CHAPTER SIX
A debate between the author and one of the most renowned Jewish scholars.
Once in Egypt, I had a debate with a man who is considered by the Jews to be the most renowned in knowledge and leadership. During the course of speech I said to him:
« In disbelieving Muhammad (peace be upon him ) you have discredited God in the most affronting way.»
«A man like you says that!?»
«Listen to what I have to say. If you say that Muhammad is a tyrannical king who oppressed the people by the sword, who is not a messenger sent by God, who spent twenty three years assuming that he is the Messenger of God, sent out by God , to all the people of the world saying that God bid him to do so-and-so and not to do such-and-such, and then all went to no avail. And then, he says that God made it lawful for him to take into captivity the off-springs and the women of those who disbelieve him and raise enmity against him, to pillage their monies and possessions as booties of war, kill their men, and yet all but to no avail. And that he keenly endeavoured to change the religion of the prophets, evoke hostility in their people, and abrogate their laws – ; if this was the case, then it implies that either God, Most Sublime, was aware of it , seeing it happening and knowing it, or it escaped Him and He did not know about it. If you say He did not know about it, then you would have attributed to Him the most disgraceful degree of ignorance: for it means that a mortal who knew about it is more knowledgeable than He! . If you say that all of these happenings took place with His complete knowledge, it implies that either He was able and capable to have changed the course of events and prevented them , or He is not. If you say He is incapable, then you would have attributed to Him the most infamous degree of decrepitude which is contradictory to godhood . If he is capable but in spite of that He kept providing him with strength , victory, support, and elevation, advancing his word, answering his pleas, empowering him over his foes, showing through him what exceeds a thousand of miracles and virtuous wonders ( Karamat) , making him surmount he whoever reaches him with bad intention and answering every single plea he requested before Him; then you assumption is one of the gravest sorts of inequities and insolence than does not befit any of the prudent men : how about it befitting the Lord of Heavens and the Earth Who bore witness to him by making him steadfast in his message, steadfast in what he says, and by supporting him all the way through !?.» And you call this “false testimony” and “deception” !?
When he heard that he said:
* «God forbid ! That He would help a lying impostor. On the contrary, he is indeed a truthful prophet. He who follows him will be prosperous and fortunate. »
* «Why don’t you then embrace his religion?»
* «Because he was sent to the untaught people who had no Book. As for us, we do have a Book that we follow.»
* «You have totally misconstrued the issue; he taught both the special people and the general public, and made it a widespread statement that he is the Messenger of God to All the people of the world, and that he who does not follow him is an unbeliever destine to be one of the folks of Hellfire. He fought against both . Since his message is proven to be true, believing in him in everything he told you is a must.»
He withheld form replying.
A similar debate took place between some of the Muslim scolars and some of the Jewish people in the lands of al-Maghrib (Morocco) The Muslims said:
«In the copy of the Torah in your hands , up till this day, it mentioned that God said to Moses:
I shall raise for the people of Israel from among their brethren a prophet like unto you. I shall put My words in his mouth . He who disobeys him, I shall revenge from him. »
«This refers t o Joshua bin Noon» said the Jews.
«This could not be possible for many reasons . One of them is that in the last part of Torah there is a verse that reads:
“Among the people of lsrael, no prophet like unto Moses shall be raised.
Secondly, it said :
” from among your brethren ” and the brethren o f the Jews are either the Arabs or the Romaeans . As for the Arabs , they are the people of Ishmael and the Romeans are the people of al-Ays who are the brethren of the people of lsrael. No prophet was raised from among the Romaeans other than Ayyoub (Job) , and he came before Moses. Hence, it does not stand to reason that he is the one this verse in the Torah foretold . This excludes all except the Arabs who are the people of Ishmael, and who are in turn the brethren of the people of lsrael . Also God said in the Torah when He mentioned Ishmael the forefather of the Arabs- that He will put a hair-cloth made tent amidst the lands of his brethren who are the people of Israel. This is a of retoken of the prophethood of his grandson Muhammad who erected his hair-cloth made tent and started the dominion of his people amidst the land of the people of Israel which is the lands of al-Shaam – ( Syria ), the melting point of his dominion as aforementioned : his dominion will be in al- Shaam (Syria).»
