who tells lies), sinful person. [Surah Ash-Shu’araa. Verses 221-222] [Ref 3]

Shaikhul Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah [may Allaah have mercy upon him] also said:

The Khawaariq by way of which the devils misguide the children of Aadam – such as when the devils take the image of a person who is absent or has passed away and what is similar to this – has misguided many of those who ascribe themselves to the Muslims or to the people of the Scripture. They base this on two affairs: “Firstly, that whoever from whom these khawaariq occurs is a Wali, and according to the term of the Christians he is a Qadees A’dheem – a great saint! Secondly, that the one from whom these khawaariq occurs is therefore infallible- everything he narrates is truth and everything he commands is justice”.

However, it can definitely be the case that neither did a phenomena outside the norm – whether unrelated or related to sound knowledge and piety – occur from such a person nor a phenomena outside the normal related to deeds of the devils; rather the person merely carried out the tricks of the liars and wicked sinners. The tricks of the liars and wicked sinners are numerous indeed, so one thinks that they are amazing affairs outside the norm, however neither is that the case nor is it something similar to the tricks of the monks. Some people have written books regarding the tricks of the monks, such as the trick reported about one of them changing water into oil- that when the oil is in the interior of the lighthouse, the water gradually reduces and thus the oil floats [or pops up] on the water, so those who are present think that the water has changed into oil. The likes of this affair are numerous from the tricks of those Christians, because all that those Christians possess – those who altered the religion of the Messiah [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] – of activities that are attributed to something out of the norm are either from the devils or they are tricks, and there’s nothing in them related to the miracles of the righteous people.

Likewise, the people of deviation- those who seek to alter the religion of Muhammad – adopt a religion that is not legislated by Allaah and His Messenger, then they make it a path of worship and give it precedence over the path that is legislated by Allaah and His Messenger. For example, they give precedence to listening to sounds from the tambourines and the shrill flutes over listening to the book of Allaah, so one of them goes into a state of ecstasy and a satanic trance through which he becomes muddled up with shaytaan until he speaks in a language he does not know. Then when he returns to his senses – just as when a jinn speaks through the tongue of the one who is possessed and after informing the people of that which is in his heart and soul, which is from the Shaytaan, and the shaytaan leaves him -, he cannot repeat what he said at first.

The Mulhidoon (a) alter the religion of the Messengers – either the religion of the Messiah or seek to alter the religion of Muhammad, and amongst the likes of such people are the people of Ilhaad (b), misguidance, the disbelievers, the polytheists, apostates and other than them, such as the likes of Musaylimah the liar, Al-Aswad Al-Unzee, Al-Haarith Ad-Dimashqee, Baabaa Roomee and other than them amongst those who engaged in activities that are considered to be outside the norm [i.e. so called miracles] but [in reality] are related to the deeds of the devils.

As for the tricksters, they are numerous and they are not Awliyaa of Allaah, rather their so called amazing activities that are outside the norm, if not related to the satanic deeds of the soothsayers and the magicians, then they are tricks. They deliberately lie and deceive unlike those connected to the devils, because amongst them is he who deceives, so one thinks that what he does is from the miracles of the righteous people, just as amongst them is one who knows that what he does is from the devils, but he does so in order to achieve his goals.

The intent behind this discussion is that many of the activities that are considered to be outside of the norm [i.e. so called miracles] are either satanic deeds or tricks, so one thinks that they are the true miracles of the righteous people, for indeed that which whose cause is based on Shirk and wicked deeds can only be from the devils, such as when a person associates partners with Allaah by invoking the stars, or invokes a person- whether such a person is dead or absent, or he makes an oath through unknown words and statements whose meanings are not known, or he knows that they are names of devils, or seeks aid through lewd conduct and oppression, then such deeds – considered to be outside of the norm that emanates from this – are from the devils.

