of ʿAbd al-Qays, who said that he heard ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz say:

“A man to whom Salmān had told his story related to me that, when Salmān recounted the matter to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he said:

‘The master of ʿAmmūriyah told me: “When you see a certain man from the land of Syria, between two groves—he passes from this grove to that one once each year; the people flock to him, he treats the sick, he prays for them and they are cured—then go to him and ask him about the religion that people are searching for.”

So I went and stayed with the people between those two groves. When the night arrived on which he was expected to come out of the grove, he emerged, but the crowd reached him before I could. He entered the other grove and disappeared from my sight save for his shoulders. I reached out, seized his shoulders, and he did not turn toward me but said, “What is the matter with you?”

I said, “I am asking about the religion of Abraham, the upright monotheist.”

He replied, “You are certainly asking(1) about something that people today never ask about. A prophet is now imminent; he will depart from beside this House in Mecca bringing the very religion you are inquiring about. Go to him.” Then he went on his way.’

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If you have spoken the truth, then you have met the trustee of Jesus son of Mary.”(2)

Ibn Isḥāq alone transmitted this report.

qāṭin al-nār: one who abides permanently in the Fire.

Banū Qaylah: the Anṣār.

al-faqīr: a pit or trench.

al-wadī: a stone monument.

Yūnus also narrated—on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq—that ʿĀṣim told him, “A man who heard ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to me something similar to what has just been mentioned,” and in that version occurs the wording: “A prophet is imminent; he will emerge among the people of this House …”