And when the good news reached us, men from the people of Al-Mahdi, relatives of Al-Mahdi, came to those notables and informed them that this hair, if it were true, would be a clear proof of the falsehood of the Mahdi's claim and their departure from Islam, just as a hair comes out of dough. So those notables obeyed and gathered the papers that people had brought and destroyed them, and forbade people from speaking about this matter, and whoever spoke was flogged eighty lashes.

Mention of the hair issue from the perspective of Al-Yadi.

We mentioned the high position that Ahmed Sulaiman, the treasurer, held with Al-Mahdi, and that he was privy to his secrets and the essence of his actions. Ahmed was a cunning man who appeared to people with asceticism and piety, and he would tell people that he had seen miracles of Al-Mahdi, and he would fabricate lies that are proverbial. Among his lies is that he came to Al-Mahdi, who was sitting with the notables, and took from his pocket a hair and opened it, and took out a hair and said: "O notables of Al-Mahdi, Al-Mahdi informed me two weeks before his death that he was leaving this world and that his noble life had left a hair. He said to me, 'My beloved Ahmed, take this hair and keep it with you after my death, for it contains a secret of the Mahdi's message, and after you die and join me, I will tell you this secret.' So he handed it to Abdullah Al-Ta'aini and took his hand and said to him, 'This hair was a trust with you, and Al-Mahdi has commanded me to receive it from you.' And the Caliph was present, so Ahmed Sulaiman handed it to him, and he accepted it and issued a decree stating that in this hair is the secret of the Mahdi's message and the power of its creator.