does it leave a mark on his skin. Likewise, devils possess these people and take them into fire; they may also carry them through the air. Such a person becomes possessed by a devil only when his reason is absent, just as a devil possesses someone who suffers seizures.

In India and the Maghrib, there is a group among the Zutt whose members are called al-muslā. Such a person exposes himself to fire just as these people do. Devils possess him, and he enters the fire, flies through the air, stands on the tip of a spear’s metal butt, and performs feats even more extraordinary than theirs. They belong to the Zutt, who have no share of goodness. The jinn abduct many human beings, conceal them from people’s sight, and carry them through the air. We have dealt firsthand with instances of these matters that would take a long time to describe.

The same things are done by those lost in ecstasy and those affiliated with certain shaykhs when they experience an ecstatic state induced by listening. While listening to whistling and clapping, some rise into the air, stand on the metal butt of a spear, enter fire, or take iron heated in fire and place it against their bodies, along with other feats of this kind. Yet they do not experience this state during prayer, the remembrance of Allah, or the recitation of the Quran. These are acts of worship prescribed by the Sharia, grounded in faith and Islam, and following the prophetic way of Muhammad; they drive devils away. Those other practices, however, are innovated, polytheistic, satanic, and philosophical forms of worship that attract devils.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in an authentic hadith:

“No people gather in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it together, without