Heshâm, the son of Abu A’ass, says: ‘Siddîq* —u. w. b. —had sent me with one of the Qoraish and a message to Harqal* to invite him to profess Islâm. When we arrived in Damascus at the foot of the throne of Hilah Bin Abham, Ghasâni, who was the last king of Syria tributary to the Qaissar,* we found him sitting on a throne like a great sovereign. He sent a man to us to make inquiries and to ascertain our wishes; but as we had sworn that we would speak only to Hilah himself, or that we would return, he was under the necessity of conversing with us. We began the interview with our good wishes and greetings, which he accepted. As we saw him dressed entirely in black we asked for the reason, and he replied: “You see what garments I wear? I have sworn an oath not to put them away until I have removed you beyond the limits of Syria.” But we rejoined: “A strange fancy has taken hold of thy mind; for, if it pleaseth Allah, we shall not only deprive thee of this country, but also dispose of the realm of thy king, because our prophet has given us good news with reference to this matter.” Hilah rejoined: “You cannot subjugate this kingdom, because those who are to do it keep the fast during the day, and break it in the night.” We retorted: “We fast in this manner.” After we had uttered these words the colour fled from his countenance and he exclaimed: “Arise, and go about your business!” and giving us a man for a companion he sent us to Harqal. When we arrived in the metropolis of the Qaissar our Syrian companion said: “It is not meet for you to make your entrance into the city mounted on camels.” Accordingly he kept us without the town and reported our arrival to the Qaissar, telling him also that Arab envoys do not change their beasts; and Harqal replied that we might act as we liked. Therefore we again mounted our camels and entered the city, with our swords dangling by our sides. When we had reached the gate of the Qaissar’s palace we made our camels kneel down and exclaimed: “No god but Allah!” and “Allah the greatest!” there is a tradition that on this occasion the whole palace of the Qaissar shook and trembled like a young date-tree agitated by a tempest. At that time the Qaissar was looking from an apartment towards the road and sent a person out to invite us to make known our religion and our requests; but we replied that Siddîq had given us no permission to converse with anyone except the Qaissar. Then we received orders to meet him, and when we entered the audience-hall we beheld the Qaissar sitting on a throne with a number of able-bodied men standing at the foot thereof. The Qaissar was, like all his grandees, dressed in red. When his eyes alighted on us he smiled, and asked us, through an interpreter, why we did not salute him according to the usage. We replied: “It is illicit for us to greet you, in the same way as you are prohibited to salute us.” He asked: “What is your salutation to a king?” We answered: “Greeting to thee!” He queried: “What does he answer?” We replied: “The same words.” He again asked: “What are your greatest words?” We said: “No god but Allah, and Allah greatest.” When we pronounced these words the apartment and the palace again shook, and Harqal continued: “Does the same thing happen whenever you utter these words in your own houses?” We replied: “We have never seen anything like this in our dwellings.” He continued: “Would to God that when you pronounced these words the house had tumbled down on your heads, and I had lost one-half of my kingdom.” We asked: “Why?” He replied: “The loss of the moiety of my empire would be more bearable to me than the appearance of the prophetship of Muhammad.”’
It is related in the Kazrâni chronicle that the Qaissar said: ‘If at the pronunciation of these words my house or apartments had shook, I would rather have given you the moiety of my kingdom, because the universality of this circumstance would imply prophecy, but its speciality points only to fraud.’