The righteous people have miracles such as the miracles of the pious people of this Ummah [may Allaah have mercy upon them], the miracles of the disciples of the Messiah [may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon the Messiah, and may Allaah have mercy upon the disciples] and other than them amongst those who were upon the correct and unaltered religion of the Messiah. However, the occurrence of miracles at the hands of the righteous people does not necessitate that they are infallible like the Prophets [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon them]; rather it maybe that a righteous man- a Wali – has miracles, but despite this he mixes up by error and makes a mistake in that which he thinks or what he is made to hear or see, or what he sees, or what he understands from the revealed Scrippure. And because of this, the statements of those other than the Prophets [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon them] can either be accepted or rejected [i.e. based on evidence], but as for the Prophets [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon them], it is obligated on a person to affirm truthfully everything they have related regarding the affairs of the unseen and obey them in everything they command. And due to this, Allaah [The Exalted] obligated on a person to believe in everything the Prophets [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon them] brought and did not obligate on a person to believe in everything that comes from others. Allaah [The Exalted] said:

قُولُوٓاْ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡنَا وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَىٰٓ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ وَإِسۡمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِسۡحَـٰقَ وَيَعۡقُوبَ وَٱلۡأَسۡبَاطِ وَمَآ أُوتِىَ مُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَمَآ أُوتِىَ ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمۡ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيۡنَ أَحَدٍ۬ مِّنۡهُمۡ وَنَحۡنُ لَهُ ۥ مُسۡلِمُونَ

Say (O Muslims), “We believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Ibrahim (Abraham), Isma’il (Ishmael), Ishaque (Isaac), Ya’qub (Jacob), and to Al-Asbat [the twelve sons of Ya’qub (Jacob)], and that which has been given to Musa (Moses) and ‘Iesa (Jesus), and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted (in Islam).” [Surah Al-Baqarah. Aayah 136]

Allaah [The Exalted] said:
لَّيۡسَ ٱلۡبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّواْ وُجُوهَكُمۡ قِبَلَ ٱلۡمَشۡرِقِ وَٱلۡمَغۡرِبِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلۡبِرَّ مَنۡ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأَخِرِ وَٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕڪَةِ وَٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ

It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, and each and every act of obedience to Allah, etc.) that you turn your faces towards east and (or) west (in prayers); but Al-Birr is (the quality of) the one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the Prophets. [Suraah Al-Baqarah. Aayah 177]

And because of this the Muslims are all in agreement that the one who disbelieved in a single Prophet whose Prophethood is well known, then he is a disbeliever- an apostate. There is no distinction between one Prophet from the other- by believing in some and disbelieving in others. Allaah said:

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَكۡفُرُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِۦ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَن يُفَرِّقُواْ بَيۡنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِۦ وَيَقُولُونَ نُؤۡمِنُ بِبَعۡضٍ۬ وَنَڪۡفُرُ بِبَعۡضٍ۬ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَن يَتَّخِذُواْ بَيۡنَ ذَٲلِكَ سَبِيلاً
أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرُونَ حَقًّ۬ا‌ۚ وَأَعۡتَدۡنَا لِلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ عَذَابً۬ا مُّهِينً۬ا

Verily, those who disbelieve in Allah and His Messengers and wish to make distinction between Allah and His Messengers (by believing in Allah and disbelieving in His Messengers) saying, “We believe in some but reject others,” and wish to adopt a way in between. They are in truth disbelievers. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating torment. [Surah An-Nisaa. Aayaat 150-151][Ref 4]

Emergence of Some Deviated Groups In The Ummah

Shaikh Shamsuddeen Al-Afghaanee [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said:

Allaah [The Most High] guided mankind though Muhammad [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] and though what he brought of clear manifest evidences and guidance-a guidance that could not be described by those who were proficient in giving descriptions and surpassed the knowledge of those with great perception. So, though this guidance that was given to the Messenger, Allaah [The Most High] opened the eyes of the blind ones, the ears of the deaf ones and the hearts of the heedless ones. Allaah [The Most High] united them upon one religion-[the religion of Islamic monotheism; Ibraaheem’s [alayhis-salaam] religion of pure monotheism]-after they had been in complete disunity, enmity towards one another, upon destructive and corrupt creeds. Allaah united their hearts and they became true brothers in Islaam by way of this great blessing. And thereafter everything that was worshiped besides Allaah-such as graves, trees, stones, graven images, idols etc- ceased to exist and all worship was carried out for Allaah (alone).

The people followed the true Religion of Islamic monotheism; they worshipped Allaah alone and established worship sincerely for Allaah, except those whom Allaah willed that they were to remain as people of polytheism, hypocrisy and followers of the altered and distorted previous scriptures. The darkness of shirk was dispelled and the banner of Tawheed was raised in the lands-amongst the Arabs and non-Arabs.

