take this as an act of devotion and a religious practice have their hearts stirred by it. They experience such trembling and cries that devils descend upon them, just as a devil enters the body of someone seized by a fit. This is why one of them froths and cries out like someone in a fit. These are the cries of devils speaking through their tongues. Thus, none of them knows what he has done until he regains consciousness. A devil speaks through one of them in words that the person himself does not know. One of them enters fire while possessed by a devil. This also happens to certain Christians in the Maghreb and to others: devils possess them, and they experience similar things.

These states experienced by innovators who oppose the Quran and Sunnah are not miraculous gifts granted to the righteous. Such gifts are granted only to Allah’s pious friends, of whom Allah says:

“Indeed, the friends of Allah will have no fear, nor will they grieve.”

“Those who believe and are mindful of Him.”

They are those who draw near to Allah through the obligations He has imposed upon them, and then through the voluntary acts He has encouraged them to perform.

As al-Bukhārī narrated in his Sahīh from Abū Hurayrah, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:

“Allah says: ‘Whoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine has challenged Me to war. Nothing by which My servant draws near to Me compares to what I have made obligatory upon him. My servant continues to draw near to Me through voluntary acts until I love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Through Me he hears, through Me he sees, through Me he strikes, and through Me he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give him; if he seeks My protection, I will surely protect him. I have never hesitated over anything I am to do as I hesitate over taking the soul of My believing servant