2279 – ʿUbayd Allah b. Ahmad b. ʿAli informed us; he said: Abu Bakr ʿAbd Allah b. Muhammad b. Ziyad al-Naysaburi narrated to us; he said: al-Rabiʿ b. Sulayman narrated to us; he said: ʿAbd Allah b. Wahb told us; he said: ʿAbd al-Rahman b. Abi al-Zinad informed me; he said: Hisham b. ʿUrwa narrated to me, from his father, from ʿAʾisha, Mother of the Believers, who said:

“A woman from Dumat al-Jandal came to me seeking the Messenger of Allah ﷺ shortly after his death, wishing to ask about something to do with sorcery that she had entered into unknowingly. ʿAʾisha added—addressing ʿUrwa—‘Nephew, I saw her weep when she did not find the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to heal her; she wept so much that I felt pity for her. She kept saying, “I fear that I have perished. I had a husband who was absent from me. An old woman visited me, and I complained to her about it. She said, ‘If you do what I command you, I shall make him come.’

“When night fell she brought me two black dogs; I mounted one and she mounted the other. In no time we were delivered to Babylon, where two men were hanging upside-down by their feet. They asked, ‘What has brought you here?’ I answered, ‘I want to learn magic.’ They said, ‘We are only a trial, so do not disbelieve; go back.’ I refused and said, ‘No.’ They said, ‘Go to that tannur (oven) and urinate in it.’ I went, but fear overcame me and I did not do it; I returned to them, and they asked, ‘Did you do it?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ They asked, ‘Did you see anything?’ I replied, ‘No, I saw nothing.’ They said, ‘You have not done it. Return to your land and do not disbelieve.’ I intended to leave but then refused. They said, ‘Go to that oven and urinate in it.’ I went, my skin bristling, and then returned, saying, ‘I have done it.’ They asked, ‘What did you see?’ I replied, ‘I saw nothing.’ They said, ‘You are lying—you did not do it. Go back to your land and do not disbelieve, for you are still at the start of your affair.’ I wanted to leave but again refused. They said, ‘Go to that oven and urinate in it.’ I went and urinated in it, and I saw a horseman, fully armoured in iron, come out of me and rise up to the sky until ⦗1290⦘ I could see him no more. I returned to them and said, ‘I have done it.’ They asked, ‘What did you see?’ I said, ‘I saw a horseman, clad in iron, come out of me and ascend to the sky until I could not see him.’ They said, ‘You have spoken the truth—that was your faith leaving you. Go!’

“I said to the old woman, ‘By Allah, I know nothing; they did not teach me anything.’ She replied, ‘Indeed! You need only will a thing and it will happen. Take this wheat and sow it.’ I sowed it, then said, ‘Sprout!’ and it sprouted; I said, ‘Ripen!’ and it ripened; then I said, ‘Harvest!’ and it was harvested; I said, ‘Thresh!’ and it was threshed; I said, ‘Dry!’ and it dried; then I said, ‘Grind!’ and it was ground; finally I said, ‘Bake!’ and it was baked. When I saw that whatever I wanted took place, I was stricken with remorse—by Allah, Mother of the Believers, I have done nothing with it, and I shall never do so.’

“She consulted the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—his death was still recent and they were many—but they did not know what to say to her; each feared issuing a ruling on what he did not know. All that Ibn ʿAbbas, or one of those present with him, said was, ‘Had your parents—or even one of them—been alive…’ Hisham added, ‘Had she come to us today, we would have ruled that she must provide compensation.’ Ibn Abi al-Zinad said: Hisham used to remark, ‘They were people of piety, fear of Allah, and distance from pretension or audacity toward Allah.’ Then Hisham would say, ‘But were she to come now, she would find dull-witted fools who affect knowledge without having any.’”