His master shouted, “What is the matter with you? Get back to your work!” He answered: (1)

How can I turn away
when my true business is in your house?

Then the unspoken language of his heart burst into song—music even the deaf would have heard:

My two companions, by God I am no longer yours,
once a banner from Layla’s clan has risen before me. (2)

When at last he met the Messenger, he compared the monks’ transcript with the Book of origin and found them in perfect agreement. “Muhammad, you are seeking Abū Ṭālib, but we are seeking Salmān.

Abū Ṭālib—when asked his name, he would say, ‘ʿAbd Manāf.’ When lineage was discussed, he boasted of his forefathers; when wealth was mentioned, he counted his camels. As for Salmān, when asked his name he said, ‘ʿAbd Allāh’; when asked his lineage he said, ‘Son of Islam’; when asked about his property he said, ‘Poverty’; when asked about his shop he said, ‘The mosque’; when asked about his livelihood he said, ‘Patience’; when asked about his clothing he said, ‘God-consciousness and humility’; when asked about his pillow he said, ‘Wakeful nights’; when asked what he took pride in he said, “Salmān is one of us”; when asked what he sought he quoted, “They seek only His Face” ⦗Al-Anʿām 52⦘; when asked about his journey he said, ‘To Paradise’; and when asked who guided him on the road he said, ‘The leader of creation and the guide of the imams.’ (3)

When we set out in the darkness of night and you are our guide,
the mere sweetness of your remembrance spurs the mounts along.

And if we lose the way and find no signpost,
the light of your face alone will lead us aright. (4)