Inside it were statues and portraits.

They said to me, “Look—can you see the portrait of the Prophet who has been sent among you?” I looked but could not find his likeness.

I replied, “I do not see his portrait.” They then led me into a monastery larger than the first; inside it were even more statues and portraits than in the previous one.

They said, “Look—do you see his portrait now?” I looked, and there before me was the very description and likeness of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and next to it the description and likeness of Abū Bakr, holding on to the heel of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

They asked, “Do you see his description?”
I answered, “Yes.”
They said, “Is it this one?”—and they pointed to the likeness of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
I said, “Indeed, yes; I bear witness that it is he.”
They asked, “Do you recognise the one holding on to his heel?”
I answered, “Yes.”
They said, “We testify that this is your companion and that he will be the caliph after him.” (1)

Al-Bukhārī also recorded the report (2) in his History from a certain Muḥammad—whose lineage he did not specify—from this same Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar with the same chain, but in abridged form; his wording includes: “There has never been a prophet after whom another prophet did not come—except this Prophet.”

We have already cited in our Tafsīr (3), under the Almighty’s words in Sūrat al-Aʿrāf: “those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find written for them in the Torah and the Gospel; he enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong …” (7:157), what al-Bayhaqī and others have transmitted through Abū Umāmah al-Bāhilī, from Hishām ibn al-ʿĀṣ al-Umayyī:

“I and a man from Quraysh were dispatched to Heraclius, ruler of Byzantium, inviting him to Islam.” He described their meeting with him, how his chamber shook when the name of Allah was mentioned, and how he lodged them in his guest quarters, then summoned them three days later. He produced something like a large chest containing small compartments with doors; inside were images of the prophets embroidered on pieces of silk, from Adam to Muhammad—may Allah’s blessings be upon them all. He began taking them out one by one, identifying each: first Adam, then Noah, then Abraham, and then he quickly brought out the portrait of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

He continued: “He then opened another door, and there appeared a bright image—and it was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

“He asked, ‘Do you recognise this?’ We replied, ‘Yes—Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah,’ and we wept.

“He said, ‘By Allah, is it truly he?’ We answered, ‘Yes, it is he, exactly as we see him.’

“He paused for a while gazing at it, then said, ‘It was meant to be the last compartment, but I brought it forward for you so I could see what you would do.’

“He then completed the narration, bringing out the remaining portraits of the prophets and identifying each for us. At the end we asked him:

“‘From where did you obtain these images? We know they accurately depict the prophets, for we have just seen the portrait of our Prophet ﷺ matching him precisely.’

“He replied, ‘When Adam, peace be upon him, asked his Lord about the prophets among his descendants, He sent down to him their images. They remained in Adam’s treasury at the place where the sun sets until Dhu’l-Qarnayn retrieved them from that western land and entrusted them to Daniel.’

“He then said, ‘By Allah, my soul is now content to relinquish my kingdom, though a servant does not abandon his dominion until he dies.’” (4)