Among the people who came before you, there was a king who had a magician

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that there was once a king among the nations before us, and he had a magician. When the magician grew old, he said to the king: I have become old, so send me a young man whom I can teach magic. So, the king sent him a young man, who, on his way to the magician, met a monk. He sat with him once, listened to his words and admired him. Whenever he went to the magician, he used to sit with the monk, then on reaching the magician, the latter would beat him for being late. So, the boy complained this to the monk, who said to him: Whenever you are afraid of the magician, tell him that your family detained you. And whenever you are afraid of your family, tell them that the magician detained you. So the boy carried on like that (for some time). Then a huge, terrible beast once appeared on the road, and the people were unable to pass. The boy said: Today I shall know whether the magician is better or the monk. So, he took a stone and said: O Allah, if the affair of the monk is better in Your Sight than that of the magician, then kill this beast so that the people can cross (the road). Then he struck it with a stone and killed it, and the people passed the road. The boy came to the monk and informed him about it. The monk said to him: O my son, today you are better than me, and you have achieved what I see! You will be put on trial. And in case you are put to trial, do not inform (them) about me. The boy used to treat the people who suffered from congenital blindness, leprosy, and other diseases with the permission of Allah. There was a courtier of the king who had become blind. He came and brought many gifts to the boy and said: All these gifts are for you on the condition that you cure me. He said: I do not cure anybody; it is only Allah who cures people. So, if you believe in Allah, I shall supplicate Allah, and He will cure you. So, he believed in Allah, and Allah cured him. Later, the courtier came to the king and sat in the place where he used to sit before. The king said: Who gave you back your sight? He said: My Lord. He said: Do you have another Lord besides me?! He said: My Lord and your Lord is Allah. The king took him and kept on torturing him until he told him about the boy. So, the boy was brought to the king, who said to him: O boy, your magic reached the extent that you cure congenital blindness, leprosy, and other diseases. He said: Indeed, I do not cure anyone. Only Allah can cure. So, he tortured him extensively until he told him about the monk. Then the monk was brought to the king, who said to him: Renounce your religion. The monk refused. So, the king ordered a saw to be brought and placed on the middle of his head, and he fell, sawn in two halves. Then the courtier of the king was brought, and it was said to him: Renounce your religion. He refused to do so, and so a saw was brought and placed on the middle of his head, and he fell, sawn in two halves. Then the boy was brought, and it was said to him: Renounce your religion. He refused, and so the king sent him to some of his followers, between three and ten in number. He said to them: Ascend the mountain with him till you reach its top, then see if he abandons his religion; otherwise, throw him from the top. They took him and ascended the mountain. The boy said: O Allah, save me from them by any means You wish. So, the mountain shook and quaked violently, and they all fell down, and the boy came back walking to the king. The king said: What did your companions do? He said: Allah saved me from them. So he handed him over to another group of his men and said: Take him away, load him onto a small boat until you reach the middle of the sea. If he renounces his faith, then good. Otherwise, throw him into the sea. So they took him away. He said: O Allah, save me from them by any means You wish. Suddenly, their boat capsized, drowning them all, and he walked back to the king. The king said to him: What did your companions do? The boy replied: Allah saved me from them. Then he said to the king: You will not be able to kill me until you do as I order you. He said: And what is that? The boy said: Gather the people in an open space. Crucify me on a tree trunk. Then take an arrow from my quiver, place it in the bow’s grip, and say: In the Name of Allah, Lord of the boy. Then shoot me—for if you do so, you will kill me. So he assembled the people in one place, crucified him on a trunk, took an arrow from his quiver, placed it in the bow’s center, and said: In the Name of Allah, Lord of the boy. Then he shot him—the arrow struck his temple between his eye and ear. The boy placed his hand on the wound and died. The people said: We believe in the Lord of the boy, we believe in the Lord of the boy, we believe in the Lord of the boy. Then it was said to the king: Do you see what you feared? By Allah, what you feared has indeed come to pass. The people followed the boy and all believed in his Lord. So the king ordered great, elongated trenches to be dug at the crossroads, lit with raging fires, and commanded: Whoever does not renounce his religion—throw him in it. They carried out his orders until a woman came with her child. She hesitated, frozen in place, reluctant to enter the fire. Then her child said to her: O mother, be patient! For indeed, you are upon the truth.