Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ ibn Umayyah (1).

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then wrote to the Negus, instructing him (2) to send on to him the rest of his Companions who were still with him and to transport them safely. The Negus complied, and they reached Madinah only to find that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was at Khaybar. They therefore set out to join him and arrived to discover that he had already conquered Khaybar. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ spoke to the Muslims, asking that the newcomers be given a share of the spoils, and they did so.

Thus this king of the Christians (3) believed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, affirmed him, and followed him. How many others like him—indeed, even of lesser rank—among the Christians whom Allah has guided have entered the faith! They are many times over more numerous than those who have remained upon Christianity.

Ibn Isḥāq said (4): Twenty men—or close to that number—from among the Christians came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was in Mecca, after news of him had reached them from Abyssinia. They found him in the mosque, sat with him, and spoke to him, while opposite them sat men of Quraysh in their gatherings around the Kaʿbah. When they had finished asking the Messenger of Allah ﷺ what they wished, he invited them to Allah and recited the Quran to them. When they heard it, their eyes overflowed with tears; they responded to him, believed in him, and confirmed his truthfulness, recognizing in him what had been described to them in their own Book. When they rose to depart, Abu Jahl ibn Hishām confronted them along with a group from Quraysh and said, “May Allah disgrace you, company of travelers! Your co-religionists sent you to scout out this man and bring them news of him, and yet you found no reassurance…” (5)