The people who were with him from among the inhabitants of Sabat returned to their families and informed them of what had occurred and what they had heard from the skull.

They became agitated and differed concerning the status of the Commander of the Faithful—His might was mighty—and they came before him. Some of them said: “These individuals have corrupted our hearts by what they reported about you,” while others said concerning him—His might was mighty—the likeness of what the Christians said concerning the Messiah, and the likeness of what Abdullah bin Saba and his companions said: “If you leave them like this, the people will disbelieve.”

When he heard that from them, he said: “What would you like me to do with them?” They said: “Burn them with fire just as you burned Abdullah bin Saba and his companions.” So he had them brought forward and said: “What prompted you to say what you said?” They replied: “We heard the speech of the decayed skull and its addressing you, and that is not permissible except for Allah the Exalted; it is because of that we said what we said.” He—His might was mighty—said: “Retract your words and repent to Allah.” They said: “We will not retract our statement, so do whatever you are going to do.” Thereupon, he ordered that a fire be kindled and he burned them.