He went on, “Are his followers the nobles of the people or their weak ones?” I answered, “Rather, their weak ones.” He asked, “Are they growing in number or dwindling?” I replied, “On the contrary, they are only increasing.” He then said, “Does anyone among them renounce his religion after entering it, out of displeasure with it?” I said, “No.” He asked, “Have you fought him?” I answered, “Yes.” He said, “How did your fighting with him go?” I replied, “The fighting between us and him is a matter of alternation: sometimes he prevails over us and sometimes we prevail over him.” He asked, “Does he ever break his covenants?” I said, “No—though we are currently bound to him by a truce, and we do not know what he will do within it.”

Abū Sufyān then added, “By Allah, I could not insert into my answers a single word other than this (hint of doubt).”

Heraclius continued, “Has anyone before him ever made this claim?” I said, “No.” He then said to his interpreter, “Tell him: I asked you about his lineage, and you claimed that he is of noble descent among you; such indeed is the case with the messengers—they are sent from the best bloodlines of their people. I asked you whether any of his forefathers had been a king; you said no. Had you said yes, I would have concluded that he is a man seeking to reclaim the kingdom of his ancestors. I asked you whether his followers are the weak or the elite; you replied that they are the weak, and they are the typical followers of the messengers. I asked you whether you had ever accused him of lying before he made his claim; you denied it. I therefore understood that he would not refrain from lying to people only to begin lying about Allah. I asked you whether anyone among his followers apostasizes from his religion after embracing it out of displeasure; you said no—and that is how faith is when its sweetness permeates the heart. I asked you whether they are increasing or decreasing; you said they are increasing, and so it is with faith until it reaches completion.”