peace be upon them—yet you would kill him?’
ʿAmr said: “At that moment God changed my heart from what it had been, and I thought to myself, ‘The Arabs and non-Arabs alike have recognised this truth—will you alone stand in opposition?’ Then I asked, ‘Your Majesty, do you testify to this?’ He replied, ‘Yes, I bear witness before God, O ʿAmr. So obey me and follow him. By God, he is upon the truth, and he will surely prevail over all who oppose him, just as Moses prevailed over Pharaoh.’
“I said, ‘Will you pledge allegiance with me to him upon Islam?’ He answered, ‘Yes.’ He extended his hand and accepted my pledge of Islam; then he called for a basin, washed the blood from me, and clothed me, for my garments were soaked with blood and I had cast them aside.
“I went out to my companions. When they saw the Negus’s clothing on me they rejoiced and asked, ‘Have you obtained from your host what you wanted?’ I said, ‘I did not wish to speak to him on the first visit; I shall go back to him.’ I then slipped away, as though attending to an errand, and made my way to the harbour. There I found a ship fully loaded and about to set sail, so I boarded. They put out until we reached al-Shaʿbiyya. From there I disembarked with some money, bought a camel, and noticed that two men had not long preceded me to a resting place—one inside a tent, the other standing and holding the two mounts.
“I looked closer, and it was Khalid ibn al-Walid. I said, ‘Abu Sulayman?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ I asked, ‘Where are you headed?’ He said, ‘To Muhammad. People have entered Islam, and no one with any spirit for resistance remains. By God, if I stay, they will seize us by the necks the way a hyena is dragged by the neck from its den.’ I said, ‘By God, I too have set out for Muhammad and for Islam.’ ʿUthman ibn Talḥa then came out, welcomed me, and we all settled together. We travelled as companions to Medina, and I shall never forget a man we met at the monastery of Abu ʿAnaba calling out, ‘Ya Rabāḥ! Ya Rabāḥ!’ Taking it as a good omen, we moved on. He then glanced at us, and I heard him say, ‘After these two, Mecca has surrendered the reins.’ I supposed that