Abū Sufyān continued:
“By Allah, while my companions and I were in Gaza, a detachment suddenly descended upon us and asked, ‘Who are you?’ When we told them, they marched us all to him. By Allah, I have never seen a man whom I would deem more astute than that uncircumcised ruler—meaning Heraclius.
When we were brought before him he said, ‘Which of you is most closely related to him?’
I replied, ‘I am.’
He said, ‘Bring him nearer.’
He seated me in front of him, had my companions sit behind me, and said to them, ‘If he lies, correct him.’
I knew that if I lied they would not refute me, yet I was a nobleman who regarded lying as dishonourable and shameful. I also realised that at the very least they would repeat my words and relate them about me in Mecca, so I did not lie.
He asked, ‘Tell me about this man who has appeared among you.’ I tried to belittle him and minimize his affair, but, by Allah, he paid no heed to that and said, ‘Inform me only about what I ask you concerning him.’
I said, ‘Ask whatever you wish.’
He said, ‘What is his lineage among you?’
I answered, ‘He is of the purest stock (1), from the middle of our lineages.’
He said, ‘Has anyone in his family ever uttered such a claim, so that he is merely imitating him?’
I said, ‘No.’
He said, ‘Did he possess kingship that you wrested from him, prompting him to bring this message to regain his rule?’
I said, ‘No.’
He said, ‘Tell me about his followers—who are they?’
I replied, ‘The young, the weak, and the poor; none of the nobles or elders (2) follow him.’
He said, ‘Those who join him—do they love him and remain with him, or do they detest him and leave?’
I said, ‘Hardly anyone joins him and then departs.’
He said, ‘Tell me about the fighting between you and him.’
I replied, ‘It is alternating: sometimes he defeats us and sometimes we defeat him.’
He said, ‘Does he betray?’ I could find nothing with which to accuse him except this, so I said, ‘No—but we are in a truce with him now, and we are not sure he will remain faithful to it.’ Yet, by Allah, he disregarded that remark of mine.
He then repeated the matter to me, saying, ‘You claim that he is of your purest lineage, and that indeed is how Allah chooses a Prophet—He chooses him only from the heart of his people. I asked you whether anyone in his family had ever said the like of what he is saying, and you said no. I asked you whether he had held kingship that you had taken from him, and you said no. I asked you about his followers, and you said they are the young, the poor, and the weak; such are the followers of the Prophets in every age. I asked you about those who follow him—whether they love him and remain with him or detest him and leave—and you said that scarcely anyone who joins him then abandons him; such is the sweetness of faith—once it enters a heart it never departs. I asked you about the war between you and him, and you said it is alternating, victory passing between you; that is how the wars of the Prophets are, and in the end the outcome is theirs. I asked you whether he betrays, and you said he does not betray. If you have spoken the truth, he will soon possess the very ground beneath these two feet of mine, and I would love to be with him so that I might wash the dust from his feet.’
He then said, ‘Return to your affairs.’
I rose, striking one hand against the other, and said, ‘People of Allah, the affair of the son of Abū Kabshah (3) has grown so great that the kings of Banū …’