He said: Among the people were some who had been to al-Aqsa Mosque, so they said, “Can you describe the mosque to us?” He replied, “Yes.” He said: “I began describing it, but as I continued to do so, some of its features became confused to me. Then the mosque was brought before me as I looked at it, until it was placed before the house of Aqil. Thus I described the mosque while looking at it.” The people said, “As for the description, by Allah, he has given it correctly.”

Then they said, “O Muhammad, tell us about our caravan, for it is of greater concern to us. Did you encounter anything of it?” He said, “Yes. I passed by the caravan of such-and-such a clan at al-Rawha. They had lost one of their camels and were searching for it. Among their baggage was a drinking vessel containing water. I became thirsty, so I took it and drank from it, then put it back as it had been. Ask them whether they found water in the vessel when they returned to it.” They said, “This is a sign.”

He said, “I also passed by the camel of such-and-such a clan. So-and-so and so-and-so were riding a young camel belonging to them at Dhu Tuwa. Their camel was startled by me and threw so-and-so off, breaking his hand. Ask them about that.” They said, “And this too is a sign.” They then said, “Tell us about our own caravan.” He said, “I passed by it at al-Tanim.” They asked, “What is its number, its loads, its appearance, and who is in it?” He said, “Yes. Its appearance is such-and-such, and among it are so-and-so and so-and-so. It is led by a grayish camel carrying two sewn sacks, and it will arrive among you at sunrise.” They said, “And this too is a sign.”

Then they hurried toward the mountain pass, saying, “By Allah, Muhammad has indeed related something and made it clear.” When they reached Kuda, they sat there waiting for the sun to rise so that they could declare him a liar. Then one of them said, “By Allah, here is the sun rising!” Another said, “And by Allah, here are the camels arriving, led by a grayish camel, with so-and-so and so-and-so among them, just as he told them.” Yet they did not believe, and said, “This is nothing but clear magic.” (1)

Ismail ibn Abd al-Qahir informed us; Abd al-Ghafir ibn Muhammad informed us; Muhammad ibn Isa al-Juludi informed us; Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Sufyan informed us; Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj narrated to us; Zuhayr ibn Harb narrated to me; Hajar ibn al-Muthanna narrated to us; Abd al-Aziz—who was Ibn Abi Salamah—informed us, from Abdullah ibn al-Fadl, from Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“I saw myself in al-Hijr while Quraysh were questioning me about my night journey. They asked me about matters concerning Jerusalem which I had not retained, and I was distressed as I had never been distressed before. Then Allah raised it before me, and whatever they asked me about, I informed them of it. I also saw myself among a group of prophets: Moses was standing in prayer, a man of medium build with curly hair, as though he were one of the men of Shanuah; Jesus was standing in prayer, and the person who most closely resembled him was Urwah ibn Masud al-Thaqafi; and Abraham was standing in prayer, and the one who most closely resembled him was your companion”—meaning himself. “Then the time for prayer came, and I led them in prayer. When I had finished the prayer, someone said to me, ‘O Muhammad, this is Malik, the keeper of the Fire, so greet him.’ I turned toward him, but he greeted me first.” (2)