He again lost consciousness; when he drew a deep breath he recited:

(from al-Khafīf metre)
“Every life, however long its span may stretch,
must one day taste decline and pass away.
Would that before the vision now before my eyes
I had dwelt among the mountain crags, herding wild goats.” (1)

She said: Then he died.

The Messenger of God ﷺ remarked, “Fāri‘ah, the case of your brother is like that of the man to whom God gave His signs, ‘but he slipped away from them’ (2) – and so on in the verse.”

Al-Khattābī has explained the unusual expressions in this ḥadīth.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir relates, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, that Umayyah ibn Abī al-Ṣalt once said:

(from al-Basīṭ metre)
“Will no messenger rise from among ourselves to tell us
how far the end of our journey lies from the summit of Mujrānā?” (3)

Al-Zuhrī continued: Umayyah ibn Abī al-Ṣalt then travelled to Bahrain, while the Messenger of God ﷺ was being commissioned. Umayyah remained in Bahrain for eight years. Afterwards he returned to al-Ṭāʾif and asked the people there, “What is Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh saying?”

They answered, “He claims to be a prophet—the very thing you used to hope for.”

So Umayyah set out until he reached Mecca and met him.

He said, “O son of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, what is this that you are proclaiming?”

The Prophet replied, “I proclaim that I am the Messenger of God and that there is no deity but Him.”

Umayyah said, “I wish to speak with you; give me an appointment for tomorrow.”

The Prophet said, “Your appointment is tomorrow.”

Umayyah asked, “Do you prefer that I come alone or with a group of my companions, and that you likewise come alone or with some of yours?”

The Messenger of God ﷺ replied, “Whichever you wish.”

Umayyah said, “Then I shall come with a group, and you come with a group.”

When morning came, Umayyah arrived with a party of Quraysh, and the Messenger of God ﷺ came with several of his Companions. They sat in the shade of the Ka‘bah.

Umayyah began: he delivered an oration, followed it with rhymed prose, and then recited poetry. When he had finished he said, “Answer me, O son of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib.”

The Messenger of God ﷺ recited: “In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. Yā Sīn. By the Wise Qur’an….” When he completed the sūrah, Umayyah sprang up, dragging his cloak behind him.

The Quraysh followed him, asking, “What do you say, Umayyah?”

He replied, “I testify that he is upon the truth.”

They said, “Will you follow him, then?”

He answered, “I must reflect further on the matter.”

Umayyah then departed for Syria, while the Messenger of God ﷺ emigrated to Madinah. After the people of Badr had been slain, Umayyah returned from Syria and halted at Badr. He then set out intending to meet the Messenger of God ﷺ. Someone said to him, “Abū al-Ṣalt, where are you going?”

He replied, “To Muḥammad.”

He was asked, “And what will you do?”

He said, “I will believe in him and submit myself to him.”