Those who foretold the prophethood of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The background to the very first news that reached us about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is this: there was a woman who had a follower (that is, a jinn or familiar spirit). He came to her in the form of a bird and perched on their date palm. That woman said: "Will you not come down, so that we may give you news and you may give us news?" He said: "A man has appeared in Makkah who has made fornication unlawful for us and has forbidden us from staying in any one place."
Ahmad and al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its narrators have been declared trustworthy.

Mujahid narrates: An elder who had lived in the days of Ignorance told us, while we were in the campaign of Rhodes; that gentleman's name was Sayyiduna Ibn Abs (may Allah be pleased with him). He narrates: Once I was taking my family's cow along, and meanwhile I heard a voice from its belly: "O family of Dharih! This is an eloquent saying: a man is calling out loudly that there is no god but Allah." The narrator says: We came to Makkah, and there we found that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had appeared.
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Jubayr bin Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: One month before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent, we were around an idol of ours, and we had sacrificed a camel. Meanwhile a caller from inside the idol's belly said: "Hear a wondrous thing: polytheism and idols are gone, and shooting stars are being hurled, because of a prophet who has come in Makkah, whose name is Ahmad, and his place of emigration will be Yathrib."
Al-Bazzar recorded it from his teacher Abdullah bin Shabib, and he is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Amr bin Murrah al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: In the days of Ignorance I set out to perform Hajj with some people of my tribe. I saw in a dream that I was in Makkah, and a light was shining forth from the Ka'bah until it reached the mountains of Yathrib, the mountain called Ash'ar Juhaynah. Then I heard a voice in that light saying: "The darkness has cleared, the radiance is shining, and the Seal of the Prophets has been sent." Then there was another light, until I saw the palaces of al-Hirah and the whiteness of al-Mada'in, and I heard a voice in that light saying: "Islam has prevailed, the idols have been broken, and the ties of kinship have been joined." I woke up in a state of alarm and said to my people: "Some new development has come about in the tribe of Quraysh." Then I told them about the dream I had seen. When we reached our land, we received the news that a man named Ahmad had been sent. I came to him and told him (peace and blessings be upon him) about the dream I had seen, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Amr bin Murrah! I am the Prophet who has been sent to all the servants (of Allah). I invite them to Islam; I command them to refrain from bloodshed and to join the ties of kinship; I command them to worship Allah and cast aside the idols, and I command them to perform Hajj to the House and to fast the month of Ramadan, one of the twelve months of the year. Whoever accepts this will have Paradise, and whoever disobeys will go to Hell. So, O Amr! Believe in Allah, and He will keep you safe from the terrors of Hell." The narrator says: I said: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah, and I believe in everything you have brought regarding the lawful and the unlawful, however much this may displease people." Then I recited to him the verses I had composed at the time when I heard about this. We used to have an idol, and my father was its custodian; I got up and broke it, then I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and recited these verses: "I bear witness that Allah is the Truth, and I am the first to abandon gods of stone. I have tucked my waist-wrapper up from my shins and begun to make ready, so that I may emigrate to you, and make this emigration by crossing the wastelands, so that I may become the companion of the one who is the best of all people in his own person and in his father, and who is the Messenger of the King of the people above the heavens (that is, Allah)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Amr bin Murrah! Welcome to you." I said: "O Messenger of Allah! May my father and mother be sacrificed for you. Send me to my people, so that Allah Almighty may do those people a favour through me, just as He has done me a favour through you." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me to those people, and he said: "You must act with gentleness and say good words; you must not show harshness, you must not be arrogant, and you must not be envious." I came to my people and said: "O Banu Rifa'ah! O people of the tribe of Juhaynah! I have come to you as the envoy of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I invite you to Paradise and urge you to save yourselves from Hell, and I instruct you that lives be protected, that the ties of kinship be joined, that Allah be worshipped, that the idols be cast aside, that Hajj be performed to the House of Allah, and that the month of Ramadan be fasted, which is one month out of twelve. Whoever accepts this will have Paradise, and whoever disobeys will have Hell. O assembly of the tribe of Juhaynah! Indeed, Allah Almighty has kept you in a better state; what used to be liked by other people in the days of Ignorance, He has kept disliked among you, such as their combining two sisters in marriage, or a man marrying his father's wife, or fighting in the sacred month (these things are not found among you). So accept the word of this 'sent Prophet' who belongs to Banu Lu'ayy bin Ghalib, so that you may attain honour in this world and dignity in the Hereafter, and hasten in this matter; you will attain virtue in the sight of Allah Almighty." Those people accepted what Sayyiduna Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said, except one man who did not accept it. He said: "O Amr bin Murrah! May Allah Almighty make your life bitter! Are you commanding us to abandon