And it was said: the witnesses are the prophets, and that which is witnessed is Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Its indication is His saying: “And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets …” up to His saying: “So bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses” (Al Imran 3:81).

“Cursed were the people of the trench” (4).

“Cursed were the people of the trench,” that is, they were damned. The trench is a long cleft in the ground, like a riverbed; its plural is trenches. The scholars differed concerning them:

Abu Hamid Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Salihi informed us; Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Abd Allah ibn Sa'dan al-Khatib informed us; Abu Ahmad Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Quraysh ibn Nuh ibn Rustum informed me; Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Bushangi narrated to us; Hudbah ibn Khalid narrated to us; Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us; Thabit al-Bunani narrated to us, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, from Suhayb, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“There was a king among those before you, and he had a magician. When the magician grew old, he said to the king, ‘I have grown old, so send me a boy whom I may teach magic.’ The king sent him a boy. Along the boy’s route to him there was a monk, so the boy sat with him and listened to his words, which pleased him. Whenever he went to the magician, he would pass by the monk and sit with him. Then, when he came to the magician, the magician would beat him. And when he returned from the magician, he would sit with the monk and listen to his words; then, when he came to his family, they would beat him. He complained of this (1) to the monk, who said, ‘When you come to the magician, say: “My family detained me”; and when you come (2) to your family, say: “The magician detained me.”’

“While he was in this state, he came upon a great beast that had blocked the people’s way. He said, ‘Today I shall know whether the monk is superior or the magician.’ He took a stone and said, ‘O Allah, if the monk’s way is more beloved to You than the magician’s way, then kill this beast so that the people may pass on.’ He threw the stone at it and killed it, and the people went on. Then he came to the monk and informed him. The monk said to him, ‘My son, today you are better than I. Your affair has reached the point that I can see, and you will surely be put to trial. If you are tested, then be patient (3), and do not disclose my whereabouts.’

“The boy would cure those born blind and the lepers, and would treat people for all manner of other illnesses. A courtier of the king, who had become blind, heard of him. He came to him with many gifts and said, ‘Everything here is yours if you cure me.’ The boy said, ‘I cure no one; Allah alone cures. If you believe in Allah, I will supplicate Allah for you, and He will cure you.’ So he believed in Allah, and Allah cured him.

“He then came to the king and sat with him as he had formerly done. The king said to him, ‘Who restored your sight?’ He replied, ‘My Lord.’ The king said, ‘Do you have a lord other than me?’ He replied, ‘My Lord and your Lord is Allah.’ So the king seized him and continued torturing him until he revealed the boy’s identity. The boy was brought, and the king said to him, ‘My son, your magic has reached such a level that you cure those born blind and the lepers, and do this and that.’ The boy said, ‘I cure no one; Allah alone cures.’ So the king seized him and continued torturing him until he revealed the monk’s identity. The monk was brought and was told, ‘Renounce your religion.’ But he refused, and [he called