ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn ʿUtbah—on the authority of his father and others—each conveyed to me a portion of this account.

He said:

Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah, describing his departure to al-Muqawqis with the clan of Banū Mālik, related that when they were admitted into al-Muqawqis’ presence, the ruler said:

“How did you manage to reach me, escaping from among your own people, when Muhammad and his companions stand between you and us?”

They replied, “We kept to the sea-coast, though we were afraid of it in doing so.”

He asked, “And what have you done about the call he has extended to you?”

They answered, “Not a single man among us has followed him.”

He said, “Why is that?”

They responded, “He has brought us a new religion—one our forefathers never practiced and the king does not practice—and we remain upon what our fathers were upon.”

He asked, “How have his own people dealt with him?”

They said, “His young men have followed him, and those who stayed behind from his people, together with other Arabs, have confronted him in various engagements: sometimes they suffer defeat, and sometimes it is his.”

He said, “Will you not tell me to what exactly he calls?”

They replied, “He summons us to worship Allah alone without partner, to renounce what our fathers used to worship, and he calls to prayer and to zakat (alms-giving).”

He asked, “What are prayer and zakat? Do they have known times and a fixed number?”

They said, “They pray by night and day five prayers, each at its appointed time and in a number they specified.”