with the fever and died from it. His wife thereupon gathered whatever writings he had with him and burned them.

Shuʿbah said: Samak ibn Ḥarb narrated to us; he said, I heard ʿAbbād ibn Ḥabīsh relate on the authority of ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim: “While I was at ʿAqrab, a detachment of the Messenger of Allah’s cavalry arrived and seized my aunt along with some other people. When they were brought before the Messenger of Allah, she said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, our envoy is absent, our protector is gone, and I am an old woman; so show me favour—may Allah show you favour!’ He asked, ‘Who is your envoy?’ She replied, ‘ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim.’ He said, ‘The one who fled from Allah and His Messenger?’ She repeated her plea, and a man sitting next to him—she thought he was ʿAlī—said to her, ‘Ask him for a riding animal.’ So he ordered that a mount be given to her.

“She came to me and said, ‘You have acted in a way your father would never have done. Go to him—whether you wish to or not. So-and-so went to him and obtained something, and so-and-so went to him and obtained something.’

“So I went to him. I found him with a woman and children—or a child—and it was mentioned how close they were to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. I realised then that he was no worldly king like Chosroes or Caesar, and I accepted Islam. I saw his face brighten and he said, ‘Those who have incurred wrath are the Jews, and those who are astray are the Christians.’” He mentioned the remainder of the report.

Hammād ibn Zayd narrated from Ayyūb, from Muḥammad, who said: Abū ʿUbaydah ibn Ḥudhayfah related that a man said, “I used to enquire about the report of ʿAdiyy even though he was sitting right beside me, yet I did not ask him. Eventually I approached him and he said: ‘Allah sent Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and I hated him more than anything I had ever hated. I therefore travelled to the furthest part of the Arab lands, toward the Byzantine frontier. Then I grew weary of my exile and said, “Why not go to him and listen to him myself?” So I came to Medina. The people craned their necks toward me and said, “ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim has come, ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim has come!” He said: “O ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim, accept Islam and you will be safe.” I replied, “I follow a religion.” He said: “I know your religion better than you do. Are you not a Rakusian?” I said, “Yes.” He said: “Are you not the leader—”