983 — Abū Bakr Abd Allāh ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Hamīd al-Wāsitī narrated to us, saying: Abd Allāh ibn Shabīb al-Basrī narrated to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Umar al-Jubayrī, a descendant of Jubayr ibn Mutim, narrated to us, saying: Umm Uthmān, daughter of Saīd ibn Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mutim, narrated to me from her father, from his father, who said: I heard Jubayr ibn Mutim say:
“When Allah—Mighty and Majestic—sent His Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and his cause became manifest in Mecca, I departed for Syria. When I was in Bosra, a group of Christians came to us and asked, ‘Are you one of the people of the Sacred Precinct?’ ⦗1460⦘
“I replied, ‘Yes.’
“They asked, ‘Do you know this man among you who has claimed to be a prophet?’
“I replied, ‘Yes.’
“They took me into one of their monasteries, in which there were statues and images. They said, ‘Look. Do you see the likeness of this man who has been sent among you?’
“I replied, ‘I do not see his likeness.’
“They then took me into another of their monasteries, which was larger than the first, and asked, ‘Do you see his likeness?’ I did see it, but I said, ‘I will not tell you until you tell me what you know.’ There before me were the description and likeness of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and the description and likeness of Abū Bakr, who was following close upon the heels of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. ⦗1461⦘
“They asked, ‘Do you see his likeness?’
“I replied, ‘Yes, but I will not tell you until I know what you have to say.’
“They asked, ‘Is this he?’
“I replied, ‘Yes.’
“They asked, ‘Do you recognize the man following at his heels?’
“I replied, ‘Yes.’
“They said, ‘We bear witness that this is your companion and that the other is the caliph who will succeed him.’”
Muhammad ibn al-Husayn—may Allah have mercy on him—said: I have already related the account of Heraclius, king of the Romans, and his questioning of Abū Sufyān—may Allah have mercy on him—about the description of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—whereby he recognized the truth of his prophethood. I have also related the account of Dihyah al-Kalbī, whom the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—sent to Caesar, ruler of the Romans. A bishop who was one of the Christian dignitaries was then brought before him. When Dihyah described the Prophet to him, the cleric believed in him and knew ⦗1462⦘ that he was the Prophet whom they found described in the Gospel. The Christians therefore killed him.
Caesar likewise knew that he was the Prophet, but his soul recoiled at the prospect of being killed. He therefore said to Dihyah, “Tell your companion that he is indeed a Prophet, but I will not relinquish my kingdom.”
I have also related the account of Salmān the Persian—may Allah have mercy on him—his service to the monks, and the account of the monk who acquainted him with the description of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—telling him that he would be sent forth from Mecca and instructing him to follow him. That is indeed what happened, and Salmān—may Allah have mercy on him—then embraced Islam. I have related all of this in the section on his virtues—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
I have also related how the jinn and devils attested to his truth and informed their human allies of the mission of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Consequently, a group of Arabs believed, forsook their idols, and became sincere in their practice of Islam.