to his council, hoping that some slip of the tongue might betray him. Al-Ḥallāj, however, went no further than openly proclaiming the two testimonies of faith, the oneness of God, and the obligations of the Sacred Law.

Ḥāmid then seized a group who believed in the divinity of al-Ḥallāj. They confessed that they served as his missionaries and told Ḥāmid that they were convinced he was God and that he could raise the dead. When al-Ḥallāj was confronted with their statement, he denied it, branded them liars, and said, “I seek refuge in Allah from claiming prophethood or lordship. I am only a man who worships Allah, prays and fasts frequently, and does good deeds; I know nothing beyond that.”

Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad ibn Zangī said—my father informed me:

The first thing that exposed al-Ḥallāj’s affair to Ḥāmid was a shaykh known as al-Dabbās. At first he had followed al-Ḥallāj, but when he discovered his trickery he abandoned him. Abū ʿAlī al-Awārjī the scribe joined al-Dabbās in this, and even wrote a book in which he listed al-Ḥallāj’s impostures and the ruses behind them.

At that time al-Ḥallāj was residing with Naṣr al-Qushūrī in one of his rooms, living in comfort and freely receiving visitors. He had beguiled al-Qushūrī, who venerated him and related that when al-Muqtadir was afflicted with an internal ailment, al-Ḥallāj was ushered in, placed his hand upon it, and the caliph recovered. This won al-Ḥallāj great prominence in the palace and with al-Muqtadir’s mother.

When the reports of al-Dabbās and al-Awārjī about al-Ḥallāj spread, he was brought before the vizier Ibn ʿĪsā, who spoke to him harshly. It is said that al-Ḥallāj thereupon stepped forward, whispered to the vizier, “Stop where you have reached and go no further, or I will turn the earth over upon you.” The vizier was overawed, and al-Ḥallāj was then transferred to Ḥāmid ibn al-ʿAbbās.

The daughter of al-Simmarī—one of al-Ḥallāj’s companions—had previously been admitted to him and had stayed with him in the palace. She was sent to Ḥāmid so that he might question her about what she had witnessed. She entered upon Ḥāmid—she was eloquent of speech—and when he questioned her she related that her father had taken her to al-Ḥallāj, and that when she came into his presence he gave her valuable gifts, among them a green mantle,