He said, “Whoever sends salām upon Muhammad—whether he has seen him or not—will find Muhammad his intercessor and will have him clasp his hand.”
At that, the sweetness of the Gospel settled in my heart.
He remained in that very spot for a full year. Then he said, “My dear son, you have grown fond of me and I of you. I came to your land for one reason: I had a relative who passed away, and I wished to be near his grave so that I might pray for him and greet him, for God has exalted in the Gospel the right owed to kin. God says: ‘Whoever maintains the bond of kinship has maintained his bond with Me, and whoever severs it has severed himself from Me.’
“Now it seems time for me to set out from here. If you wish to accompany me, I am at your disposal.”
I replied, “You have magnified the right of kinship, yet my mother and my family are here.”
He said, “If you desire to emigrate as Abraham, peace be upon him, emigrated, then leave your mother and your relatives.” He added, “God will reconcile matters between you and them, so that your mother will not pray against you.”
So I went out with him, and we reached Nasibīn. Twelve monks came rushing to meet him, spreading their cloaks before him and saying, “Welcome, our master and keeper of our Lord’s Book!”
He praised God, tears filling his eyes, and said, “If you are honoring me out of reverence for the Majesty of God, then rejoice in beholding God.”
He then said, “I wish to devote myself in worship in this prayer niche of yours for a month. Look after this youth well, for I have found him tender-hearted and quick to comply.”
He remained a month without so much as looking at me, while the monks gathered behind him hoping he would depart, yet he did not. They said to me, “Why don’t you approach him?” I replied, “You have more right to do so than I.” They said, “You are weak, a stranger, a traveler, whereas he is our guest. We cannot interrupt his prayer lest he think we find him burdensome.”
So I went up to him. He shuddered, then knelt on his knees and said, “What is it, my son? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Cold? Do you miss your family?” I said, “Rather, I have obeyed these scholars.”
He asked, “Do you know what the Gospel says?” I answered, “No.” He said, “It says: Whoever obeys the scholars—whether they are corrupt or righteous—and then dies is counted among the ṣiddīqīn (the truly truthful). It has now occurred to me to set out for Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem).”
Then the scholars arrived