I will find out whether the magician is superior or the monk.’
He picked up a stone and said, “O Allah, if the monk’s way is dearer to You than the magician’s way, then kill this beast so that the people may pass.” He hurled the stone, struck the beast, and it died; the people were thus able to continue on their way. He then went to the monk and informed him of what had happened.
The monk said to him, “My son, today you are better than I am. Your affair has reached what I now see, and you will certainly be put to trial. If you are tested, do not disclose my identity.”
The boy would cure the congenitally blind (1) and the leprous, and he treated people of every illness. A courtier of the king, who had gone blind, heard of him. He came to the boy with many gifts and said, “All of this is yours if you heal me.” The boy replied, “I do not heal anyone; it is Allah, Exalted is He, who heals. If you believe in Allah, Exalted is He, I shall supplicate to Allah and He will heal you.” So the man believed in Allah, Exalted is He, and Allah restored his sight.
He went to the king and sat beside him as he used to. The king asked, “Who restored your sight?” He answered, “My Lord.” The king said, “Do you have a lord other than me?” He replied, “My Lord and your Lord is Allah.” The king seized him and continued to torture him until he directed the king to the boy.
The boy was brought in, and the king said, “My son, your sorcery has reached the point that you cure the congenitally blind and the leper, and you do this and that!” The boy said, “I do not heal anyone; it is Allah, Exalted is He, who heals.” The king seized him and kept torturing him until he pointed out the monk.
The monk was brought and told, “Renounce your religion.” He refused. The king called for a saw, placed it in the middle of his head (2), and split him in two until both halves fell apart. Then the king’s courtier was brought and told, “Renounce your religion.” He too refused; the saw was placed in the middle of his head and he was sawn in two until both halves fell apart.
The boy was then brought and told, “Renounce your religion,” but he refused. The king handed him over to a group of his men and said, “Take him to such-and-such a mountain; ascend with him to its summit. If he recants his religion, (let him go); if not, cast him off.” They took him and climbed the mountain. The boy said, “O Allah, protect me from them however You will.” The mountain quaked, they all fell, and the boy returned to the king on foot.
The king asked, “What became of your companions?” He replied, “Allah, Exalted is He, spared me from them.” The king then handed him over to another group of his men and said, “Take him and carry him in a skiff to the middle of the sea; if he recants his religion…"