our gods, break away from our community, oppose the religion of our forefathers and go towards what that Qurashi man from the people of Tihamah is calling to? No! This can never be." Then that wicked man composed these verses: "Ibn Murrah has brought a saying that cannot be the saying of one who intends what is good. I consider his words and deeds worthless, however much time may pass. Does he declare the elders who have passed away to be fools? Whoever aims at that will never attain success." Sayyiduna Amr bin Murrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Whichever of you and me is the liar, may Allah Almighty make his mouth bitter, strike his tongue dumb, make his eyes blind and make his teeth fall out." Sayyiduna Amr bin Murrah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Before that man died, his mouth gave way (that is, his sense of taste was ruined); he could not perceive the taste of any food, and he also became blind and also became dumb. Then Sayyiduna Amr bin Murrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and those people of his tribe who followed him came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) welcomed them, gave them gifts and had a document written for them, the words of which are these: "Seeking blessing with the name of Allah Almighty, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This is a document from Allah, by the tongue of His Prophet, a truthful document and a true word, for Amr bin Murrah al-Juhani, who belongs to Juhaynah bin Zaydan. To you belong the level parts of the land, its hillocks and their tops; you will graze your animals on its vegetation there and drink its clear water, on condition that you uphold the five things (or: that you pay the khums). You are to offer the five prayers. If the sa'ah and the suraymah are gathered together, two goats will be due on them, and if they are separate, one goat (each) will be due; and no zakah will be due on the owners of plough animals." Our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims present there became witnesses to this document written by Sayyiduna Qays bin Shammas (may Allah be pleased with him). That is why Sayyiduna Amr bin Murrah al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) composed these verses: "Have you not seen that Allah Almighty has made His religion prevail and made clear the proof of the Qur'an for the one who inhabits (the land)? It is a Book from the Most Merciful; it has gathered us all together, while our confederates are among every desert-dweller and town-dweller. And we have come to that being who is the best of those who walk upon the earth, and the most excellent when troubling difficulties arise. We obeyed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at the time when the bellies of the enemies were cut open by the swaying blades. So we are a tribe around whom glory has been built, when the heads of the mighty are cut off in battle. We are men of war; we stir it up with long arms and with what is in the hands of the raiders. And around him are the Ansar, who guard their commander with keen spears and cutting swords. When war turns around every great matter, its millstone is turned by lions that tear apart. From him the complexion shines bright and his face is adorned, like the full moon among the stars." Yasir bin Suwayd mentioned that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him on some military expedition while his wife was pregnant. She gave birth to a child, and the child's mother carried him to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! This child has been born to me, and his father has gone to battle, so please (peace and blessings be upon him) give him a name." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took that child, passed his hand over him and then said: "O Allah! Increase their men, lessen their hardship, do not make them needy, and do not let any of them see want." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Name him 'Musri'', for he has hastened into Islam."
Al-Tabarani recorded it.

It is reported about Sayyiduna Abbas bin Mirdas al-Sulami (may Allah be pleased with him): The story of his acceptance of Islam is that he was among his she-camels at a place called Ghamrah at midday. Meanwhile a white ostrich, like cotton, appeared before him; a man was riding on it, wearing white clothes like cotton. He said: "O Abbas bin Mirdas! Have you not seen that the sky has drawn back its guards, that war has breathed its last breaths, that the saddle-cloths have been taken off the horses, and that the religion has come down which comes with righteousness and guidance? It happened on Monday, the night of Tuesday: the one who is the man of the she-camel." The narrator says: I left that place in a state of alarm; what I had heard and what I had seen had frightened me. Until I came to our idol, whose name was Dimad. We used to worship it, and a voice used to come from inside its belly. I swept around it, passed my hand over it and kissed it. Meanwhile someone cried out from inside its belly: "O Abbas bin Mirdas! Say to all the (smaller) tribes of Sulaym (the great tribe): Dimad has perished and the people of the mosque have succeeded. That man from Quraysh who has brought prophethood and guidance after Sayyiduna Isa bin Maryam, he is the rightly guided one. Dimad has perished; it was worshipped for a time, until blessings were invoked upon the Prophet, Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)." The narrator says: I left that place in a state of alarm, until I came to my people; I narrated the whole incident to them and told them the whole matter. Then I set out riding with three hundred men of my people, Banu Harithah, and came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). We entered the mosque. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw me, he (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled, and then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abbas bin Mirdas! How did your Islam come about?" I narrated the whole incident to him, and he said: "You have spoken the truth." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was pleased at that. The narrator says: So I and my people accepted Islam.