Allaah [The Most High] took away the soul of His Messenger, whilst Islaam was established and in authority-superseding all other ways of life and creeds. Then the rightly guided khulafaa of the Messenger continued upon this path until the two powerful and great nations at the time-Rome and Persia-ended up in humiliation, degradation and in a state of fear after they had been in a state of security, and thus Caesar was restricted and besieged, and khosrau was subdued and destroyed.

So when the enemies of Islaam saw that they were unable to do away with this religion, they implanted their disbelieving agents within Islam, who pretended to be Muslims in order to foment confusion, trials and tribulations; and in order to spread shirk by exaggerating the status of the pious people and exalting their graves with [beliefs and practices] that were not ordained by Allaah.

So, this Ummah was put to trial through the plots of the [atheist, heretic and hypocrite] Abdullaah Bin Saba, who claimed Uloohiyyah [i.e. the right to be worship] for Ali Ibn Abee Taalib [may Allaah be pleased with him]. Abdullaah Bin As-Sabah’s followers were known as the Saaba-iyyah, and later on they were known as the rawaafid (shiites), the ismaaliyyah (shittes), the nusayriyah (shiites) and other than them amongst the Baatiniyyah. They used to worship the graves and the dead, and they used to build places of worship and domed [shaped] shrines upon these graves. So, by way of this they revived the practices of the Yahood, the Nasaaraa and the idol worshippers, and thus the practices of the worshippers of graves in this Muslim Ummah manifested itself in actions that were carried out by the rawaafid (shiites).

Secondly: The books of Greek philosophy that contained the ideas of grave and idol worship were translated into Arabic, so many of those who attributed themselves to Islam busied themselves with these books,  such  as  the  likes  of  Al- Faraabee (1) Ibn Sinaa Al-Hanafi (2) Naseer At- Toosee the advocator of disbelief and shirk (3) and other than them amongst those who played tricks with Islaam, just as Paul played tricks with Christianity.

They were influenced by the ideas of the Greek Philosophers, such as the creed of grave worship, so they became callers to grave worship through Greek Philosophy. The practices of these people was rife within the ranks of the people of rhetoric amongst the Hanafi Maatooreediyyah (4) and the Ash-ariyyah Kullaabiyyah due to busying themselves with the Books of the Philosophers; so they were influenced by the creed of grave worship. They became callers to grave worship and callers to the creed of the Jahmiyyah at the same time, such as the likes of Taftaazaanee Al-Hanafi [The Philosopher of the Maatooreediyyah and Grave worshipers] and Jurjaanee Al-Hanafi [a caller to superstition]

[1] Al-Faraabee: Al-Faraabee said that Philosophy is more perfect than Prophet hood. Shaikhul Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said about him: ‘’Misguided; a disbeliever’’ Ibn Sinaa adopted his books and ideas of disbelief. [For further details concerning Al- Faraabee, See Majmoo Al-Fataawaa 2/67—86] [Dar At-Ta’aarud 1/10] [Ighaathatul Luhfaan 2/372-373].

[2] Ibn Sinaa: Imaam Ibnu Salaah [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said about him: ‘’He was a devil amongst the human devils.’’ [See Fataawaa Ibn Salaah 1/209] [Also see: ‘Ar-Radd Alal Mantaqiyyeen’ of Shaikhul Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah 278-279] [‘Ighaathatul Luhfaan’ of Imaam Ibnul Qayyim 2/373-380] [Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah’ of Imaam Ibn Katheer 12/43]

[3] Naasir At-Toosee: He was a magician and a minister of the Tartars. He rejected the ‘resurrection’. For further details, see: As-Sawaa-iq Al-Mursalah of Imaam Ibnul Qayyim [may Allaah have mercy upon him]. 2/790; 3/1077-1078

[4]Followers of the Jahmi Abu Mansoor Al- Maatooreedi Al-Hanafi [For further details, see the Book of Shaikh Shamsud-deen al-Afghaanee titled: ‘Al-Maatooreediyyah’ 1/205—376] [d] Juhoodu Ulamaa Al-Hanafiyyah Fee Ibtaal Aqaa- id Al-Qubooriyyah Vol 1 pages 23-24

