“I did not repel them by any effort of mine; rather, it was a devil who took on the form of one of them and led them astray because they associated partners with Allah. And the same thing happened to more than one of our shaykhs and their companions: one of them would invoke his shaykh for help in a matter, only to find that the shaykh had already appeared and fulfilled his need. When I mentioned this to that shaykh, he said, ‘I knew nothing of it.’ It then became clear that it had been a devil. One particular shaykh, known as al-Siyakh, whom we later guided to repentance and renewed Islam, had a jinn companion called Antar. Antar would inform him of various things; sometimes he believed them, and sometimes he doubted. When I told him, ‘You worship a devil besides Allah,’ he admitted that Antar would say to him, ‘O Antar, glory be to You; You are a filthy god.’ He eventually repented, as is famous in his story. Indeed, those who engage in such dealings were sometimes executed under the sword of the Shariʿah, like a man we had killed in 715 AH. He too had a jinn companion who disclosed matters to him. At times he believed it; at times he denied that his companion claimed to be the Messenger of Allah. He would relate things said ‘in the Prophet’s presence,’ and even testify falsely that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had told him, ‘The Prophet comes to me and says such-and-such,’ words that amount to disbelief when attributed to the Prophet (peace be upon him). I informed the authorities that his case was one of the delusions cast by the jinn of soothsayers and that the being appearing to him was a devil. Hence it did not appear in the familiar form of the Prophet (peace be upon him) but in a strange guise. It was also reported that he bowed to that devil, who permitted him to consume alcoholic drinks and other forbidden matters. Many people suspected him of lying about these visions. It was true that he saw that form, but his belief that it was the Messenger of Allah was itself disbelief. There are many such cases. Whoever Allah does not illuminate with the realities of faith and adherence to the Quran will find truth and falsehood confused—just as many were confused in the time of Musaylima al-Kadhdhāb in al-Yamama and other liars. They believed these impostors to be prophets, though they were plain liars. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, 'The Hour will not come until among you appear lying deceivers, each claiming to be a messenger of Allah. The greatest of these deceivers is the Dajjāl (the Antichrist), whom ʿĪsā ibn Maryam will kill. There is no trial after the creation of Adam greater than the trial of the Dajjāl.' He also instructed Muslims to supplicate in prayer: ‘O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of Hell, from the punishment of the grave, from the trial of al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl, and from the trial of life and death.’ [Sahih al-Bukhari 1311; Sahih Muslim 588] It is narrated in the Sahih that the Prophet (peace be upon him) will say to the sky, ‘Rain, rain,’ and it will rain; to the earth, ‘Grow, grow,’ and it will grow. He will kill a believing man, then say, ‘Rise,’ and he will rise and say, ‘I am your Lord.’ The Prophet will then say, ‘You lie! You are the one-eyed liar of whom the Messenger of Allah informed us. By Allah, I have gained nothing but clarity concerning you,’ and he will kill him twice. When he attempts to kill him a third time, he will not be able to. The Dajjāl claims divinity, but the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated three signs that contradict this claim: first, he is one-eyed, yet ‘Your Lord is not one-eyed.’ [Sahih al-Bukhari 4141] Second, the word K-F-R (disbeliever) is written between his eyes, readable by every believer, literate or illiterate. Third, the Prophet said, ‘Know that none of you will see his Lord until he dies.’ This is the great Dajjāl. Below him are lesser deceivers; some claim prophethood, others are liars without such a claim. The Prophet (peace be upon him) warned, ‘Toward the end of time there will appear lying deceivers; beware of them.’ [Sahih Muslim 7/7] Thus, al-Ḥallāj was undoubtedly one of these lying deceivers, and his execution was just, without doubt. As for whether he repented before his death, we say: Allah knows best. And Allah is the Knower of all.”