User:Satyadasa/Sarmad
Hazrat Sa'id Sarmad (Persian حضرت سعيد سرمد)
سرمد sarmad, his assumed name, means eternity in Arabic. His given name is unknown.
When Sarmad replied, he uttered only the first two words, لا إله lā 'ilaha, meaning "there is no god" and explained, to the scholars' annoyance, that as he was in a state of negation (a Sufi concept), if he were to recite the full shahadah he would be lying. Aurangzeb's scholars found this sufficient for a charge of blasphemy and sentenced Sarmad to death when he would not repent.