in all its enormity, together with this profound heresy, and commanded him to present it to his community. He further claims that he made it public exactly as the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had prescribed for him, without addition or omission.

A number of distinguished men—even some who spoke to me about him and defended him—believed that he regarded lying as permissible. They preferred to say that he lied deliberately, considering that less grave than unbelief. They then explicitly declared that his teaching constituted unbelief. More than one sensible and distinguished person, including shaykhs and scholars, testified that he deliberately lied.

It is well known that this is among the most outrageous lies against Allah and His Messenger, and that he is among those to whom Allah’s words most aptly apply:

“Who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah or says, ‘It has been revealed to me,’ when nothing has been revealed to him?”

Many lying claimants to prophethood—such as al-Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbayd and others like him—did not reach this degree of lying and fabrication. Indeed, even Musaylima the Liar did not reach this degree of lying and fabrication. Each of these men revered the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and acknowledged his messengership, but claimed to be another messenger himself. He did not deny the existence of the Lord, nor did he outwardly deny the Quran.

These people, by contrast, have denied the Lord, associated everything with Him, and fabricated these books, which they may claim are greater than the Quran. They consider themselves superior to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in certain respects, as the author of al-Fusūs explicitly stated concerning the Seal of the Saints.

A trustworthy person told me that the wicked al-Tilimsānī used to say:

“The Quran is entirely polytheism; it contains no monotheism. Monotheism is found only in our words.”