Thirdly: A people appeared among the Muslims manifesting asceticism. These people were more dangerous to the masses and more severe in misguidance. They were a people who appeared in the garb of the righteous,  with tearful eyes smeared with kohl, long flowing beards, elevated turbans, carrying rosary beads and pretending to be calling to the sunnah of the leader of Humankind  [Muhammad], whilst secretly practicing the disgraceful acts inherited from the false and vanished religions. And from their plots was that they used to mix manifest lies with the authentic explanations of the qur’aan and the authentic narrations in order to corrupt the clear proofs of the qur’aan and the sunnah. These deviant heretics were known as the holooliyyah, ittihaadiyyah Grave worshippers [ref 1], such as the likes of al-hallaaj (309ah), ibnul faarid (632ah), ibn arabi (638ah), ibn sina (669ah) etc  [Excerpt from Juhoodu Ulamaa Al-Hanafiyyah Fee Ibtaal Aqaa’id Al-Qubooriyyeen. Vol 1. Page 19-25]

Hulooliyyah and ittihaadiyyah: Hulool- Lit. “Entering” – Divine indwelling.  The belief that Allaah dwells within a particular human.  i.e. That Allaah dwells in a particular Soofi shaykh,  a pious person, a Prophet – This belief is shared by Christians, certain Soofies, certain Shiites, Sikhs and others.

Wahdaatul Wujood – Lit – Unity of Existence.  The belief that all existence is a single existence and everything we see are only aspects of the Essence of Allaah.  This belief is also held by certain Soofies, Hindus and others.

Those who believe in hulool say that Allaah dwells and is incarnate in human beings, High is Allaah above and far removed from that. This was openly called to by some of the extreme Sufis, such as al-Husayn ibn Mansoor al-Hallaaj who was declared to be an unbeliever by the scholars. They ordered that he be executed and he was crucified in the year 309H. The following saying is attributed to him: “Glory to Him who manifested His human nature, Hiding the piercing brightness of His divinity: Till His creation saw Him openly, In the form of one eating and drinking” Attributed by al-Wakeel to the book at Tawaaseen of al Hallaaj (p. 130).

And his saying: “I am the one who loves and the One who is loved is me, We are two spirits who dwell in a single body. So when you see me you see Him, and when you see Him you see us both.”So al-Hallaaj was a believer in hulool and believed in the duality of the divine nature and that the Deity had both a divine and a human nature. Thus the divine becomes incarnate within the human so that the human spirit is the divine nature of the Deity and the body is its human form. Despite the fact that he was killed for his evil apostasy and although some of the Sufis declare themselves free of him, yet others count him as a Sufi, hold that his beliefs were correct, and write down his words. From them is Abdul-‘Abbaas ibn ‘Ataa al-Baghdaadee, Muhammad ibn Khaleef ash? Sheeraazee and Ibraheem an-Nasraabaadhee, as is reported by al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadee.

Wahdatul-Wujood, i.e. that all in existence is a single reality, and that everything we see is only aspects of the Essence of Allaah. The chief claimant of this belief was Ibn ‘Arabee al-Haatimee at-Taa’ee, who was buried in Damascus having died in the year 638H. He himself says about this belief in his book al-Fatoohaat-ul-Makkiyyah: “The slave is the Lord and the Lord is a slave, I wish that I knew which was the one required to carry out the required duties.  If I were to say the servant then that is true, or if I were to say the Lord, then how can that be required for Him.” Al-Fatoohaat-ul-Makkiyyah as it is attributed by Dr. Taqiyyuddeen al-Hilaalee in his book al-Hadiyyatul-Haadiyah (p.43).

He also says in al-Fatoohaat: “Those who worshipped the calf worshipped nothing except Allaah.” Quoted as Ibn ‘Arabee’s saying by Ibn Tayrniyyah in al-Fataawaa (vol.11), who attributes it to the book al-Fatoohaat. Ibn ‘Arabee is called ‘al-‘Aarif billaah’ (The one having great knowledge of Allaah) by the Sufis, and also ‘al-Qutubul Akbar’ (The great pivot), ‘al-Miskul-Adhfar’ (the sweetest smelling musk), “al-Kibreetul-Ahmar’ (the reddest brimstone), despite his belief in wahdatul-wujood and other calamitous sayings. Indeed he praised Fir’awn (Pharaoh) and declared that he died upon Eemaan! Furthermore he speaks against Haroon for his criticism of his peoples worship of the calf, thus directly opposing the text of the Qur’aan. He also held that the Christians were Unbelievers only because they made divinity particular to ‘Eesaa, whereas if they had made it general to all then they would not have been unbelievers. [Despite all the gross deviation of Ibn ‘Arabee and the fact that the scholars declared him to be an Unbeliever, yet he is revered by the Sufis and others who do not distinguish between the truth and falsehood, and those who turn away from accepting the truth even when it is as clear as the sun. But his books, which are filled with clear apostasy, such as al-Fatoohaatul-Makkiyyah and Fusoosul-Hikam are still circulated. He even has a tafseer, which he called at-Tafseerul-Baatin since he holds that there is an apparent and a hidden meaning for every Aayah, so the outer meaning is for the people of Ta’weel. From this group came Ibn Basheesh who said: “O Allaah rescue me from the mire of Tawheed, and drown me in the center of the sea of unity, and mix me into the state of unity and oneness until I do not see, nor hear, nor sense except through it.” http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=8&Topic=3528

