Mustadrak al-Hakim — Hadith 4257

It is narrated from Abd al-Malik bin Abdullah bin Abi Sufyan bin al-Ala bin Jariyah al-Thaqafi (and he was a very reliable narrator); he said: Waraqah bin Nawfal bin Asad bin Abd al-Uzza composed these verses about the matters of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that Sayyidah Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) had mentioned to him: "O people! How astonishing are the turns of time and destiny, and there is no changing what Allah has decreed. Even Khadijah calls me so that I may inform her, though she has no knowledge of the hidden matters of the unseen. She came to ask me about him (peace and blessings be upon him) so that I might tell her about a matter which, I think, will soon come to the people in the last age. She told me of something I had heard of in the ancient times and ages gone by: that Jibril (peace be upon him) would come to Ahmad (peace and blessings be upon him) and tell him that he has been sent to mankind. So I said: Perhaps the One in whom you place your hope will fulfil it for you, so hope for good and wait. And send him to me so that I may ask him about his affair, what he sees in sleep and in wakefulness. Then when he came to us and spoke such astonishing words that the skin and the hair on the upper body stood on end, (he told us:) I saw the Trustworthy one of Allah (the angel), who confronted me in a most awe-inspiring form. Then it continued, and the fear from the trees around me that were greeting me almost terrified me. So I said: My guess is (and who knows whether this guess of mine will prove true) that you will soon be sent and will recite the revealed surahs, and if you proclaim your call, I will sacrifice my life for you by striving (jihad) alongside you, without any reproach of favour and without any resentment."