a Christian—and then see that being come to them, perhaps even speaking to them. Yet it is only a devil who has assumed the form of the being whose aid they sought. When the supplicant associated that being with Allah, the devil appeared to him in its form, just as devils used to enter idols and speak to people. Such things occur frequently in many lands in these times.

Some of these people are carried by devils, who fly with them through the air to distant places. Some are carried to ‘Arafah, but they do not perform Hajj as prescribed: they neither enter the consecrated state of pilgrimage, nor recite the pilgrim’s invocation, nor circumambulate the Kaaba, nor perform the ritual walk between al-Safā and al-Marwah. Rather, they stand among the people in their ordinary clothes, and then the devils carry them back to their homeland. This is one way in which devils toy with many people, as has been explained at length elsewhere.

Allah knows best what is correct. May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad, his family and his Companions, and grant them peace.