Hallaaj – The Heretical Soofi Fraudster

Imaam Ibn Katheer [may Allaah have mercy upon him] reports an incident regarding a man who witnessed Al-Hallaaj’s tricks, saying: The witness stated, “I used to hear that Al-Hallaaj have miracles and I wished to experience it. So I approached and greeted him, so he said to me, ‘Do you desire something this hour?’ I said, ‘I desire fresh fish’. So, he entered his house and was absent for an hour, then he came out to me with a fish that was grasping for air and his two feet were soiled with mud. He said to me, ‘I supplicated to Allaah and He commanded me go to the river bed to bring you this fish. I went into the surrounding area and this mud is from there’. I said, ‘You can take me in your house if you wish so that I can have a look in order to strengthen my certainty. I will believe in you unless something else becomes apparent to me’. He said, ‘Enter’. I entered, then he locked the door, sat down and put on an act. I went around the house, but could not find access to anything else other than it, so I was perplexed by his affair. I looked and there was a barrier (or covering), so I shook it and it gave way, and there was a door that gave access. I entered and it led me to an enormous orchard with all types of fresh fruits and many things to eat. There was a big pond with numerous fish – large and small, so I entered into it and took one fish from it and my feet got soiled with mud just as what happened to his feet. Then I went to the door and said, ‘Open the door I believe you’, but when he saw me in the same state he was [i.e. my feet soiled with mud], he rush and ran behind me to murder me, so I hit him in the face with the fish and said to him, ‘O enemy of Allaah! You have exhausted me today’. After escaping from him, I met him some days thereafter, so he smiled at me and said, ‘Do not spread it. I have not seen anyone otherwise I would have sent someone to murder you on your bed’. So, I knew that he will murder me if I reveal what I knew about him and I did not speak about it until he was crucified’”. [Ref 5]

Al-Khateeb Al-Bagdaadee [may Allaah have mercy upon him] reported that Al-Hallaaj commanded one of his close companions to go to one of the mountainous lands and instructed him as follows: “Manifest to the people your devotion in worship, righteousness and abstinence. After they incline towards you, love you and believe in you tell them that you have been afflicted with blindness, and after some time make it known to them that you are crippled. If they hasten to give you treatment, say to them, ‘O good people! I will not be benefited by anything you do’. Then after some time, you should tell them that you have seen Allaah’s Messenger [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] -in a dream –  saying to you, ‘Indeed, you cannot be cured except at the hands of a Qutb (1) and he will come to you on such and such day, and on such and such month, and his description is such and such’, and then I [i.e. Al-Hallaaj] will come to you at that appointed time’”.

