upon him in Mecca.
I asked, “What are you?”
He replied, “I am a prophet.”
I said, “And what is a prophet?”
He answered, “Allah has sent me.”
I asked, “With what has He sent you?”
He said, “He has sent me to maintain the ties of kinship, to smash idols, and so that Allah alone is worshipped with no partner beside Him.”
I then asked, “Who is with you in this?”
He replied, “A freeman and a slave.”
At that time Abu Bakr and Bilal were with him.
I said, “I will follow you.”
He said, “You will not be able to do so today. Do you not see my situation and that of the people? Return to your family, and when you hear that I have become manifest, come to me.”
So I returned to my family. After that, the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—migrated to Madinah. While I was with my people I kept asking for news and questioning travellers, until some men of Yathrib, the people of Madinah, arrived.
I asked, “What has become of the man who has reached Madinah?”
They said, “People are flocking to him quickly; his own tribe wished to kill him but were unable.”
I then went to Madinah and entered upon him. I said, “O Messenger of Allah, do you recognise me?”
He replied, “Yes—you are the one who met me in Mecca.”
I said, “O Prophet of Allah, teach me what Allah has taught you, for I do not know it. Tell me about the prayer.”
He said, “Pray…”