Ibn Ishaq also transmitted—through ‘Uthman ibn al-Huwayrith, from Salih ibn Kaysan—that al-Tufayl ibn ‘Amr said:
“I was a poet and a leader among my people. When I came to Mecca I went to some of the notable men of Quraysh. They told me, ‘You are a poet and a chief, but we fear that this man will meet you and affect you with some of his words. His speech is nothing but sorcery. Beware lest he sow among you and your tribe what he has sown among us, for he has set a man against his brother, a man against his wife, and a man against his son.’
“By Allah, they kept talking to me about him and forbidding me to listen to him until I said, ‘By Allah, I shall not enter the Mosque unless my ears are tightly stopped up.’ So I stuffed my ears with cotton (1) and went early to the Mosque. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was standing there, and I stood near him. Allah, however, willed that I should hear some of his words.
“I said to myself, ‘By Allah, this is sheer weakness! I am a steady man; good and evil do not escape me. By Allah, I will listen to him; if what he brings is guidance I will accept it, and if not I will avoid it.’ I therefore removed the cotton, and I had never heard speech more beautiful than the words he was uttering.
“I exclaimed, ‘Glory be to Allah! Never have I heard words as fine and as splendid as these.’
“When he left, I followed him and entered his house with him. I said, ‘Muhammad, your people came to me and said such-and-such,’ and I informed him of what they had said. ‘Yet Allah allowed me to hear what you proclaim, and it has settled in my heart that it is the truth; so present your religion to me.’
“He presented Islam to me, and I embraced it. Then I said, ‘I am returning to Daws, where I am obeyed. I shall invite them to Islam—perhaps Allah will guide them. So pray to Allah to grant me a sign.’
“He supplicated, ‘O Allah, grant him a sign that will aid him.’
“I departed until I came in sight of the mountain pass of my people; my aged father was there, as were my wife and children. When I reached the top of the pass, Allah placed between my eyes a light like a meteor, visible to anyone in the darkness of night as I was descending.
“So I said, ‘O Allah, not upon my face…’"