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Laythi, whom the majority declared da'if (weak), while Sa'id bin Mansur called him thiqah (trustworthy), saying: Malik was pleased with him. The rest of the narrators of this narration have been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Mazin bin al-Ghadubah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I was the custodian of an idol named Bahir at Sama'il, a town in Oman. One day we came there, and there was a sacrificial animal by it. Meanwhile I heard a voice from the idol saying: "O Mazin, listen and you will be glad: good has appeared and evil has gone into hiding. A prophet from (the tribe of) Mudar has been sent (he has been sent) with the religion of Allah, the Greatest. Leave the idols of stone, and you will be saved from the heat of Hell." The narrator says: I was disturbed and said: "This is a most astonishing thing." Then some days after that I came, and I heard a voice from the idol saying: "Come, come to me; hear what you are not unaware of. This is a Prophet sent as a Messenger, who has brought the revealed truth. Believe in him, so that you may be turned away from the heat of a blazing fire whose fuel is in the jandal (that is, the earth)." I said: "This is indeed an astonishing thing, and it is something good that is intended for me." While we were still in that state, a man came to us from the Hijaz. We said: "What news is there behind you?" He said: "A man has appeared whose name is Ahmad; whoever goes to him, he says to him: 'Respond to the one who calls to Allah.'" I said: "This is the very news that I have heard." Then I went to my idol and broke it into pieces. Then I mounted my riding animal and came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Allah Almighty opened my heart to Islam and I accepted Islam. Then I composed these verses: "I broke the idol and split it into pieces, the one that used to be our deity, around which we used to circumambulate because of the blindness of misguidance. Deliverance from that misguidance came to us through a Hashimi, whose religion I used to pay no attention to before. O rider! Convey this message to Amr and his brothers: that I detest anyone who says that the idol is my deity." By this he meant Amr bin al-Salt and his brothers from Banu Khitamah. Sayyiduna Mazin (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I said: "O Messenger of Allah! I am a man who is addicted to music, drinks wine and commits fornication. Years of drought have passed over us, which have wiped out our wealth and weakened the slaves and slave-women, and I have no children either. So pray to Allah Almighty that He remove the condition I am facing, grant me modesty and grant me children." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Allah! In place of his singing grant him the recitation of the Qur'an; in place of the unlawful grant him the lawful; in place of fornication grant him chastity of the private parts; take wine away from him and quench his thirst with something in which there is no sin; grant him modesty and grant him children." Sayyiduna Mazin (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Allah Almighty removed all the things I used to feel before; He granted me modesty, I acquired knowledge of a large part of the Qur'an, and meanwhile the drought in Oman came to an end. I went to perform Hajj, and Allah Almighty granted me Hayyan bin Mazin (that is, He granted me a son). Then he recited these verses: "O Messenger of Allah! My mount has gone swiftly towards you, crossing great deserts from Oman to al-Arj, so that you may intercede for me, O you who are the best of all who walk upon the pebbles, and that my Lord may forgive me and I may return with success, to a group from whose religion my belief about Allah Almighty differs; so their opinion is not mine, and their way is not mine. I was a man who all my life was addicted to fornication and wine-drinking, until my body became worn out. Then He (Allah Almighty) granted me, in place of wine, fear and awe, and in place of fornication He granted me chastity and protected my private parts. So now the centre of all my attention and my intention is jihad, and my fasting is for Allah Almighty and my Hajj is for Allah Almighty." When I came to my people, they reviled me and told their poet, and he composed satire against me. I thought: "If I answer these people, I will in this way be satirising myself." So I withdrew from those people to the seashore and said: "To us, holding hatred for you is ruin, and, O our people, holding hatred for us is to you like milk (or: a weakness). When your faults appeared, for a long time we did not even notice them, and when our fault appeared, all of you understood it at once. Our poet was mute, while during war against us your poet was foremost and sharp-tongued in reviling us. Know that there is no rancour in our hearts against you, but in your hearts there is hatred and enmity." After that a large number of those people came to me and said: "O cousin! We objected to you and considered this thing disliked for you. If you do not agree, then very well, keep to your religion. Come back and look after our affairs." So I became the overseer of their affairs; then I went back to those people, and after that Allah Almighty guided those people as well to Islam.
Al-Tabarani recorded it through Hisham bin Muhammad bin al-Sa'ib al-Kalbi from his father, and both of them are matruk (abandoned).

