the shaykh come and fulfil his need. Yet that shaykh says, “I knew nothing of this.” It thus becomes clear that it was a devil.

One of our companions told me that he had called for help upon two men in whom he had faith. They had come to him in the air and said, “Set your heart at ease. We shall ward these people off from you and do such-and-such.” I asked him, “Did any of that happen?” He replied, “No.” This was among the things that showed him that they were two devils. For although devils may tell someone something true about an incident or an account, their lies far outnumber their truths, just as the jinn used to give information to soothsayers. Thus, whoever relies upon his disclosures of hidden matters when these come from information supplied by the jinn will speak falsely more often than truthfully.

One example was a shaykh called al-Shayyāh, whom we brought to repentance and had renew his Islam. He had a companion from among the jinn called ʿAntar, who told him things, sometimes truthfully and sometimes falsely. When I told him, “You are worshipping a devil instead of Allah,” he admitted that he would say to him, “O ʿAntar, no glory be to you! You are a filthy god.” He repented of this in a well-known incident.

The sword of the Sacred Law has put a number of these people to death, including the man whom we put to death in the year fifteen. He had a companion who would come to him and disclose hidden matters to him, sometimes truthfully and sometimes falsely. A group of people associated with learning and leadership had submitted to him, and he would disclose hidden matters to them, until Allah exposed him to them.

This happened because his companion would sometimes say to him, “I am the Messenger of Allah,” and mention things