Such, then, is the report that Abu Sufyan received from Umayya, and that is his account of Heraclius preserved in Sahih al-Bukhari (1); both are clear portents of prophethood transmitted from the scholars of the People of the Book.

Al-Tirmidhi and others relate—through the chain of ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Ghazwan, who is reliable—that Yunus ibn Abi Ishaq narrated from Abu Bakr ibn Abi Musa, from his father, who said:

Abu Talib set out for Syria, and the Prophet ﷺ went with him, together with a group of Quraysh elders. When they came within sight of the monk they dismounted and began to unload their packs. The monk came out to them—although previously they used to pass by him and he would neither emerge nor pay any attention. While they were still loosening their baggage, the monk moved among them until he reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, took him by the hand, and said, “This is the master of the worlds; this is the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds, whom Allah will send as a mercy to all creation.”

The Quraysh elders asked, “How do you know this?”

He replied, “When you ascended the pass, not a tree or a stone remained without falling in prostration, and they prostrate only to a prophet. Moreover, I recognize him by the Seal of Prophethood below the cartilage of his shoulders; it is like an apple.”

The monk then went back and prepared food for them. When he brought it—and he had been tending the camels—he said, “Invite him.” So the Prophet ﷺ came, and a cloud was shading him (2). When he drew near the party he found that they had already reached the shade of the tree, but once he sat down the tree’s shade inclined toward him.