He replied, “My son, by Allah, I know of no one who still follows our way to whom I could direct you, save a man (1) in ʿAmuriyyah, in the land of the Byzantines; he is upon what we are upon. If you wish, go to him.”

When he died and was laid to rest, I went to the man in ʿAmuriyyah and told him my story. He said, “Stay with me,” so I stayed with him—the best of men, steadfast upon the guidance and practice of his companions. I worked until I owned a few heifers (2) and a small flock of sheep. Then Allah’s decree overtook him. When death approached, I said, “O so-and-so, I was with so-and-so who commended me to so-and-so, and so-and-so then commended me to you; to whom do you now commend me, and what do you instruct me?”

He answered, “My son, by Allah, I do not know of anyone left among the people who is still upon what we were upon (3) whom I could tell you to go to. However, the time of a Prophet is imminent. He will be sent with the religion of Abraham and will appear in the land of the Arabs; the place to which he will emigrate (4) is a territory situated between two black rocky tracts, with date-palms between them. He bears unmistakable signs: he accepts gifts but does not eat from charity, and between his shoulders is the Seal of Prophethood. If you can make your way to that land, then do so.” Then he died and was buried.

I remained in ʿAmuriyyah for as long as Allah willed. Then a party of merchants from the Kalb tribe passed by. I said to them, “Take me to the land of the Arabs and I will give you these heifers of mine and this little flock of sheep.” They agreed, so I handed them over and they took me with them. When they reached Wadi al-Qurā they wronged me and sold me to a Jewish man. I stayed with him, and there I saw date-palms, so I hoped that it might be the town my companion had described, though my heart was not yet completely certain.