«But in the Qur’an it is mentioned:
“To the Madyan people We sent Shu’ayb, one of their own brethren” (al-araaf: 85)
“To the Ad people, (We sent) Hod, one of their (own) brethrent ( al-araaf: 65)
“To the Thanmud people (We sent) Salih, one of their own brethren” (al-A’araaf: 73)
And the Arabs say: “O brother of bani Tameem” to each one of them . By the same token, that is what the phrase – raise for the people of Israel a prophet from among their brethren» – means.
The Muslims said:
«The difference between both situations is obvious. It is illogical to say: the people of lsrael are the brethren of the people of lsrael, or bani (the people of) Tameem are the brethren of Bani Tameem , or bani Hashim are the brethren of bani Hashim. This does not stand to reason in any language of any nation , and this is not the same as saying : Zayd is the brother of bani Tameem, who is the brother of Ad, Salih, and Thamud, That is one of them because he is their brother in kinship . If one says: Ad is the brother of Ad, Thamud is the brother of Thamud , and Madyan is the brother of Madyan , it would be contradictory. This is equal to your saying: bani Israel are the brethren of bani Israel. Replacing one for the other is clearly incorrect.»
The jews said:
«The Torah recounted that He will raise this prophet for the people of lsrael where Muhammad was raised for the Arabs and not for the people of lsrael . This special assignment gives the impression that he was sent out to them, not to the others.»
The Muslims said:
«This is some of the signs of his truthfulness; he declared that he is the Messenger of God to all the people of the world : those who already have a Book, and those who do not. God mentioned in the Torah that He will raise him for them lest they think he is especially sent out for the Arabs and for the people who do not have a Book. A thing is given a special mention to fill the need of the addressee to its mention lest the listener suspects that he is not meant to be included in the general saying, and as a cautioning sign that the exception is in a more befitting situation to know the truth (because it is mentioned in their Books), and it was expressed as such as well for other similar reasons. Therefore, the designation of the people of lsrael in the verse was to prevent any :flickering in understanding that he is sent out for the Arabs specifically. The Most Sublime said:
“In order that thou mayest admonish a people, whose fathers had received no admonition, and who therefore remain heedless (of the Signs of God). “(Yaseen: 6)
Being an admonition to h i s people does not exclude the others from the admonition. If you could recall that he actually did declare himself to be a messenger sent out specifically for the Arabs, you would have provided a proof in favour of your argument. But since his Book (The Qur’an) spoke out the facts and made them known to
both: the special and the general audience, that he is sent out to the people of Israel and to the people other than they; your argument does not hold.»
The Jews said:
* «All of our Jewish forefathers believed that he claimed that for himself; but the followers of abi Isa Ishaq (Abi Isa Ishaq bin Jacob al A sfahani lived during the reign of al-Mansoor (Jaafar al-Mansoor, the second of the Abbasid Kalifs) . He believed that a prophet will be raised especially for the Arabs, and out of ignorance, many Jews will follow him, and that he has a book he among us allege that he is wrote himself in which he made sacrifices unlawful and contradicts many of the Judaic laws. (translator).) a prophet sent out specifically for the Arabs; but we do not agree with their allegation. (One of the Jews looked at another Jew beside him and said:
We are followers of Judaism. By God ! I do not know how to get rid of this Arabic man. But at least we should hold back from mentioning him with bad intentions.»
In the Tabaqat, Muhammad bin Sa’eed said:
« In a speech ascribed to abi Abbas on the authorities of abi Farwa, Ma’en bin Issa, and Mu’aweyah bin Saleh, that Ka’b asked the rabbis:
How do you find the attribute of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him ) in the Torah?
