said: “Muhammad’s family are the sky, while the Shia were (1) the earth; he himself was the falling fragment among Banū Hāshim (2); and he was taken up to heaven, where the being he worshipped stroked his head with his hand and said to him, ‘My son, go and proclaim on my behalf.’ Then he brought him back down (3) to earth.”

The oath his followers used when swearing was: “No, by the Word!” (4). He claimed that Jesus [son of Mary] (5) was the first creature Allah created, followed by Alī; that Allah’s messengers would never cease; and he disbelieved in Paradise and Hell, claiming that Paradise was a man and Hell was a man. He deemed women—including close female relatives forbidden in marriage—sexually lawful and permitted the same (6) to his followers. He also claimed that carrion, blood, pork, wine, and gambling were lawful. He said:

“Allah has not forbidden any of that to us, nor has He forbidden anything that strengthens (7) [us], (8) for these terms are merely the names of men to whom Allah has forbidden allegiance.”

In support of this, he interpreted the words of Allah Most High:

“There is no blame on those who believe and do righteous deeds for what they have consumed” [Surah al-Mā’idah: 93].

He abolished the obligatory duties and said, “They are the names of men to whom Allah has made allegiance obligatory.” Yūsuf ibn Umar, the governor of Iraq (9) during the Umayyad era, then seized him