So, the man [i.e. Al-Hallaaj’s accomplice] went to that land and resided there. He performed out acts of worship, manifested righteousness and engaged in recitation of the Qur’an. After staying there for some time, the people believed in him and loved him, so he made known to them that he is afflicted with blindness. Then after some time, he made known to them that he has been suffering from inveterate sickness, so they hastened to do whatever they could to find a cure for him, but could not find a solution. He said to them, “O good people! What you are doing has not resulted in anything and indeed I have seen Allaah’s Messenger in a dream and he said to me, ‘Indeed, your wellbeing and cure is only in the hands of a Qutb and he will be coming to you on such and such day, and in such and such month’”. So, the people began taking him to the Masjid and honouring him because of the appointed time he has spoken about regarding the arrival of the Qutb. Then after sometime, Al-Hallaaj entered the land discreetly with a white woollen garment. He went to the Masjid and stayed in a specific place, engaged in worship and did not pay attention to anyone. The people recognized him based on the description given to them by the person (who is feigning ill health – Al-Hallaaj accomplice), so they approached him, greeted him and started stroking him (i.e. gently as a sign of admiration, respect etc). Then when the appointed time arrived [i.e. the time mentioned to them about the arrival of the Qutb (Al-Hallaaj the fraudster)], the people informed the one (feigning illness) about the man in the Masjid, so he said to them, “Describe the person”, and after they described the man (i.e. Al-Hallaaj), he said to them, “That was the person about whom I was informed – in my dream – that my cure is in his hands. Take me to him”. They took him and placed him in front of the man (i.e. Al-Hallaaj), so he said, “O Abu Abdillaah (i.e. addressing Al-Hallaaj)! I saw Allaah’s Messenger [sallall laahu alayhi wasallam] in a dream…and then he narrated his dream.  Al-Hallaaj raised his hands and supplicated, then he spittle on his palms and rubbed them on the man’s face and both eyes opened as if they were never blind. Then he took some of the spittle and rubbed it on the man’s legs and thus the man stood up and walked – in the presence of the people, the rulers of that land and the nobles- as if nothing happened to him. The people exclaimed “Allaah is the Greatest! Glorified be Allaah!” They exalted Al-Hallaaj with an exaltation that increased the falsehood he manifested to them.

The Plan Finalised

Al-Hallaaj stayed with them for some and they honoured and exalted him. When he wanted to depart, he wanted them to gather a lot of wealth for him, so he said, “As for me, I have no need of the worldly things, rather we have reached this level [i.e. of piety] through abandoning the worldly things, but it may be that this companion of yours [i.e. Al-Hallaaj’s accomplice] has brothers and companions amongst the Abdaal (2), who are striving in the path of Allaah at Tartus, performing pilgrimage and giving in charity, and they are in need of what aids them to traverse this path”. Then the man who was in a state of chronic illness and was now cured [i.e. Al-Hallaaj’s accomplice] said to the people, “The Shaikh has spoken the truth. Indeed, Allaah gave me back my eyesight and blessed me with wellbeing so that I can spend the rest of my life to exert myself in the path of Allaah and perform hajj together with our righteous Abdaal brothers”. So, he urged the people to give wealth. Al-Hallaaj departed and the man stayed with the people until they gathered a lot of wealth, including gold and silver. After they gathered the wealth, he gave them a farewell speech and departed, then he goes to Al-Hallaaj and they shared the wealth. [Ref 6]

Footnotes a and b: Meaning of the terms Il’haad, and Mul’hid [plural (Mul’hidoon)]: The Mul’hidoon are the people of Il-haad. Ilhaad means to turn away from that which one is obligated to believe in or to fulfil. This is a general definition of Il’haad and anyone who turns away from that which is obligated upon him to believe or fulfil, then such a person is referred to as a Mul’hid. But Il’haad is of two types: Major Il’haad and Minor Il-haad.

Complete Il’haad is to turn away from Islaam completely and that is Major Il’haad, which exits a person from the fold of Islaam, such as the Il’haad of the communists, the idol worshippers and those similar to them. Minor Il-haad does not exit a person from the Religion of Islaam, such as turning away from some deeds. Allaah [The Most High] said: [وَمَن يُرِدْ فِيهِ بِإِلْحَادٍ بِظُلْمٍ نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ -And whoever inclines to evil actions therein or to do wrong, him We shall cause to taste a painful torment.” [22:25] http://www.ajurry.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13326 http://www.ibnothaimeen.com/all/noor/article_1802.shtml

Finally, listen here: [The Miracles of the ʾAwliyā] – By Ustaadh Taqweem Aslam [hafidhahullaah]:
http://www.learnaboutislam.co.uk/audio/taqweem-aslam/aqeedah-wasitiyah/aqeedah-wasitiyah-74.mp3

[Ref 1: An Excerpt from Al-Jawaabus Saheeh Liman Baddal Deen Al-Maseeh. Vol 1. Pages 277-278]
[Ref 2: Saheeh Al-Bukhaari 3210]
[Ref 3: [Ref 1: An Excerpt from Al-Jawaabus Saheeh Liman Baddal Deen Al-Maseeh. Vol 1. Pages 277-278]
[Ref 4: An Excerpt from Al-Jawaabus Saheeh Liman Baddala Deen Al-Maseeh. Vol 1. Pages 284-287]
[Ref 5: An Excerpt from Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah. Vol 11. Page 137]
[Ref 6: An Excerpt from Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah. Vol 11. Pages 135-136. Slightly paraphrased]