Heshâm reports: ‘After this conversation Harqal still further discoursed with us; at last he asked us about our fast and prayers, and we informed him about the manner in which we practised them. Then he issued orders to his people to assign to us a pleasant mansion, and to provide everything necessary for our convenience. After three days had elapsed we were again called to his presence and asked many questions. When we had answered them he ordered a large box of wood which was gilded to be brought forward. It had a door, and was divided into compartments, each of which had one likewise. He opened the door of a compartment, and having drawn from it a piece of black silk-cloth, unfolded it, and we beheld thereon the picture of a man with a red complexion, large eyes, and long neck. He had no moustache, and his hair was plaited on two sides. He was beautiful to look at, dignified and grave. Harqal asked: “Do you know whose portrait this is?” We replied: “No.” He said: “This is the lord Adam.” Then he opened another door, and again took out a black piece of silk-cloth, representing a white man, with curled hair, red eyes, big head and a beautiful moustache. He asked: “Do you know whose portrait this is?” We replied: “No.” He said: “This is Nûh [Noah] the prophet.” In this manner he continued to open the doors and to explain, till he came to a man with an extremely white countenance, black eyes, wide eyebrows, broad forehead, high nose, his face being fresh as if beaming with a smile. He said: “This is the picture of Ebrâhim [Abraham], the Friend.” Then he opened another door and took out a piece of white silk which contained the portrait of our prophet. He asked: “Do you know whose picture this is?” We replied: “Yes; this is the portrait of Muhammad the apostle of Allah!” Then we began to weep, and when he perceived this he rose, in token of respect and honour to that picture, sat down again, and continued: “I adjure you by God to tell me whether this is the portrait of Muhammad.” We rejoined: “By God, it is; and we fancy we see him present!” Then he looked awhile at us, and said: “These are the images of prophets, and I took them out to try you.” Thereon he opened another door, from which he took a black piece of silk-cloth, containing the figure of a man with a brownish complexion, having black hair, good sharp eyes, an austere countenance, clenched teeth, and compressed lips, as if he were angry. He said: “This is the portrait of Mûsa [Moses].” By the side of Mûsa there was another figure, but dim, as if varnish had been passed over it. He said: “This is the image of Esahâq [Isaac].” He then produced a figure like that of Esahâq, and said: “This is the prophet Ya’qûb [Jacob].” After that he showed us an image which was white, but somewhat reddish, with a beautiful shining face, the whole figure representing humility. He said: “This is the picture of Esma’il [Ishmael], the ancestor of your prophet.” After that he showed a portrait resembling that of Adam, and said: “This is the image of Yusuf [Joseph].” Then he drew out a white piece of silk representing a man with a red face, small nose, sleepy eyes, great abdomen, well-proportioned feet, and girded with a sword. He said: “This is the picture of Dâud [David].” After that he produced a white piece of silk containing a large-headed man riding on a horse. He said: “This is the image of Suleimân [Solomon].” Then he showed the figure of a man on black silk, who had a white face, black eyes, luxuriant hair, and beautiful moustache. He said: “This is I’sa [Jesus].”*
‘After we had seen these figures of the prophets, we inquired from the Qaissar how he had obtained these pictures, and how they had fallen into his hands, because we had concluded from the portrait of our prophet that all of them resembled their originals. Thereon Harqal informed us that Adam had prayed to the Bestower of forms to show him the figures of his descendants, who would be ennobled by the honour of becoming prophets, and that the Most High complied with the request by sending him the portraits of the prophets, which had been kept in the treasury of Adam in the Maghrab* country until Eskandar Zulqarnîn arrived there and took possession of them. After that they fell into the hands of Dâniâl, the prophet, who painted them on these pieces of silk. Then they were removed and kept in the treasuries of sovereigns till he had inherited them. He further informed us that his mind was now at ease, and that he had obtained certainty of the authenticity of our prophet’s likeness, and exclaimed: ‘I wish that God the Most High had conferred the grace upon me to abdicate my throne, and that I might have become as devout as one of the meanest of yourselves, until the time when the bailiff of destiny knocks for admission at the door of the casket of life.”’
Heshâm says: ‘At the audience of leave-taking Harqal distinguished us with royal favours, and when we returned we waited on Siddîq—u. w. b.—to make our report. He wept and said: “Poor Harqal! Had Allah the Most High wished to do him good, he would have been blessed by professing Islâm.” He also informed us that the lord of prophecy—u. w. b—had said: “Those who possess the revealed books have read about my qualities, because the Lord of Glory had foretold them in the Torathah and in the Enjil [Evangel].”’
Ka’b-ul-âkhbâr says that the Friend of the Merciful [i.e. Abraham] assembled his children in his last agony, and that, according to one tradition, he ordered the ark of the covenant, but according to another a chest, to be produced, which he opened, and said: ‘Look into this ark.’ When they did so, they beheld compartments therein equal in number to that of the prophets, the last division containing the lord of prophecy—u. w. b.—made of red sapphire, with Siddîq at his right side, and the words on his forehead: ‘This is the first individual who will listen to the religion of this prophet.’ In front of that prince was A’li the select, girded with a sword, and having the inscription on his forehead: ‘This is the brother* of the apostle, and the son of his uncle; he is strengthened by Divine power.’ Around his lordship the prophet were his principal companions mounted on horses, and from the forehead of each of them rays issued, resembling the light of the sun in the expanse of the atmosphere. These words may, however, be reconciled—as will be shown afterwards—with the assertion of the U’lâma, who relate that the first person who professed the Faith was Khodaijah, and after her A’li, the son of Abu Tâleb—u. w. b.— then Zaid, the son of Hâreth, and lastly Siddîq; but if those who are accustomed to the highest assembly [the court of the author’s patron?] find discrepancies among the figures of the prophets given in this place, and the descriptions recorded in the first volume, it is hoped they will attribute them to the difference of the traditions.