He replied, ‘Who else?’”

In another hadith recorded in the Sahīh:

“My community will surely follow the course of the nations before it, span by span and cubit by cubit.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, the Persians and the Romans?” He replied, “Who else among the peoples could it be?”

There is no doubt that many people acquired learning from the People of the Book and from the Persians and Romans, which they unwittingly incorporated into the Muslims’ learning and religion. Likewise, many teachings of the polytheists of India, Greece, and elsewhere, of the Magians and Persians, and of the Sabians of Greece and elsewhere found their way into the thinking of many later generations, particularly those engaged in philosophy and speculative theology.

Many teachings of the People of the Book—the Jews and Christians—also found their way into a group who were better than these, since the People of the Book were better than the others. When the Muslims conquered these lands, Syria, Egypt, and similar regions were full of Christians and Jews from among the People of the Book. They related to the Muslims accounts from the People of the Book, some true and some false. Among the most prolific transmitters of such accounts was Kaʿb al-Ahbār.

Muʿāwiyah—may Allah be pleased with him—said: “Among those who relate accounts to us from the People of the Book, we have seen no one more truthful than Kaʿb, although we would sometimes find falsehood in his reports.”

It is well known that the bulk of Kaʿb’s material consisted of what he transmitted from their books. And if