Quraysh, for their part, wanted Persia to prevail, for neither they nor the Persians were People of the Scripture, nor did they believe in resurrection. When Allah revealed this verse, Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq—may Allah be pleased with him—went out into the quarters of Mecca, proclaiming at the top of his voice:

“Alif-Lām-Mīm. The Romans have been defeated in the nearest land; yet after their defeat they will be victorious within a few years. To Allah belongs the command before and after.” (al-Rum 1–4)

Some men from Quraysh said to Abu Bakr, “That will be the proof between us and you. Your companion claims that the Romans will overcome Persia within a few years—shall we not stake a wager on it?” Abu Bakr and the idol-worshippers therefore laid a wager, and the Romans did indeed triumph over Persia within those few years. As a result, many of the polytheists embraced Islam.

Al-Tirmidhi commented: “This hadith is sound, authentic, and singular; we know it only through the narration of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī al-Zinād—meaning that it is singular from this chain. Otherwise, the report is well-known, transmitted by multiple chains among the scholars of Qur’anic exegesis, prophetic biography, hadith, and jurisprudence; indeed, the story is mass-transmitted among the people.”