that he never set aside, neither by night nor by day (1). They inspected the satchel and found inside it a booklet authored by al-Hallaj, bearing the heading:

“From the All-Merciful, the Compassionate, to So-and-so son of So-and-so” (2).

It was sent (3) to Baghdad, and al-Hallaj was asked about it; he acknowledged that he had written it. They said to him, “You used to claim prophethood—have you now begun to claim (4) lordship?” He replied, “No. Rather, this is for us the very essence of union (ʿayn al-jamʿ). Who is the real writer but Allah? I and the hand are only an instrument.”

They asked, “Do you have anyone who concurs with you in this?” He said, “Yes: Ibn ʿAṭāʾ, Abū Muḥammad al-Jurayrī (5), and Abū Bakr al-Shiblī.”

Al-Jurayrī was questioned about the matter and said, “Whoever says such a thing is a disbeliever.” Al-Shiblī was asked and said, “Whoever says it must be restrained.” Ibn ʿAṭāʾ was also asked; he endorsed al-Hallaj’s statement, so he was punished, and that punishment eventually caused his death (6).

Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī further related, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh (7) al-Rāzī, that when the vizier Ḥāmid ibn al-ʿAbbās had al-Hallaj brought before him, he asked about his creed and wrote it down. He then consulted the jurists of Baghdad, who rejected it (8). It was said to the vizier, “Abū al-ʿAbbās Ibn ʿAṭāʾ holds the same view.” He summoned him to his residence (9); Ibn ʿAṭāʾ came and sat at the head of the gathering.

The vizier questioned him about it, and he said, “Whoever does not hold this view (10) has no creed at all.” The vizier exclaimed, “Woe to you! Do you validate such a belief?!” Ibn ʿAṭāʾ (11) replied, “What business is this of yours? Stick to that for which you were appointed—confiscating people’s wealth, oppressing them, and killing them. What concern is it of yours with the speech of these masters (12)?”

The vizier then (13) ordered that his cheeks be struck, his sandals pulled off, and that they be used to beat his head (14). They continued until blood ran from his nostrils, and he ordered him imprisoned. Someone said, “O Minister, the common people are becoming agitated over this (15).” So he was carried off to his home, where Ibn ʿAṭāʾ said, “O Allah, slay him with the vilest of deaths, and cut off his hands….”