and from that day on he never again took the boy with him on any journey, fearing for his safety. ⦗1⦘

Al-Ḥākim, al-Bayhaqī, and others ⦗2⦘ relate—through the chain of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Idrīs, from Shurahbīl ibn Muslim, from Abū Umāmah, from Hishām ibn al-ʿĀṣ—that Hishām said:

“I and another man from Quraysh went to Heraclius, ruler of Byzantium, to invite him to Islam. We traveled until we reached the Ghūṭah of Damascus and lodged with Jabalah ibn al-Ayyham al-Ghassānī. When we entered to see him, we found him seated upon a throne. He sent an emissary to speak with us, but we said, ‘No, by Allah, we will not speak to a go-between. We have been sent to the king himself; if he permits us we will address him, otherwise we will not speak to the envoy.’ The messenger returned and conveyed our words, whereupon he granted us audience and said, ‘Speak.’ Hishām ibn al-ʿĀṣ then addressed him and called him to Islam.

He was dressed in black garments ⦗3⦘, so Hishām asked, ‘What is this attire you are wearing?’ He replied, ‘I have put this on and sworn not to take it off until I drive you out of Syria.’ We responded, ‘As for this very seat of yours, by Allah, we shall take it from you, and we shall seize the dominion of the greatest emperor as well; our Prophet has promised us this.’

He said, ‘You are not those people; rather, they are a people who fast by day and break their fast ⦗4⦘ by night. How do you fast?’ We explained our practice to him, whereupon his face darkened completely ⦗5⦘ and he said, ‘Leave.’”