Then Nebuchadnezzar remained in power for as long as Allah willed. He then had an extraordinary dream in which he saw something that struck him, but Allah caused him to forget what he had seen. So he summoned Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, who were descendants of the Prophets, and asked them about it. They said, “Tell us of it, and we shall tell you its interpretation.” He said, “I do not remember it; but if you do not inform me of it and of its interpretation, I shall tear off your shoulders.”

They left his presence and called upon Allah, humbling themselves before Him, and He informed them of what he had asked them about. They came to him and said, “You saw a statue whose feet and legs were of clay, whose knees and thighs were of copper, whose belly was of silver, whose chest was of gold, and whose head and neck were of iron.” He said, “You have spoken the truth.” They said, “As you were looking at it, admiring it, Allah Most High sent down a stone from heaven which crushed it; that is what caused you to forget it.” He said, “You have spoken the truth.” He then asked, “What is its interpretation?”

They said, “Its interpretation is that you saw the kingdoms of kings: some were more gentle in their rule, some better in their rule, and some more formidable in their rule. Clay is the weakest of them; above it is copper, which is stronger; above copper is silver, which is better and more excellent; and gold is better and more excellent than silver. Then comes iron, which is your kingdom: it is stronger and mightier than what came before it. As for the stone which you saw Allah send down from heaven and which crushed it, it is a Prophet whom Allah will send from heaven; he will crush all of that, and authority will pass to him.”

Then the people of Babylon said ⦗206/b⦘ to Nebuchadnezzar, “Have you considered these boys from among the Children of Israel, whom we had asked you to give us and whom you did give us? Since they have been with us, we have found our wives changed toward us: we have seen them turn their faces away from us toward them. So drive them out from among us, or kill them.” He said, “They are yours to deal with. Whoever among you wishes to kill the one in his possession, let him do so.”

When they brought them forward to be killed, they wept and cried out to Allah Most High, saying, “Our Lord, this affliction has befallen us because of the sins of others.” Allah promised to answer them, and they were killed, except for those whom Nebuchadnezzar spared: Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael.

Then, when Allah willed Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction, he arose and said to the Children of Israel in his possession, “Have you seen this House which I destroyed, and the people from among them whom I killed? What is this House?” They replied, “This is the House of Allah, and these were its people. They were descendants of the Prophets, but they wronged and transgressed, so you were given power over them because of their sins. Their Lord was the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and the Lord of all creation. He had honored and exalted them; but when they did what they did, Allah destroyed them and gave others power over them.”

Thereupon he grew arrogant and thought that it was through his own might that he had done this to the Children of Israel. He said, “Tell me: how can I ascend to the highest heaven, kill whoever is there, and make it my kingdom? I have finished with the earth.” They said, “No creature has the power to do that.” He said, “You shall do it, or I shall kill every last one of you.” So they wept and humbled themselves before Allah Most High.

Then Allah, by His power, sent a mosquito against him. It entered his nostril and bit the membrane of his brain. He could find no rest or peace until his head was struck over it. When he died, they split open his head and found the mosquito biting the membrane of his brain, so that Allah might show His servants His power. Allah delivered those Children of Israel who remained in his grasp, and they were brought back to Syria, where they built and multiplied until they had returned to their best condition.