Muhammad bin Ka'b al-Qurazi narrates: Once Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was sitting in the mosque. Meanwhile a man passed by him from the rear part of the mosque, and a man said: "O Commander of the Faithful! Do you recognise this man who is coming?" He said: "No! Who is he?" He said: "This is Sawad bin Qarib. He is a man from the people of Yemen who holds a prominent position in Yemen, and his familiar spirit had told him about the appearance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Bring him to me." They called him and brought him, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "Are you Sawad bin Qarib?" He replied: "Yes!" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "Are you the man whose familiar spirit told him about the appearance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?" He replied: "Yes!" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Are you still practising the soothsaying you used to practise before?" He became extremely angry, and the man said: "O Commander of the Faithful! Since I accepted Islam, no one has ever confronted me with such a thing." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Subhan Allah! The polytheism we people followed was a greater thing than the soothsaying you followed. Now tell me how you learned that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was about to appear." He said: "Yes! O Commander of the Faithful! One night I was in a state between sleep and wakefulness, and meanwhile my familiar spirit came to me. He struck me with his foot and said: 'O Sawad bin Qarib! Get up, understand the matter and keep it in mind, if you can understand. A Messenger has been sent from Lu'ayy bin Ghalib, who will call to Allah Almighty and to His worship.' Then he recited these verses: 'I marvel at the jinn and their spying, that they have put cloths on the camels and are heading to Makkah seeking guidance; the best of the jinn are not like their unclean ones. So you too journey to the chosen one from Hashim, and with your two eyes set your mark upon his head (that is, behold him).'" Sawad bin Qarib says: "I paid no attention to what he said, and I said: 'Leave me alone; I was already drowsy this evening.' When the next night came, he came to me again, struck me with his foot again and said: 'O Sawad bin Qarib! Did I not tell you to get up, understand and keep it in mind, if you can keep it in mind, that a Messenger has been sent from Lu'ayy bin Ghalib who calls to Allah Almighty and to His worship?' Then that jinn recited these verses: 'I marvel at the jinn and their seeking, that they have tied the saddles on the camels and are heading to Makkah seeking guidance; the truthful jinn is not like the lying one. So go to the chosen one from (the family of) Hashim; its front is not like its tail (that is, its rear).'" The narrator says: "I paid no attention to what he said. When the third night came, he came to me again, struck me with his foot and said: 'O Sawad bin Qarib! Did I not tell you to understand and keep it in mind, if you can keep it in mind, that a Messenger has been sent from Lu'ayy bin Ghalib who calls to Allah Almighty and His worship?' Then that jinn recited these verses: 'I marvel at the jinn and their giving of news, that they have loaded their gear on the camels and are heading to Makkah seeking guidance; the believing jinn are not like the disbelieving jinn. So go to the chosen one from (the family of) Hashim, who is there between the high ground and the stones of that land.'" The narrator says: "Then love of Islam and a longing for it arose in my heart. When morning came, I tied the saddle on my mount and set off for Makkah. At some place on the way I learned that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had migrated to Madinah, so I came to Madinah. I asked about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and was told that he would be in the mosque. I came to the mosque and tied up my mount. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was seated, with people around him. I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, please listen to what I have to say!' Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'Let him come near!' I came near, and I kept coming nearer until I was right in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Tell me! What did your familiar spirit come and say?' So I said: 'My familiar spirit came to me while I was in a state between sleep and wakefulness; whenever I had tested him before this, he had not proved to be a liar. He kept coming to me for three nights, and each time he kept telling me: A Messenger from Lu'ayy bin Ghalib has come to you. So I began preparing for the journey, and a sturdy, well-fed she-camel with a large mouth carried me through the deserts. I bear witness that Allah Almighty is the One besides whom there is no other god, and that you are trustworthy regarding everything unseen. Among the Messengers you are the nearest (or most fitting) as a means of approach to the presence of Allah Almighty, O son of the most honoured and the purest people! Command us regarding what (religion) has come to you, O best of all Messengers, even if what (religion or command) has come should turn the locks of hair white. And be my intercessor on the Day when there will be no intercessor besides you who could be of any use to Sawad bin Qarib.'" The narrator says: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions were very pleased at my acceptance of Islam, so much so that this could be seen on their faces." (When he narrated this incident during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), then) the narrator says: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) got up and went towards him, embraced him and said: "I wanted to hear this from your own lips."
Al-Tabarani recorded it.

In a narration he recorded, the wording is: Sayyiduna Sawad bin Qarib al-Azdi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Once I was asleep on one of the mountains of al-Sawah, and meanwhile someone came to me and struck me with his foot. In this narration it also says: I came to Makkah and found that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had appeared; I told the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about this and followed him (peace and blessings be upon him). The chains of both these narrations are da'if (weak).

