and he, too, is upon the truth. Go to him, convey my greetings, tell him that I have placed my trust in him, and I charge you to stay in his company.

When he died, I went to the man he had described, informed him of everything, and he took me in. I remained with him for as long as Allah willed, then death came to him and he commended me to another man who lived near the territory of the Byzantines.

When that man passed away, I went to the one he had pointed out; he welcomed me as well. When he lay on his death-bed I wept, and he said:

‘There is no one left—so far as I know—who still follows the religion of Jesus, but the time has now come, or has already come, for a prophet to emerge in Tihamah. You are on the trade route; ask everyone who passes by you about him. When news reaches you that he has appeared, go to him, for he is the prophet of whom Jesus gave glad tidings. The sign (1) of this is…’—and he mentioned the Seal, the gift, and the charity.

He then died. A group of people from Mecca passed by me, and I asked them. They said, ‘Yes, a man has appeared among us who claims to be a prophet.’

I said to one of them, ‘Will you take me as your servant, carry me on the back of your mount over the pass, and feed me from your scraps?’

A man replied, ‘I will.’

Thus I became his slave until he brought me to Mecca, where he placed me in an orchard of his along with some Abyssinian workers. I went out and made inquiries. I met a woman from my homeland; I asked her, and found that her household had accepted Islam.

She said to me, ‘The Prophet ﷺ sits in the Hijr with his companions when the bird of Mecca cries, and when dawn lightens for them they disperse.’

I went back to the orchard and spent the night slipping out. The Abyssinians said to me, ‘What is wrong with you?’

I answered, ‘My stomach hurts’—I only said that so they would not miss me. When the time she had mentioned arrived, I slipped out and walked until I saw the Prophet ﷺ. He was sitting with his knees drawn up, his companions around him. I approached him from behind; he let his cloak fall, and I saw the Seal of Prophethood between his shoulders.

I exclaimed, ‘Allahu akbar! That is one (sign).’

I withdrew. The next night I collected some fine dates, brought them to the Prophet ﷺ and placed them before him. He asked, ‘What is this?’

I said, ‘Charity.’ … until he said, ‘Go and purchase your freedom.’

So I went to my owner and said, ‘Sell me my freedom.’

He replied, ‘Yes—on condition that you plant…’