For this reason, the imams said:

“Even if you see a man flying through the air or walking on water, do not be taken in by him until you examine his observance of the commands and prohibitions.”

Thus, many people are found flying through the air, but it is devils that carry them; these are not miraculous gifts bestowed upon Allah’s pious allies.

Among these people are those whom a devil carries to Arafat, where they stand with the pilgrims, before carrying them back to their own city that same night. This ignorant man imagines that this is one of Allah’s allies, not realizing that he must repent of this. If he believes that this is an act of obedience and a means of drawing nearer to Allah, he is to be called upon to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is to be put to death. For the Hajj commanded by Allah and His Messenger necessarily includes entering the state of consecration, standing at Arafat, and subsequently performing tawāf al-ifādah (the obligatory circumambulation), which is a pillar without which Hajj is incomplete. He must also stop at Muzdalifah, throw pebbles at the prescribed pillars, and perform the farewell circumambulation. He must avoid the prohibited acts and enter the state of consecration at the designated boundary, along with fulfilling the other obligations of Hajj.

These misguided people, whom Satan leads astray, are carried by him through the air. He carries one of them in his ordinary clothes, so that he stands at Arafat and returns that same night. Thus, he is seen in his own town and at Arafat on the same day. In other cases, a devil takes on a person’s appearance and stands at Arafat. Someone who knows that person sees the figure standing there and assumes that the man himself has stood at Arafat.

When that shaykh tells him, “I did not go to Arafat this year,” he assumes that it was an angel created in the shaykh’s likeness. In fact, it was merely a devil that had assumed his appearance. Such things, and others like them, occur frequently; they are satanic phenomena. Allah Most High says:

“Whoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful, We appoint for him a devil who becomes his companion.”

The remembrance of the Most Merciful is the Reminder that He revealed to His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Allah Most High says:

“Indeed, it is We who have sent down