its bishops—Coptic and Byzantine alike—about the description they possessed of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. There was a Coptic bishop who presided over the Church of Abū Maḥnis; people would bring their sick to him and he would treat them and supplicate (1) for them. I have never seen anyone, though he did not perform the five obligatory prayers (2), exert himself more strenuously in devotion than he did.

So I asked him, “Tell me, has any prophet yet to come?”

He replied, “Yes, and he is the last of them; there is no prophet between him and Jesus. Jesus commanded us to follow him. He is the unlettered Arab Prophet—his name is Aḥmad (3). He is neither tall nor short; a reddish hue shows in his eyes; he is neither completely fair-skinned nor dark. He lets his hair grow, wears coarse garments, and is content with whatever food he finds. His sword rests on his shoulder, and he is undaunted by anyone he meets. He personally takes part in battle, while his Companions would ransom him with their own lives; their love for him surpasses their love for their own children and fathers.

“He will emerge from the land of al-Qaraẓ (4); he comes from a sanctuary and will migrate to a sanctuary—to a land of saline soil and date-palms. He practices the religion of Abraham, girds his waist with a lower garment, and washes his limbs. He has been singled out with favors not granted to the prophets before him: whereas each prophet was sent only to his own people, he has been sent to all humanity; the earth has been made for him a place of prayer and a means of purification—wherever the time of prayer overtakes him he performs tayammum and prays—while those before him were constrained, able to pray only in churches and synagogues (5)."