– traders in al-Shām during the period in which the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had concluded a truce with Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and the idolaters of Quraysh. They presented themselves before him while he was in Iliyaʾ (Jerusalem). He summoned them to his court, the grandees of Rome seated around him, and had them brought forward through an interpreter.

He said, “Which of you is closest in lineage to the man who claims to be a prophet?”

Abu Sufyan answered, “I am the nearest of them in kinship.”

He said, “Bring him nearer, and place his companions behind him.” Then he told his interpreter, “I am going to question this man about the other one; if he lies to me, refute him.”

Abu Sufyan related, “By Allah, were it not for the shame that they might record a lie against me, I would certainly have lied about him. The first thing he asked me was: ‘How is his lineage among you?’ I replied, ‘He enjoys noble lineage among us.’ He said, ‘Has anyone among you ever made such a claim before him?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Was any one of his forefathers a king?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Do the notable people follow him, or the weak?’ I said, ‘Rather, the weak.’ He said, ‘Are they increasing or decreasing?’ I said, ‘They are increasing.’ He said, ‘Does anyone among them apostatize, displeased with the religion after entering it?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Were you ever accustomed to accuse him of lying before he said what he has said?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Does he ever betray?’ I said, ‘No; but we are now in a truce with him, and we do not know what he will do during it.’” Abu Sufyan then commented, “This was the only statement in which I could insinuate anything against him.”

He asked, “Have you fought against him?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “How did your fighting with him go?” I replied, “The war between us and him goes back and forth; sometimes he takes from us and sometimes we take from him.” He said, “What does he command you to do?” I answered, “He says: ‘Worship Allah alone and associate nothing with Him; abandon what your fathers say.’ He commands us to perform the prayer, to speak the truth, to remain chaste, and to maintain kinship ties.”

Then he said to the interpreter, “Tell him: I asked you about his lineage, and you stated that he is of noble descent among you, and that is how the messengers are always sent—among the noblest of their people. I asked you whether anyone among you had ever made such a claim…"