Salman.’

I replied, ‘No—leave me with these men.’

He said, ‘You will never be able to bear what they bear. They fast from one Sunday to the next, they will not sleep at all tonight, and among them is a prince who abandoned his kingdom and devoted himself to worship.’

I stayed among them until evening, and they began to leave, one by one, each to the cave in which he lived.

He then said to me, ‘O Salman, here is some bread and here is a little relish. Eat whenever you feel hungry, fast whenever you feel energetic, and pray as much as you wish.’

He rose for prayer, spoke not a word to me, and would not so much as look at me. Grief filled my heart for those seven days, until Sunday arrived and we went to their gathering.

At length my companion said, ‘I intend to travel to the Holy House—Bayt al-Maqdis.’ I rejoiced and thought, ‘We shall travel and see people.’

We set out; he would fast from Sunday to Sunday, spend the whole night in prayer, and walk throughout the day. He continued in that fashion until we reached Jerusalem. At its gate sat a cripple begging from the people, who said, ‘Give me something.’ He answered, ‘I have nothing with me.’

We entered the sanctuary, and its people greeted him warmly and rejoiced at his coming. He said to them, ‘This young man of mine—see that you take good care of him.’ They served me bread and meat, while he entered into prayer and did not conclude until the following Sunday.

He then said to me, ‘O Salman, I wish to sleep. When the shadow reaches such-and-such a point, wake me.’ He fell asleep, but I did not wake him, pitying him for the hardship he endured.

He awoke in alarm and said, ‘Did I not tell you?’ Then he added, ‘Know that the best religion today is Christianity.’

I asked—words that were placed upon my tongue—‘Will there come, after today, a religion better than it?’

He replied, ‘Yes. Before long a Prophet will be sent…’ until he said, ‘A party of the Kalb tribe encountered me, seized me, and sold me. In Madinah a man from the Ansar bought me and put me to work among his date-palms, and there I learned the craft of weaving palm-fronds. I would buy raw fronds for one dirham, work them, and sell the finished goods for two; I would reinvest one dirham in fronds and spend the other—how I loved earning with my own hands!

‘Then news reached us that a man had appeared in Mecca claiming that Allah had sent him. He later emigrated to us…’