—before any child had yet been born to me. (1)

Al-Masʿūdī narrated—from Sulaymān ibn Mīnā, from Nuwayfiʿ, the freedman of Ibn Masʿūd—that:
“ʿAbd Allah had the finest white garments of anyone and exuded the most pleasant fragrance.”

Yaʿqūb ibn Shaybah said: Bishr ibn Mihrān related to me; Shurayk narrated to us, from ʿUthmān ibn al-Mughīrah, from Zayd ibn Wahb, who said:
ʿAbd Allah recounted, “The very first thing I ever learned about the affair of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was this: I came to Mecca with a group of my uncles—or some people from my clan—to purchase goods. One of the items we sought was perfume, so we were directed to al-ʿAbbās.

“We found him seated by Zamzam and sat down with him. While we were in his company, a man approached from the Ṣafā Gate. He was fair-skinned with a reddish hue, his wavy hair falling halfway to his ears. His nose was high-bridged and finely shaped, his eyes large and dark, his incisors bright, a fine line of hair ran down his chest, and his hands and feet were sturdy. He wore a thick beard and two white garments, and he looked like the full moon on a clear night. Walking on his right was a handsome youth, just at or past the age of puberty, and behind them came a woman who had concealed her beauty.

“The man went straight to the Black Stone and touched it; the youth did the same, and so did the woman. He then circumambulated the House seven times, with the two of them accompanying him. Next he faced the Corner, raised his hands and proclaimed ‘Allāhu akbar’, then stood, bowed, prostrated, and arose once more. We witnessed (2) something unfamiliar to us—an act we had never seen in Mecca.

“So we turned to al-ʿAbbās and said, ‘Abū al-Faḍl, has a new religion appeared among you, or is this something we have never known?’

“He replied, ‘Indeed—by Allah—you do not recognize this. This is my nephew, Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah; the youth is ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib; and the woman is his wife, Khadījah bint Khuwaylid. By Allah, we know of no one on the face of the earth who worships Allah by this religion except these three.’”} } }
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