Barsisa, as the story is told, was a devoted worshipper in his hermitage, known for piety, the man people trusted. A woman fell ill and her brothers, having nowhere safe to leave her, asked him to care for her while they travelled. He refused, then agreed. He kept his distance, then looked. He spoke to her, then came closer. Then he assaulted her, then, when she became pregnant, he killed her and buried her to hide it.
Shaytan then went to her brothers in a dream and told them where to dig. Barsisa was taken out to be executed, and at the last moment Shaytan appeared to him and offered a deal: prostrate to me once, and I will save you. He did. And Shaytan said what he always says: “I am innocent of you; I fear God, the Lord of the Worlds.” (59:16). Barsisa lost his life anyway, and his faith on top of it, and had prostrated to Shaytan in exchange for absolutely nothing.