“And likewise, when you utter it in your own lands, do your ceilings collapse because of it?”
We replied, “No. We have never seen it do such a thing at all; it is only a word with which we admonish.”
He turned to his companions and said, “How splendid is truthfulness!” Then he faced us again and said, “By God, I would gladly relinquish half of my kingdom if only you would never pronounce it over anything without making it fall.”
We asked, “And why is that?”
He answered, “That would make its affair less weighty and would make it more likely that it is not from prophethood but merely a human contrivance.”
He then said to us, “What words do you proclaim when you open a city?”
We answered, “lā ilāha illā Allāh, Allāhu akbar.”
He asked, “When you say lā ilāha illā Allāh, you mean that He has no partner whatsoever?”
We said, “Yes.”
He asked, “And when you say Allāhu akbar, you mean that nothing is greater than Him—neither in breadth nor in length?”
We replied, “Yes.”
He questioned us about various other matters and we informed him. He then ordered that abundant hospitality and lodging be provided for us, after which we withdrew.
Three days later he sent for us in the middle of the night. We came to him and found him sitting alone, with no one else present. He bade us sit and asked us to repeat our words; we repeated them for him.
He then called for something resembling a large, gilded square chest. He opened it, and inside were locked compartments. He opened one of them and drew out a piece of black silk.
(He narrated the account much as has already been mentioned.) He produced a white portrait, and there stood the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, as though we were looking at him alive.
He asked, “Do you know who this is?”
We said, “That is the portrait of our Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace.”
He said, “Do you swear by Allah and by your religion that this is truly he?”
We replied, “Yes—by Allah and by our religion, it is truly he.”
He sprang to his feet and remained standing for some time, then sat down with his head bowed for a long while. After that he turned to us and said, “It is actually in the last compartment, but I brought it out first so that I could inform you and see your response.”
He then opened another compartment, took out a piece of black silk, and unfolded it. On it was a strikingly dark portrait: a man with tightly curled hair, a thick beard, deep-set eyes, thin lips, uneven teeth, and a piercing gaze like that of an angry man.
He asked, “Do you know who this is?”
We said, “No.”
He said, “This is the portrait of Moses, peace be upon him.”