Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Abu Bakr bin Abu Musa narrates from his father that Abu Talib set out towards Syria, and with him were the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and some elderly men of the Quraysh. When these people reached the monk, they camped and dismounted from their mounts. The monk came towards them, and previously, when these people used to pass by the monk, he would not come to them nor pay attention to them. The narrator says: As these people were dismounting, the monk began to walk among them until he came and took the hand of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "This is the leader of the worlds, and this is the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds. Allah Almighty has sent him as a mercy to the worlds." The people of Quraysh said to the monk, "How do you know this?" He said, "When you ascended the pass, there was not a tree or a stone left except that it bowed down in prostration, and these things only prostrate to prophets. And I recognize him by the seal of prophethood, which is like an apple beneath the soft bone of his shoulder."

2. Then the monk returned and prepared food for them (the caravan). When he brought the food to the caravan, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was (assigned) to guard the camels. The monk said, "Send someone to him." So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came, and a cloud was shading him. The monk said, "Look at him! There is a cloud over him, shading him." Then, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) approached the people, and the people were already sitting in the shade of a tree, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sat down, the shade of the tree inclined towards him. The monk said, "Look at the shade of the tree; it has inclined towards him as well."

3. The narrator says: When the monk was standing with the people of the caravan and insisting that the caravan people should not take him to Rome, because if the Romans saw him, they would recognize him by his attributes and kill him. Meanwhile, he turned and saw a group of nine (9) people who had come from Rome. The monk turned to them and asked, "What has brought you here?" They said, "We have received information that this Prophet will emerge from this city. There is no route left except that people have been sent towards it, and we have been informed about him and sent towards your route." The monk said to those people, "Have you left anyone behind you who is better than yourselves?" They said, "No! We have only been informed about your route regarding his news." The monk said, "Tell me about this matter which Allah Almighty has decided to fulfill; is there anyone among the people who has the power to reject it?" They said, "No!" The narrator says: So those people accepted the monk's words and stayed with him.

4. Then the monk came to the people of the caravan and said, "I ask you by Allah! Who is the guardian of this (child)?" Abu Talib said, "I am his guardian." The monk kept insisting to Abu Talib until Abu Talib sent the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) back, and Hazrat Abu Bakr sent Hazrat Bilal with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The monk presented cake and olives to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as provisions for the journey.