He went on to say, “By Allah! Were it not for the fear that my companions would later accuse me of lying, I would certainly have fabricated something against him.”

Then Heraclius said to his interpreter, “Ask him: How is this man’s lineage among you?”

I replied, “He is of noble lineage among us.”

He asked, “Was there ever a king among his forefathers?”

I said, “No.”

He asked, “Did you ever suspect him of falsehood before he made the claims he now makes?”

I answered, “No.”
[Abu Sufyān] then related the remainder of the report.

Both Ṣaḥīḥ collections also transmit—from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd—the account of Saʿd ibn Muʿādh. When Saʿd said to Umayya, “They will kill you” (meaning the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his Companions), Umayya was alarmed, told his wife what had been said, and she replied, “By Allah, Muḥammad does not lie.” In another version Umayya himself said, “By Allah, Muḥammad does not lie,” and he resolved not to leave Mecca for fear of that warning, declaring, “By Allah, I shall not depart from Mecca,” and intending to stay behind from Badr.

Abū Jahl then said to him, “If the people see that you—being the chief of this valley—remain behind, they too will stay behind.”

So he answered, “Since you have prevailed upon me, I will go and buy the finest camel in Mecca.” Yet when his wife reminded him of Saʿd’s words, he said, “I do not wish to…"