He went on describing the remaining portraits until he said, “We asked, ‘Tell us about these images.’ He replied, ‘When Adam asked his Lord to show him the prophets who would descend from him, Allah sent down their likenesses. Dhu al-Qarnayn later retrieved them from Adam’s treasury in the land where the sun sets, and Daniel reproduced them on pieces of silk. From then on they were passed down from one king to the next until they reached me, and these are those very portraits.’”

We invited him to embrace Islam, but he said, “By God, I only wish my soul were willing to relinquish my kingdom, follow you, and even be a slave to the worst-tempered and most domineering man among you; yet my soul will not consent to that.”

He still honored us with gifts and travel provisions, and we departed.