* We find him to be Muhammad bin Abdullah, his place of birth is Makkah, his Hijrah (migration place) is Taha, and his dominion is al-Shaam (Syria). He is not lewd (in speech or deeds), not loud in the markets, does not pay out for a misdeed with a misdeed, but he pardons and forgives.»
In a speech attributed to abi Salih on the authorities of al-Amash , Abdullah bin Abdulrahman al-Darame, al-Hasan bin al- Rabe’ee, and abu al-Awas that Ka’b said:
«we found it written as: Muhammad, the Messenger of God, who is neither rude nor crude, nor loud in the markets . He does not pay out for a misdeed by another misdeed, but he pardons and forgives. And his people, the lauders, sing the Greatness of God on every hill and in every state. They wrap up themselves around the waist and rinse their limbs clean with water before prayer. Their caller for prayer calls in the ambience of the sky . Their alignment in battles and in prayer is the same. They sing with an echoing sound like the droning of bees . His birthplace is Makkah, his hijra (migration place) is Taha, and his dominion is al-Shaam».
Al-Daremi said:
«Zayd bin Awf recounted to us that abu Awanah told him among others an account on the authorities of Abdulmalik bin Umayr, Zakwan abi Salih, that Kab said :»
In the first line: Muhammad bin Abdullah, My chosen servant. He is neither rude nor crude, nor loud in the markets . He does not pay out a misdeed by a misdeed , but he forgives and pardons. His birth place is Makkah, his Hijrah in Tabah, and his dominion is in al-Shaam (Syria), in the second line: Muhamm ad the Messenger of God , his people are the lauders; they laud God in every case and state, sing His Greatness on every hill. They are the shepherds of the sun, they pray on time even if they were on the street. They wrap up themselves around the waist, rinse their limbs clean with water before prayer . Their voices at night echo in the ambience of the sky like the droning of bees.»
Asim bin Omar bin Qitadah said, quoting Namlah bin abi Namlah on the authority of his father:
«The Jews of bani Qurayzah used to study the mention of the Messenger of God in their books and teach the lads his attributes, his name, and his Hijrah . When he emerged, they became jealous . They transgressed against him and rejected him.»
In The Signs of the Prophethood, abu Na’eem mentioned an account on the authorities of Sulayman bin Shaheen, Rumayh bin AbdulRahman , abi Sa’eed al-Khuderi and his father that he said:
«I heard abi Malik bin Sinan say:
One day I visited the people of Abd al-Ashhal to talk to them. At that time we were in a war-truce. I heard Joshua the Jew say:
(What i s his characteristic?)
He said:
(A man neither tall nor short, with redness in his eyes. He wears a cloak, rides a donkey, and this sand is the land of his migration.)
He said :
(I returned to my people : bani Khadrah, bemused in wonder about what Joshua said . All of a sudden I heard one of your men say:
(Is he alone saying that, or all the people of Yathrib are saying that!?). My father said:
(Then I went out till I reached the Jews of bani Qurayzah . I found them discussing the emergence of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Zubayr bin Baatah said :
(The red planet h a s appeared . It does not appear unless it is signalling the emergence of a prophet, and only Ahmad is the one still to come . These are the signs of his emergence.)
Abu Sa’eed said :
When the Messenger of God (peace be upon him ) came to Madina, my father told him this account. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: (From among the leaders of the Jews had al-Zubayr and his followers embraced Islam?. All of the Jews would have embraced Islam because they all follow him).»
Al Nadhr bin salam said :
«Yahya bin Ibraheem narrated to us a speech on the authorities of Salih bin Muhammad and his father, Asim bin Omar bin Qitadah, Mahmud bin Lubayd, and Muhammad bin Maslamah; he said:»
(The emergence of a prophet from around this house is dawning on you)
Then he pointed out with his hand toward the Sacred House of God (Ka’bah) and said:
(Let he who catches up with him believe in him)
Then the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) was sent out, and we embraced Islam while he was still among us; but he was not spared from jealousy and infringements around him).»
