was a soothsayer who studied the stars. One night he examined them and declared, “The king of the circumcised has now emerged. Who among this nation is circumcised?” They replied, “The Jews practice circumcision, so pay them no mind. Send orders throughout your dominion that the Jews be put to death.”

Later he came upon a man from the Arabs and said, “See whether he is circumcised.” They looked and found that he was indeed circumcised. Heraclius then asked him about the Arabs, and the man answered, “They practice circumcision.”

Ibn an-Nātur also said: “Heraclius had in Rome a colleague equal to him in learning, so he wrote to him and then set out for Ḥims. He did not leave Ḥims until a letter reached him from that colleague confirming his view that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had appeared and that he was truly a prophet.”

The same happened with the Negus, the king of Abyssinia. When the Companions migrated to him—after the idolaters had persecuted them and they feared being forced from their religion—and they recited the Quran before him, he picked up a twig between two fingers and said, “Jesus son of Mary did not exceed what you have said by so much as this twig.” His bishops snorted in disapproval, but he said, “Even if you snort! Go …”