Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Hasan al-Askari (peace be upon him) who said: "One day one of our opponents, in the presence of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), said to one of the Shia: 'What do you say about those ten from among the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)?' The Shia said: 'A good and fine word by means of which Allah may cast off my sins and raise my ranks.' One of the companions of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: 'O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! From these words we understood nothing except this Shia man's agreement with that opponent of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them).' Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: 'Some tale-bearers spoke ill of Hizqil to Firʿawn and said: "Hizqil calls the people to oppose you and helps your enemies against you." Firʿawn said to them: "He is my cousin and my successor in the kingdom and my heir-apparent. If he has acted as you say, then because of his ingratitude toward my favour and blessings he deserves torment. But if you have lied, then because of your slander of him, you deserve the most severe of torments…" He summoned Hizqil and confronted them with him. They said: "You deny the divinity of Firʿawn and are ungrateful for his blessings." Hizqil said: "O king! Have you ever seen me tell a lie?" Firʿawn replied: "No!" Hizqil said: "Ask them: who is their Lord?" They answered: "Firʿawn!" He asked: "Who is your Creator?" They answered: "Firʿawn!" He asked: "Who is your Provider, who is responsible for giving you sustenance and warding off hardships from you?" They answered: "Firʿawn!" Hizqil said: "O king! I bear witness before you and before all who are present in your presence that their Lord is my Lord, their Creator is my Creator, their Provider is my Provider, and the One who sets right their livelihoods is the same One who sets right my livelihood. I have no Lord, Creator or Provider other than their Lord, Creator and Provider, and I make you and all those present in your presence witness that I disavow belief in and adherence to any Lord, Creator or Provider other than their Lord, Creator and Provider, and I hold no belief in his divinity." What Hizqil meant was that their Allah is Allah, who is my Lord; he did not say that the one whom they claim is their Allah is also my Allah. This matter was hidden from the sight of Firʿawn and those present in his presence, and they supposed that he was saying: "Firʿawn is my Lord, my Creator and my Provider." Firʿawn said to them: "O evil-natured men! O you who wish to ruin my kingdom and to create discord and strife between me and my cousin and supporter! You alone deserve my torment. For you wished to ruin my kingdom and to have my cousin killed and to deprive me of a helper and supporter." Then he ordered that stakes be brought, and a stake was driven into the leg and into the chest of each one of them. Then he summoned his other officers, who had iron combs in their hands, so that with those combs they would tear the flesh of their bodies apart. This is the meaning of the verse فَوَقاهُ اللهُ سَیِّئاتِ ما مَکَرُوا وَ حاقَ بِآلِ فِرْعَوْنَ سُوءُ الْعَذابِ [So Allah protected him from the evil (consequences) of what they planned, and the most evil punishment overtook Firon's people]. That is, Allah protected Hizqil from the evil results of the tale-bearing and slander of the ill-wishers before Firʿawn, who wished to destroy him, and He afflicted Firʿawn's followers, who had slandered Hizqil, with the worst of torments: stakes were driven into their bodies and the flesh of their bodies was separated from them by means of the combs.'"