He said, “I would have preferred that every time you uttered it everything around you quaked, and that I had relinquished half of my kingdom.” We asked, “Why?” He replied, “Because then the matter would be easier to account for and more likely (1) not to be a sign of prophethood but simply one of people’s tricks.”

He then asked what we had come for, and we informed him. After that he said, “Tell me about your prayer and your fasting.” We explained, and he said, “Stand up.” We rose, and he ordered that we be given a comfortable residence and abundant provisions (2). We stayed for three days.

That night he sent for us. We entered his presence, and he asked us to repeat what we had said; we repeated it. Then he produced something shaped like a large, gilded rabʿa (3) with small compartments, each closed by a door. He opened (4) one compartment, unlocked it, and took out a piece of black silk. When he unfolded it, there appeared a red image: a man with enormous eyes and broad hips, the like of whose long neck I had never seen. He had no beard, and from either side of his head hung two braids, one of the finest forms Allah has created. He asked, “Do you recognize this?” We said, “No.” He said, “This is Adam, peace be upon him; he had the most abundant hair of all people.”

He then opened another compartment and brought out another piece of black silk (5). Inside was a white image: the man portrayed had tightly curled hair (6), reddish eyes, a large head, and a comely beard (7). He asked, “Do you recognize this?” We said, “No.” He said, “This is Noah, peace be upon him.”