They invited him to eat with them, but Zayd ibn ʿAmr said, “My young nephew, I do not partake of anything that has been slaughtered for the idols.”

Muhammad ibn Saʿd reports: Muhammad ibn ʿAmr related to us—as did Abū Bakr ibn Abī Sabrah—from Mūsā ibn Maysarah, from Ibn Abī Mulaykah, from Hujayr ibn Abī Ihāb, who said:

“I saw Zayd ibn ʿAmr at the idol of Buwānah after his return from Syria. He was watching the sun, and when it passed the meridian he faced the Kaʿbah, prayed one rakʿah with two prostrations, and then declared: ‘This is the qiblah of Abraham and Ishmael. I will never worship a stone, pray to it, eat what is slaughtered for it, or seek omens with divining arrows. I shall continue to pray toward this House until I die.’ He would perform the pilgrimage, stand at ʿArafah, and, when reciting the talbiyah, say: ‘Here I am—no partner have You, no equal.’ Then he would leave ʿArafah on foot, repeating: ‘Here I am, a devoted, humbled slave.’

Al-Wāqidī relates: ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā al-Ḥakamī told me, from his father, from ʿĀmir ibn Rabīʿah, who said:

“I heard Zayd ibn ʿAmr ibn Nufayl say, ‘I am waiting for a prophet descended from Ishmael, from the clan of Banū ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. I do not expect to live to see him, yet I believe in him, affirm him, and testify that he is a prophet. If your life is prolonged and you meet him, convey my greeting of peace to him. I will describe him so that he will not be unknown to you.’ I said, ‘Please do.’ He replied, ‘He is a man who is neither tall nor short, with hair that is neither thick nor sparse; a slight redness never leaves his eyes; the seal of prophethood is between his shoulders; his name is Aḥmad. This very town will be his birthplace and the place where he is first sent. His people will then expel him and dislike what he brings, until he migrates to Yathrib, where his mission will triumph. Beware of being deceived about him. I have travelled through every land in search of the religion of Abraham, and everyone I asked—Jew, Christian, or Magian—told me, “That religion lies behind you,” and they described him exactly as I have described him to you, adding, “No prophet remains after him.”’

ʿĀmir ibn Rabīʿah continued, ‘When I embraced Islam I told the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, what Zayd ibn ʿAmr had said and conveyed his greeting. The Prophet returned the greeting, prayed for mercy upon him, and said, “I saw him in Paradise, his robe trailing behind him.”’

Al-Bukhārī records in his Ṣaḥīḥ, under the account of Zayd ibn ʿAmr ibn Nufayl: Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr narrated to us; Fudayl ibn Sulaymān narrated to us; Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah narrated to us; Sālim ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar informed me that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, met Zayd ibn ʿAmr ibn Nufayl in the lower valley of Baldah before revelation had come to him.