A similar report is transmitted concerning Khālid ibn Sinān al-ʿAbsī,(1) but it too is not sound. On the face of it, these statements point to Satīḥ’s possessing considerable knowledge and carry a scent of veracity; nevertheless, as al-Jarīrī observed, he did not live to witness Islam.
Indeed, in this very account we have quoted that he said to his sister’s son:
“O ʿAbd al-Masīḥ, when the recitation becomes widespread, the bearer of the staff appears, the valley of al-Samāwah overflows, Lake Sāwah dries up, and the fire of Persia is extinguished, then Syria is no longer Satīḥ’s Syria. Kings—and even queens—will rule among them, as numerous as the battlements; and whatever is destined to come will surely come.”
Satīḥ then passed away. That occurred one month—or slightly less—after the birth of the Messenger of God ﷺ. His death took place on the fringes of Syria, toward the Iraqi border—God knows best his state and his ultimate fate.
Ibn Ṭarār al-Jarīrī(3) states that he lived seven hundred years; others say five hundred, and it is also said three hundred—God knows best.
Ibn ʿAsākir(4) relates that a king once asked Satīḥ about the lineage of a boy whose parentage was disputed. Satīḥ supplied the unambiguous answer in eloquent, polished speech. The king then said, “O Satīḥ, will you not tell me the source of this knowledge of yours?”
He replied, “This knowledge is not from me—neither with certainty nor conjecture—but rather I took it from a jinn brother of mine who heard the revelation on Mount Sinai.”(5)
The king asked, “And this jinn brother of yours—does he remain with you and never leave?”
He answered, “He departs wherever I depart, and I utter nothing except what he dictates.”
We have already noted that Satīḥ and Shiqq ibn Ṣaʿb ibn Yashkur ibn Ruhm ibn Qasr ibn ʿAbqar—the other soothsayer—were born on the same day. They were taken to the soothsayer woman Ṭarīfah bint al-Ḥusayn al-Ḥimyarīyah, who spat into their mouths; they inherited soothsaying from her, and she died that very day. Satīḥ was half a man in form, and it is said that Khālid ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Qasrī was among his descendants. Shiqq pre-deceased Satīḥ by many years.
As for ʿAbd al-Masīḥ ibn ʿAmr ibn Qays ibn Ḥayyān ibn Buqaylah, the Christian Ghassānid, he was one of those who lived to an exceptionally great age.