Al Nadhr said:
«Abdul-Jab-bar bin Sa ‘eed narrated to u s an account on the authorities of abi Bakr bin Abdullah al-Amiri , Saleem bin Yas-sar, and Amara bin Khuzaymah bin Thabit, that he said:
Among the Aws and the Khazraj there was no man as knowledgeable in the descriptions of Muhammad as abi Amer al-Rahib (the monk). He used to associate himself with the Jews and ask them about the religion, and they used to tell him about the traits of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) , and that this is the house of his Hijrah (exodus). Then he went out to the Jews of Taymaa. They told him the same thing. Then he went out to al-Shaam and asked the Nazarenes; they told him the same thing about the traits of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), and that his land of
emergence is Yathrib. Abu Amer returned chanting:
(I am on the religion of the true belief ( al-haneef). He kept leading a monastic life, wearing monks’ frock, and he assumed he is on the religion of Abraham, and that is waiting for the emergence of the prophet. When the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) emerged in Makkah, he did not go out seeking him, and he stayed as before. When the Prophet came to Madina, he envied him, infringed against him , and played the hypocrite . The Prophet (peace be upon him) came and abu Amer asked him:
«0 Muhammad! What is the religion you are sent out with?»
«The true religion, the Prophet replied .»
«But you are mixing it with other religions !»
«I brought it with me white . Did not the learned men of the Jews and the Nazarenes tell you about my trait?»
«It is not what they described»
«You are lying»
«No I am not»
«God causes the liar to die lonely and chased»
«Amen, replied the monk. »
Then the monk returned to Makkah and stayed with Quraysh, followed their religion and abandoned what he believed before. When the people of al-Ta’if embraced Islam, he went to al- Shaam (Syria) and died there, chased, alien, and lonely.»
Al-Waqidi said:
«Muhammad bin Sa’eed al-Thaqafi, AbdulRahman bin AbdulAziz,
each told me with a group of people with me, a selection of accounts that al-Mughirah bin Shoo bah had an audience with al-Muqawqas and said to him:
Muhammad is a sent prophet, when he comes, the Copts and the Romaeans, will follow him.
Al-Mughirah said:
I dwelled in Alexandria leaving no church without entering it and asking its bishop, Coptic or Romaeans, what they found out about the trait of Muhammad (peace be upon him).
There was a Coptic bishop, the head of the church of abi Muhnis, people used to bring him their patients and he used to cure them and pray for them. I have never seen anybody keener than him in keeping the five prayers. I said to him:
(Tell me! Is anybody among the prophets still to come?) .
(Yes) , he said. (He is the last of them, and between him and Jesus there is no other prophet . He is the unlearned Arabic prophet, and his name is Ahmad. He is neither tall nor short, and there is redness in his eyes. He is neither white nor dark. He lets his hair grow long, wears coarse clothes , always content to eat whatever he finds of food . His sword is on his shoulder, and he is not afraid of anyone who wants to fight him . He would start the fight himself and his Companions with him who do not hesitate to sacrifice themselves for him . He is dearer to them than their own children and their fathers. He comes out from the land of Qarz, from a holy land he comes and to a holy land he migrates, to an uncultivated land with palm trees . He embraces the religion of Abraham, wraps up himself around the waist, washes his limbs clean, and he is given above all other prophets- special distinctions:
* A prophet used to be sent to his people; he is sent to all the people of the world.
* The earth is made for him a place of prostration and cleanliness.
* Wherever it is time for prayer- if water is unavailable for ablution- he performs tayam-mom (an alternative ritual of ablution) and then prays; where the people before his coming were stressed upon not to pray in any place other than the churches and the synagogues.»