Al-Hasan bin al-Zubayr al-Asadi narrates: One day Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): "Tell me something that will please me." He said: Sayyiduna Khuraym bin Fatik al-Asadi (may Allah be pleased with him) told me this: "I set out in search of my lost camel, and I reached it at a place called al-Abraq. I tied it up and rested my head on the camel's foreleg; this was at the time of the appearance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Then I said aloud: 'I seek refuge with the greatest one of this valley; I seek refuge with the mightiest one of this valley.'" The narrator says: That is how they used to speak in the days of Ignorance. Meanwhile an unseen caller recited these verses: "Woe to you! Seek refuge with Allah, the Possessor of Majesty, the One who sends down the command of the unlawful and the lawful. Affirm the oneness of Allah Almighty and do not care what terrors the jinn have. When anyone remembers Allah at a distance of miles, and remembers Him in the level lands and the mountains, the plotting of the jinn goes down low; but the God-fearing person and righteous deeds are a different matter (that is, they do not go down)." The narrator says: I said: "O caller! Towards what are you telling me to go? Is it guidance you have with you, or misguidance?" He replied: "This is the Messenger of Allah, the possessor of good things. He has brought Surah Ya Sin and the surahs beginning with Ha Mim, and besides them the mufassal surahs, which declare things unlawful and declare things lawful. This Messenger commands fasting and prayer, and restrains people from evils which were considered abominable in earlier times too." The narrator says: I said: "Who are you, may Allah Almighty have mercy on you?" He said: "I am Malik; the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has sent me to the jinn of the people of Najd." I said: "If there were someone who could take care of this camel of mine for me, I would go to him and believe in him." He said: "I will take care of this camel for you until I deliver it safely to your family, if Allah wills." So I took one of the camels as my mount and came to Madinah. I reached the people on Friday while they were praying, and I said: "They will finish their prayer, and then I will go in." I was still there tying up my mount when Sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) came out to me and said: "The Messenger of Allah tells you to come inside!" I went in, and when he saw me he said: "What became of that elder who guaranteed you that he would deliver your camel? Know that he has delivered it safe and sound." I said: "May Allah Almighty have mercy on him." The narrator says: Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes! May Allah Almighty have mercy on him." The narrator says: Then I said: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its chain contains narrators whom I do not know.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Khuraym bin Fatik (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him): "O Commander of the Faithful! Shall I not tell you how I accepted Islam?" He replied: "Yes!" He said: "Once I was wandering about in search of my animals. I was on their track when night fell at Abraq al-Iraq, and I called out in a loud voice: 'I seek refuge with the mighty one of this valley from the foolish ones of his people.' Meanwhile some unseen caller called out: 'Woe to you! Seek refuge with Allah, who is the Possessor of Majesty, the Possessor of Glory, the Giver of blessings, the Bestower of favour; recite verses from (Surah) al-Anfal, affirm the oneness of Allah Almighty and have no care about this.'" The narrator says: "I was terribly frightened. When I had collected myself, I said: 'O unseen caller! What are you saying? Is it guidance you have, or misguidance? Explain to us, if you have been guided, what the means of it is.' He replied: 'This is the Messenger of Allah, the possessor of good things. He is in Yathrib and calls to salvation; he commands prayer and fasting, and restrains people from evils.'" The narrator says: "My she-camel rose up, and I said: 'Guide me to the guidance that has been granted to you; may you never be hungry, nor in need of clothing, and may you remain ever fortunate as long as you remain; and do not show favouritism regarding the good you have been given.'" The narrator says: "Then he came after me, saying: 'May Allah Almighty keep you safe and keep your soul safe, bring you to your family and return your mount. Believe in him; my Lord will give success to your right. Help him; my Lord will grant you help.'" The narrator says: "Then I came to Madinah; this was on a Friday. I looked into the mosque, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) came out to me and said: 'Come in! May Allah Almighty have mercy on you; news of your accepting Islam has already reached us.' I said: 'I do not know how to perform ablution; please teach me.' Then I entered the mosque. I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on the pulpit; it seemed as though he were the full moon, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was saying: 'Any Muslim who performs ablution and does it well, and then offers a prayer in such a way that he performs it with proper understanding, that person will enter Paradise.'" Then Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Either you bring proof of this, or else I will punish you." The narrator says: Then an elder of Quraysh, Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him), bore witness to this, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted his testimony.
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and in its chain (the text is incomplete here). (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: The narrations about the incidents of the wolf, the lizard and the gazelle, which testified to the prophethood of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), will come in the account of the miracles, if Allah wills.