so I pried away part of the panelling and stepped into a spacious building that contained a vast garden. It held every sort of tree, fruit, and sweet basil—produce that was in season and produce that was not, the latter carefully covered, aged, and preserved by various ruses. The store-rooms stood open, filled with all kinds of food and other supplies. There was also a large pool. I waded in, and my feet became caked with mud, just like his had been. I said to myself, “If I leave now with a fish in my hand, he will kill me.” Still, I caught a fish, and when I reached the door I began to shout, “I believe, I affirm the truth—there is no trick here; the only course is to acknowledge you!”
He said, “Come out.”
I came out and ran off. When he saw the fish with me he chased after me, caught up, and I slapped him in the face with the fish, saying, “You made me toil until I went all the way to the sea to haul this out!” While he was preoccupied with the blow he had taken from the fish, I collapsed in the roadway, overcome by panic and dread. He came over, laughing, and said, “Come back in.”
I replied, “Never!”
He said, “Listen—by God, if I wished I could kill you on your very bed. But if I hear that you tell this story, I will certainly kill you.” I did not relate it until after he had been put to death.
I (the author) remark: This astrologer is anonymous, and I doubt the truth of his report.
Ibn Bākūyah relates: I heard ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Fārisī in Mosul say that he heard Abū Bakr ibn Saʿdān recount: al-Hallāj once said to me, “Will you believe in me if I send you a sparrow whose droppings, no heavier than a single grain, I scatter over such-and-such a number of mann (1) of copper so that it turns to gold?”
I answered, “Rather, you believe in me: I will send you an elephant that lies on its back with its legs in the sky, and whenever you wish to hide it you can tuck it inside one of your eyes.”
He was dumbfounded and fell silent.
It is also related that a man said to al-Hallāj, “I want an apple,” although it was not the season for apples. Al-Hallāj motioned with his hand