and his feet.
Ibn ʿAṭāʾ died seven days later, and afterward the vizier was slain in the most terrible fashion: his hands and feet were severed and his house was set ablaze. (1)
The scholars of Baghdad were unanimous in declaring al-Hallāj an unbeliever and a heretic, and they likewise agreed—with no dissent—that he must be killed and crucified. (2)
Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Dāwūd al-Ẓāhirī said—when al-Hallāj was first brought in, before the death of Abū Bakr—he was asked about him and replied, “If what Allah revealed to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is true, and what the Prophet brought is true, then whatever al-Hallāj says is false.” He was exceedingly severe toward him. (3)
Abū Bakr al-Ṣūlī said, “I met al-Hallāj and spoke with him; I found him an ignoramus affecting intelligence, a dullard posing as profound, and a libertine masquerading as an ascetic.” (4)
When he was crucified the first time and a proclamation announcing his punishment was made for four days, some people heard him—as he was being led to the cross while riding a cow—saying: mā anā bi’l-Hallāj; ulqiya ʿalayya shabahuhu wa-ghāba (“I am not al-Hallāj; his likeness has been cast upon me and he has disappeared”). (5)
When he was brought close to the stake on which he was to be fastened, I heard him say: yā muʿīn al-fanā ʿalayya aʿinnī ʿalā al-fanā (“O Helper of annihilation, assist me toward annihilation”). (6)
Another narrator reported: “I heard him while he was on the cross saying, Ilāhī, aṣbaḥtu fī dār al-raghāʾib, anzuru ilā al-ʿajāʾib; Ilāhī, innaka tatawaddadu ilā man yuʾdhīk, fa-kayfa bi-man yuʾdhā fīk (‘My Lord, this morning I find myself in the abode of longings, beholding wonders. My Lord, You show affectionate kindness to those who harm You; how then to one who is harmed for Your sake?’).” (7)
A description of al-Hallāj’s execution
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī and others related: Al-Hallāj arrived in Baghdad on his final journey, attached himself to the Sufis, and claimed affiliation with them. At that time the vizier was Ḥāmid ibn al-ʿAbbās, and word reached him that al-Hallāj had misled a number of the palace servants and chamberlains in