974 — Abū Alī also narrated to us, saying: Ahmad narrated to us, saying: Yūnus ibn Bukayr narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Ishāq, who said: “Waraqa ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn Abd al-Uzzā ibn Qusayy said the following concerning what Khadīja—may Allah be pleased with her—had told him about the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—as they recount:

[Tawīl meter]

If what you have told us is true, O Khadīja, then know:
Ahmad is indeed a messenger.

Gabriel comes to him, and Michael; with them both
comes revelation sent down from Allah, bringing solace to the heart.

Through it, whoever repents in this world shall prosper,
while the obstinate, wayward misleader shall be wretched through it.

There are two groups: one shall dwell in His Gardens,
and the other shall be shackled amid the manifold torments of Hell.

⦗1444⦘

Whenever they cry out, ‘Woe!’ therein, blow after blow
from iron maces rains upon their heads from above.

Glory be to Him by whose command the winds blow,
and who, throughout all time, does whatever He wills;

whose Throne is above all the heavens,
and whose decrees concerning His creation can never be changed.

Waraqa ibn Nawfal also said concerning this:

[Basīt meter]

O men! Behold the vicissitudes of time and fate:
nothing Allah has decreed can ever be changed.

So now Khadīja summons me to inform her,
though she knows nothing of the hidden unseen.

She came to ask me about him, that I might tell her
of a matter I believe shall come upon people in generations to come.

Then she told me of a matter I had heard about
in ages and eras long since passed:

that Gabriel comes to Ahmad and tells him,
‘You have been sent to humankind.’

So I said, ‘Perhaps God will fulfill for you what you hope for;
hope for good, then, and wait.

Send him to us, that we may question him
about his affair—what he sees asleep and awake.’

When he came to us, he spoke wondrous words
that made the hair upon one’s skin stand on end:

‘I saw Allah’s trusted emissary face me
in a form perfected among the most awe-inspiring forms.

Then he went on, while fear nearly overwhelmed me,
as the trees all around me greeted me.’

⦗1445⦘

I said, ‘This is what I believe, though I do not know whether it will prove true:
he shall be sent forth, reciting revealed surahs.

And if you openly summon them, I shall prove my mettle before you
in jihad, neither grudgingly nor resentfully.’”