Solmah, one of the Anssâr [helpers], relates: ‘One day a Jewish priest was in the assembly of the Bani A’bd-ul-Ashab speaking about the mission, the resurrection, and the last judgment. The people asked him: “What will be the sign of the truth of these words?” He replied: “A prophet will be sent from the sanctuary.” They continued: “At what time will that be?” And he pointed to me saying: “This boy will be living, and will be honoured by attending upon him.”’
Solmah says: ‘By Allah! I was waiting day and night until I entered the society of the prince of beings—upon whom be the most excellent benedictions and salutations— was rejoiced by, and participated in, the blessing of the religion. The Jew, however, would not believe, and I told him that, strangely enough, he had himself foretold the coming of the Emâm and apostle, and had not been disinclined to place faith in his words. But he replied that the promised individual was not this one:
Distich: Though the lamp of religion has no smoke,
It is of no use when the eye is blind.
A’assum Bin A’mru-uz-zâri says: ‘The reason of our tribe professing Islâm was as follows: Before the mission the possessors of the book* bore enmity towards us; wherefore we quarrelled and fought with them; but they informed us by way of a threat that a prophet would shortly appear, in whom they would believe, would gird their loins, and would revenge themselves upon us. When, however, the mission of his lordship had reached our people, we believed, but they refused, and persisted in their infidelity and heresy; and the blessed verse, “When a book came to them from Allah,” etc., has been revealed with reference to them and us.’
An old man of the Bani Quraittah [Jews] has said: ‘The reason why I and a number of the Bani Dhahil—the relatives of the Bani Quraittah dwelling with them—made a profession of Islâm was that ten years before the mission one of the Jewish U’lâma had come among us and had fallen sick. When he was dying, he said: “O people, the occasion of my leaving our country and coming to dwell here was that I knew for a certainty of the speedy mission of a prophet, the place of whose exile and mansion of refuge would be in the blessed and pleasant locality, namely, in the city of Madinah. I came into this neighbourhood in order to become ennobled by waiting upon him, and becoming enrolled among the number of his servants; but as fortune is adverse to my aspirations, it is my last advice to you to hasten to that blessed individual, so that none may precede you in professing his religion; for he will be commanded to shed the blood of those who oppose his religion, and to make captives of their women and children.” When his sacred and prophetic lordship— u. w. b.—besieged the Bani Quraittah after the war of the confederates,* I and the company of the Dhahil who had heard the just-mentioned words of the old man said: “By Allah! this is the prophet, the promise of whose advent we have heard.” Therefore we ascended from the fort and became Moslems, whereon the property and families of all of us were spared.’
Tolhah Bin A’bdullah says: ‘I was engaged in buying and selling in the bazâr of Bossrah, when a monk living in that place inquired whether any man of the inhabitants of the sanctuary was present, and I replied: “I am one of them, and have come from the Ka’bah.” Thereon he further asked whether Ahmed had appeared in Mekkah, and on my questioning him who Ahmed was, he said: “The son of A’bdullah, son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, who will receive his mission during this month; he is the seal of prophets, and he will remove to a district the stones whereof are white, and the earth salsuginous, but it contains many date-trees.” I remembered these words, and on my return to Mekkah I asked whether anything had happened during my absence, and was told that Muhammad, the son of A’bdullah, had asserted his claims to prophetship and had convinced Abu Bakr Bin Quhâfah of the truth thereof. Accordingly I went to the latter, conversed with him, and became a Musalmân.’
Abu Harirah* says: ‘On a certain occasion the Bani Khasha’m were sitting near an idol and addressing petitions to it, when they all of a sudden heard a voice saying: “O ye men, you ask idols for aid and protection; you are not aware of what I see, and are careless to learn what I know. I behold a light which will abolish the darkness of night, and that light is a prophet, the chief of men of the highest degree, and belonging to the tribe Bani Hâsham, who is manifesting his prophetship in Mekkah and substituting Islâm for infidelity.* The Most High loves him, because he is a worthy chief and an appropriate guide.” We heard these words well enough to remember them. Then the people dispersed, and after the expiration of one month we heard the news of the mission, and the invitation of his lordship the apostle—u. w. b.’ Abu Harirah, having been asked whether he had himself also worshipped the idol, replied: ‘Yes; and praise and glory be to Allah that I was delivered from that misery by the blessing of Muhammad, the apostle of Allah—u. w. b.’
There is a tradition that one day a man waited upon O’mar, and that another introduced him as follows: ‘O’mar, this man is Sowâd Bin Ghârab from Yaman, distinguished by nobility, power, and renown. One of the genii, who was his twin-brother,* has informed him of the arrival of the prophet of the latter days.’ Hereon Farûq [i.e. O’mar] asked Sowâd whether he was the man whom his twin-brother had informed of the coming of the prophet of the latter times, and he replied: ‘Yes, O Amir; but no twin-brother had appeared to me before I became a Musalmân.’ O’mar wished to know the details, and Sowâd continued: ‘One night I was asleep, when all of a sudden a man struck me with his foot, and said: “Arise, and mount thy horse; arrange any affair thou mayest have, because the apostle from the Bani Hâsham and Lowa Bin Ghâleb has arrived. The breeze of prosperity is wafting; he will invite the people to the worship of Allah, and explain His religions to them.” After that he recited several distichs to me.’ The writer of these lines says that some chroniclers have translated the contents of those verses as follows:
Verses: I wonder in my heart at the genii,
That the way to the Ka’bah is their souls’ desire.
Be aware that all the genii are not good;
Fairies and men are not of one kind,
But all covet the road of guidance,
That they may prevail over the erring.
Thou also, if thou hastenest to the prophet,
Wilt attain the goal thou art bound for.
Sowâd continued: ‘I placed no trust in these words, and told him to let me alone, as I had not slept last night; but he again returned during the next, and recited verses. I, however, could not believe him until he again came the third night and repeated his conversation, so that the love of Islâm at last took root in my heart, and I started the next morning. On my way I heard that his sacred and prophetic lordship—u. w. b.—had taken refuge in Madinah. Accordingly I hastened to that city, where I met his lordship the apostle—u. w. b.—in the mosque, sitting with his companions, and said: “O apostle of Allah, listen to my words!” Abu Bakr said: “Come nearer;” and they placed me so close that I touched with my knee that of the prophet—u. w. b.—whereon his lordship the refuge of prophecy—u. w. b.—said: “Come, tell us what news thy twin-brother has given thee.” Then I recited the whole occurrence in poetry.’ Some chroniclers have rendered the verses of Sowâd Bin Ghârab as follows:
Verses: Verily I had a dream last night,
Sarush* coming to tell me
That a prophet had been sent,
Descended from Lowa Bin Ghâleb Bin Fehr.
The second night the same he related,
The third again he it stated;
As these words were so clear,
I came to his lordship here,
To testify that God is One,
And is to be adored alone.
Allah’s prophet to the people art thou!
The noblest of apostles art thou!
Guide me, O Emâm, in the true way,
And keep me from going astray;
On my part I promise to obey thee,
For at the resurrection thou wilt protect me.
Sowâd says: ‘When his holy and prophetic lordship— u. w. b.—and his noble companions—Allah reward them —heard these words from me they rejoiced at my professing Islâm.’ It is related that after Farûq had witnessed everything that took place he embraced Sowâd, saying: ‘I was always desirous of hearing thee narrate this occurrence.’ Traditions of this kind are numerous in chronicles, and we have therefore related some of them in this place.