en
prepared for a new idea, the mere expression of it is sufficient to act
as a spark on tinder. The fatal word was spoken by Hellaj; the
authorities did their duty, seized the daring innovator and put him to
death in the cruel fashion of the time. But the word once spoken had
been borne on the winds in all directions, and the execution of Hellaj
gave a powerful impulse to the spread of his doctrine. There are periods
in the lives of some nations when the longing for a martyr's crown
becomes epidemic. A few years after the execution of Hellaj, a man of
the people, Ibn Aby Azkyr, from the same village, Shalmaghan, where
Hellaj had spent his youth, gave himself out as an incarnation of the
Godhead. He was put to death with several of his followers under the
reign of the Caliph Radhi, 933 A.D. A century after Hellaj an Egyptian,
Ismail Darazy, from whom the Druses derive their name, proclaimed the
Fatimite Caliph Hakim to be an incarnation.

How great was the influence exercised in general by those ideas for
which Hellaj died a martyr's death we learn most clearly from the pages
of Ghazzali, who wrote not quite two hundred years later. He says:

The speculations of the Sufis may be divided into two classes: to
the first category belong all the phrases about love to God and
union with Him, which according to them compensate for all
outward works. Many of them allege that they have attained to
complete oneness with God; that for them the veil has been
lifted; that they have not only seen the Most High with their
eyes, but have spoken with Him, and go so far as to say "The Most
High spoke thus and thus." They wish to imitate Hellaj, who was
crucified for using such expressions, and justify themselves by
quoting his saying, "I am the Truth." They also refer to Abu
Yazid Bistamy, who is reported to have exclaimed, "Praise be to
me!," instead of "Praise be to God!" This kind of speculation is
extremely dangerous for the common people, and it is notorious
that a number of craftsmen have left their occupation to make
similar assertions. Such speeches are highly popular, as they
hold out to men the prospect of laying aside active work with the
idea of purging the soul through mystical ecstasies and
transports. The common people are not slow to claim similar
rights for themselves and to catch up wild and whirling
expressions. As regards the second class of Sufi speculatio