with an immense figure upon it, and see figures ascending and descending, whom they suppose to be angels. They imagine that the figure on the throne is Allah—exalted and holy is He—whereas it is a devil.
This has happened to more than one person. Some were protected by Allah and recognized that it was a devil, such as Shaykh Abd al-Qādir in his well-known account. He said:
“Once, while engaged in worship, I saw a mighty throne with a light upon it. It said to me, ‘O Abd al-Qādir, I am your Lord, and I have made lawful for you what I have forbidden to others.’”
He said:
“I replied, ‘Are you Allah, besides whom there is no deity? Begone, enemy of Allah!’”
He said:
“That light then broke apart and became darkness. It said, ‘O Abd al-Qādir, you have escaped me through your understanding of your religion, your knowledge, and your encounters during your spiritual states. I have led seventy men astray through this very deception.’”
He was asked, “How did you know that it was a devil?” He replied:
“Because it said to me, ‘I have made lawful for you what I have forbidden to others.’ I knew that the law of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, cannot be abrogated or changed. Moreover, it said, ‘I am your Lord,’ but could not say, ‘I am Allah; there is no deity but Me.’”
Others believed that what they saw was Allah, and they and their companions came to believe that they were seeing Allah Most High while awake, basing this belief on what they had witnessed. They are truthful in what they report, but they did not know that it was a devil.
This has frequently happened among groups of ignorant worshippers. One of them imagines that he sees Allah Most High with his own eyes in this world, for many of them have seen something they thought was Allah, when it was only a devil. Many have also seen someone they supposed to be a prophet, a righteous man, or al-Khidr, when it was a devil.
It is established in the authentic hadith collection that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever sees me in