Ibn Hibban

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: "If you turn away, Allah will bring another people in your place, and they will not be like you." The people asked: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who are these people, if we turn away, who will come in our place and will not be like us? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) struck the thigh of Sayyiduna Salman al-Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: These and the people of his nation (are meant). If the religion were to reach the Pleiades (the highest stars), some people from Persia would attain it (i.e., they would reach it even there).

Sayyiduna Salman al-Farsi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: My father was a chief (or a government official). I used to go to a school, and there were two boys with me. While returning from the school, they entered a church, and I also went inside with them. The monk said to them: Did I not forbid you both from bringing anyone to me? Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I kept coming to him until I became more beloved to him than those two boys. The monk said to me: O Salman, your family will ask you who kept you back, so say it was my teacher. And when your teacher asks you who kept you back, say it was my family. He said to me: O Salman, I wish to move from here to somewhere else. I said: I will stay with you. Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: He moved from there and came to a town and settled there. A woman used to come to him there. When his last moments approached, he said: O Salman, dig the ground. I dug the ground and found a bag of dirhams in it. He said: Place this on my chest. I placed it on his chest, and he started striking his hand on my chest and said: Woe to the monk! Then he died. I blew the horn to announce his death, and many worshippers and monks gathered there. Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I intended to take that wealth with me, but then Allah turned my attention away from it. When the worshippers and monks gathered, I said: He has left some wealth. Some young men of the town came and said: This is our father's wealth; his slave woman used to come to him. They took that wealth. When the monk was buried, I said: O group of worshippers, guide me to a scholar with whom I can stay. They said: We do not know of anyone on the face of the earth who has more knowledge than the person who comes to Bayt al-Maqdis. If you go there, you will find a donkey at the gate of Bayt al-Maqdis. I set out from there and found a donkey there. I sat by it until the scholar came out. I told him the whole story, and he said: Sit until I return to you. Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I did not see him for a whole year; that person used to come to Bayt al-Maqdis only in that month of the year. When he came the next time, I said: What have you decided about me? He asked: Have you been here since then until now? I replied: Yes. He said: I do not know of anyone on the face of the earth who is a greater scholar than the orphan who will appear in the land of Tihamah. If you go there now, you will meet him. He will have three characteristics: he will eat what is given as a gift, but he will not eat what is given as charity, and near the prominence of his right shoulder will be the Seal of Prophethood, which will be the size of an egg and its color will be like his skin. If you go now, you will reach him.

I set out, traveling from place to place, until some villagers captured me. They considered me a stranger and sold me, until I reached Madinah Munawwarah. I heard the people mentioning the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Life was difficult. I said to my masters: Give me something as a gift. They gave me something, and I set out. I tried and sold it for a small price. Then I brought it and placed it before the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: What is this? I said: This is charity. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to his companions: You eat it. He himself refused to eat it. I thought: This is one sign fulfilled. Then, as much time passed as Allah willed, I again asked my master to give me something as a gift. They gave me something as a gift. I set out, tried, and sold it for a higher price than before. I prepared food, brought it, and placed it before the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: What is this? I said: This is a gift. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said with his blessed hand: Begin eating in the name of Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also ate it, and the people with him also ate it. Then I got up and went behind him. I lifted his cloak, and there was the Seal of Prophethood, like an egg. I said: I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: How is that? So I narrated the whole story to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), will that worshipper who told me that you are a Prophet enter Paradise? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Only a Muslim will enter Paradise. I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he told me that you are a Prophet. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Only a Muslim will enter Paradise.