It is also related that al-Hallaj (1) once said to a man, “Believe in me and I will send you a small bird that will take from its droppings (2) the weight of a single grain; place that upon so-and-so many pounds of copper and it will turn into gold.” The man answered, “You believe in me first, and I will send you an elephant which, when it lies on its back, its legs reach the sky; and whenever you want to hide it you can put it inside one of your eyes.” Al-Hallaj was dumbfounded and fell silent (3). When he reached Baghdad, he began calling people to himself and displaying various *mukhāriq* (4) (conjuring tricks) and other satanic feats. What he peddled found its greatest market among the *Rāfiḍa*—because of the meagerness of their intellects and their weakness (5) in distinguishing between truth and falsehood. One day he summoned a leading figure from among them and invited him to believe in him. The man replied, “I am someone who loves women; I am bald and grey-haired. If you can rid me of these two things, I will believe (6) that you are the infallible Imām. If you wish, I will declare you a prophet, and if you wish, I will say that you are Allah Himself.” Al-Hallaj was confounded and could give him no answer (7). Shaykh Abū’l-Faraj Ibn al-Jawzī said: “Al-Hallaj (8) was a man of many colors. At times he would wear a *musūḥ* (9) (coarse woollen habit), at times a *durrāʿa* (10) (long tunic), and at times a *qabāʾ* (11) (outer cloak). With every group he adopted their doctrine—whether they were Sunnī, *Rāfiḍa*, Muʿtazila (12), or anything else. While residing in Ahwaz he used to spend coins that he produced, calling them ‘the coins of power.’ “Shaykh Abū ʿAlī al-Jubbāʾī was asked about this and said, ‘All of it is achieved by trickery. Lock him in a room that has no exit, and then ask him to bring you two bundles (13) of thistles.’ When al-Hallaj heard what Abū ʿAlī al-Jubbāʾī had said about him, he left Ahwaz (14).”