Continuation of the discussion on the deception of the Sufis and their like.

The Shaykh : And thus he recounted to us many things, among which was an anecdote. He said that once a young shaykh came whose father had passed away, leaving him as his successor. He was young and not yet practiced in deception. He followed the shaykhs and said, "I will hold a gathering in front of the citadel there in Damascus—excuse me, in Aleppo. It is a very large square, and they gather the common people and the masses by beating the drum." The people gathered, and there was a very large gathering in front of the citadel. He placed the drum on the ground, and according to their claims, a karamah (a miracle granted to a righteous person) would appear to the people: he should stand on the drum, and the angels would carry it, and the drum would bounce with him. But because of his deception, he did not know how to mount the drum. As soon as he placed his foot on it, the drum sank under him. Our friend Ahmad Arna'ut was standing in front of him, saying, "Go, you have not yet arrived. I will take the drum, turn it over, and stand on it." And indeed, the drum did not sink under him. "Oh, oh!" the people present clapped. This is a young man they call "Al-Sirr" (The Secret). And here is the point: because of his deception, he was supposed to place the heel of his foot on the edge of the drum, with the front of his foot on what is called the skin. But instead of placing it on the wooden edge, he placed it on the drum, and it sank under him. Our friend Ahmad, who was practiced, knew how to stand, so he stood upright like this. And their deception is much, and very much, and it has no relation to karamah.The Shaykh : The striking with the skewer. Once an incident occurred between my father (may Allah have mercy on him) in our land in Albania, and it was repeated with me. My father (may Allah have mercy on him) was carrying a small knife because of the pens. A Naqshbandi shaykh there was challenging my father, claiming that he was the owner of a method and the possessor of karamahs, and so on. He was striking himself with the skewer, and nothing was happening. My father showed him the small knife and said to him, "I have this house and own nothing else, so I offer it to you, but let me strike you with this small knife in the place I choose, instead of you striking yourself with the large skewer." He was struck and did not accept. It became a dispute between him and my father. It then happened to me with one of these young shaykhs. We were once in a gathering like this one, but more intense. Our brothers left after the end of the lesson. I remember a person sitting there, and I saw that although he was thin, he had something protruding like this. I said to him, "What is this? We have only four or five of our brothers left, meaning those with whom we usually stay up late." He said to me, "This is the skewer." I said to him, "Why is this here?" He said, "To show you our karamahs." Glory be to Allah, for a matter that Allah wills. I said to him, "O owner of the house, his name is Ahmad, and there is a small knife I used to carry. Give it to me." It was very short. I said to him, "What do you think? I will strike you in a place on your body, and then you will show your karamah." The wicked one said, "With my hand, he will strike himself with your hand." I said to him, "No, with my hand." The word was repeated between me and him; he said "with my hand," and I said "with my hand." Of course, I was more patient than him, because I am a caller to the truth, if Allah wills. He overpowered me with words. He said "with my hand," and I said "with my hand." Then he was fed up and said, "Fine, what is the difference?" I said to him, "Since there is no difference, then with my hand." The man was stunned and retreated, and he turned it around immediately. And this is from their wickedness. He called the owner of the house and said to him, "O Shaykh Ahmad, bring the coffee tray." I said to him, "To show us your karamah with fire." He said, "Yes, bring the matches." I called our friend, "Bring the matches, O Shaykh Ahmad." He was placing a pile like this pile, and our brother Abu Jabir was exactly there. I stood up to him and lit the match, and I actually started burning the pile. Then I was afraid that the matter would spread, so I stopped and rubbed it, and it became like this. I said to him, "Go to your shaykhs and show them the karamah of the Salafis."
The striking with the skewer: an incident occurred between my father (may Allah have mercy on him) in our country, Albania, and it happened to me as well. My father (may Allah have mercy on him) was carrying a small knife because of a Naqshbandi shaykh there who was challenging my father, claiming he was the owner of a method and possessed miracles (karamat) and so on. He was striking himself with the skewer, and nothing was happening. My father showed him the small knife and said to him, "I have this house and own nothing else; I offer it to you, but let me strike you with this small knife instead of you striking yourself with the large skewer, in the place that I choose." He was defeated and did not accept. This happened between him and my father. It also happened to me with one of these small shaykhs. Once, we were in a session like this one, but more intense. After the lesson ended, our brothers left. I remember a person was sitting there, and although he was thin, he had something protruding. I said to him, "What is this?" There were only four or five of our brothers left, the ones we usually stay up late with. He said to me, "This is the skewer." I said, "Why is this here?" He said, "To show you our miracles." Glory be to Allah, for a matter that Allah willed. I said to him, "O owner of the house, his name is Ahmad, there is a small knife I used to carry. Give it to me." It was very short. I said to him, "What do you think? I will strike you in a place on your body, and then you will show your miracle." The wicked one said, "With my hand, he will strike himself with your hand." I said to him, "No, with my hand." The word "with my hand" was repeated between him and me; he said "with my hand" and I said "with my hand." Of course, I was more patient than him because I am a caller to the truth, if Allah wills. He usually overpowered people with words. He said "with my hand," and I said "with my hand." Then he was fed up and said, "Okay, what is the difference?" I said to him, "Since there is no difference, then with my hand." The man was stunned and retreated, and he turned it around immediately. This is one of their deceptions. He called the owner of the house and said, "O Shaykh Ahmad, bring the coffee brazier." I said to him, "To show us your miracle in the fire?" He said, "Yes, bring the matches. I will call our friend. Bring the matches, O Shaykh Ahmad." He had placed a pile like this pile, and our brother Abu Jabir was right there. I stood up next to him and lit the matches, and I actually started burning the pile of charcoal. I was afraid that the matter would spread, so I held it like this and rubbed it, and it became like this. I said to him, "Go to your shaykhs and show them the miracle of the Salafis."

The Shaykh : And the audience laughed.
The Shaykh : The summary of all this is deception involving sorcery, but this is not sorcery. When we were in Albania, a person came to us—excuse me, when I was in Damascus, a person from Albania came to us. We emigrated from Albania long ago. And he was eating glass. At that time, these electrical means were not available; the lights were gas lamps. A bulb would break, and he would take it and crush it like this. One who is not practiced in it, just hearing the crunch of the glass, his body would eat it. My brother, who is older than me, was absent from me. Abu Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, was in front of us eating glass and swallowing it. My brother, the matter only requires courage. What is the heart, or does it have no relation to karamah at all? And my brother, praise be to Allah, was never deviated toward Sufism, because we were raised on the Salafi methodology, and praise be to Allah. The point is that these are things that any person can do, but with some courage of the heart and practice, so that he does their deed. But he does not do their deed, because their deed is to mislead people. In any case, we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to guide us to the straight path.