And on the mention of Sheikh Al-Hussein, it is said that among the accusations that were made against him was that he was a supporter of the Mahdiya. He believed that any scholar would inevitably be displeased with the Mahdiya. One day, he said, "The readers are the ones who are saved from hellfire, and they are the ones who will enter paradise. The scholar is like a tree in the middle of a farm; the birds flock to it and eat from the farm's produce. Likewise, people flock to the scholar, and he imparts his knowledge, which nourishes their minds and strengthens them in the Mahdiya, just as the birds eat the fruits of the farm. The farm is not harmed by the birds' plundering, except that it damages the tree."

The conclusion is that Sheikh Al-Hussein was the most knowledgeable of the scholars of the Fula, and he was the greatest of those who opposed the Mahdiya. I have seen what befell him from the punishments inflicted upon him, and upon many who helped the Mahdi and supported him in his call. Whoever helps a tyrant, God will inflict upon him a tormentor.

The guards of the prison and the jailers were relatives of the prison warden, meaning they were from the Ja'ama'a tribe, whom we have already identified earlier in this book. Most of them were the sons of the adulterer, who are called "the son of his maternal uncle." If you ask one of them for his father's name, he will reply, "I am the son of my maternal uncle." I have not heard of any of them having common or well-known names like Muhammad or Ahmad, etc. Rather, their names are derived from their characteristics. For example, one of them is named "Shaf Libb," which means "the strong one."