Al-Tabarani said:
«Ali bin Abdul-aziz recounted to us a speech on the authority of Abdullah bin Raja, al-M as’udi, Nufayl bin Hisham bin Sa’eed bin Zayd and his father, and his grandfather, that Zayd bin Amr and Waraqa bin Nawfal went out in quest for the religion till they
reached a monk in Mosul. The monk asked Zayd:
“Where did you come from?
From the house of Abraham.
What are you searching for?
.I am in quest for the religion
Return to where you came from : what you are searching for is about to be revealed in our country. “
He returned reciting: Here I am indeed , indeed in worship, waraqah.»
In the book of ( Al-A ‘Alam, ) ibn Qotaiba said:
Yazeed bin Amr narrated to us an account of the authorities of al-Alaa’ bin Fadhl, his father Abdul Malik bin abi Saweyah , his father Khalifa in Abdah al-Minqari . He said:
I asked Muhammad bin Adi’y:
«How did your father Adi’y name you Muhammad?»
«I have asked my father the same question you asked me, here is what I have to say. I was one of four of the people of Bani Tameem who took the road in search of ibn Jifnah al-Ghassani . The other three were Mujashi bin Darem, Yazeed bin Amr bin Rabee’a and Usamah bin Malik bin Jondob. When we reached al-Shaam (Syria) , we made a stop at a creek surrounded by few trees and a village called Deraani. He looked over us and said:
«The language you speak is different from the language of this country?»
«Yes it is. We are people from Modar.» We said.
«From which location in Modar?» he asked.
«From Khandaf» we replied.
«Soon a prophet will be raised from among your people . Hurry up, catch up with him, and it is to your fortunate advantage to follow him , and you will be well guided . He is the Seal of the Prophets, and his name is Muhammad.»
After we departed from the company of ibn Janah al-Ghassani and reached our families, we found out that a boy was born to each one of us, and each one of us called his child: Muhammad.
Imam Ahmad said :
Rawh told us an account on the authorities of Hammad bin Salama, Ata bin al-Saib, Ubaydah bin Abdullah bin Mas’ud and his father; he said:
The Messenger of God (peace be upon him ) entered the synagogue. There was a congregation of Jewish people inside with a Jewish man reciting the Torah to them. When they reached the mention of the traits of the Prophet (peace be upon him ) they withheld from reading. Among them, there was a man of ill health.
The Prophet said:
“Why did you stop the recitation?”
The sick man said:
“When they came to the mention of the traits of a prophet they held back.”
Then the sick man crawled towards them, took the Torah, and started to read through it till he reached the verses describing the traits of the prophet (peace be upon him) . He said:
These are your traits and the traits of your community . I do profess that there is no god but God and that you are the Messenger of God.
Then he died!. The prophet (peace be upon him ) said to his Companions:
“Take your brother” . [ for burial ].
Muhammad bin Sa’d said:
«Muhammad bin Omar told us on the authority of Sulayman bin Dawood bin al Husayn and his father, Ikrimah, abi Abbas, bin Ka’ b, that when Tubba ‘ went to Madina and dwelled in Qoba, he corresponded with the learned men (rabbis) of the Jewish people; he said:
I am going to destroy this county to prevent Judaism from taking hold in it and the matter returns to the Arabs. Samuel who was at that time the most knowledgeable of the Jews said: 0 you king! There is going to be a prophet from Bani Ishmael who will be migrating to this country . His birth place is Makkah, his name is Ahamad, and this is
the dwelling house of his migration. This same house you are in right now will witness a lot of fights and wounds inflicted on his Companions as well as on their foes. Tubba’ said:
Who would be fighting him at that time where he is a prophet as you allege?
He said:
His people will come to him and they will fight in this same place.
He said:
Where would his place be?
In his county, he replied,
If he is fought against, who would win?, he said.
Sometimes he would, other times he would not, and in the same place you are in, he is going to lose and his Companions will be killed in a way that has never happened in any other place. Then he will have the upper hand in the end and nobody will be able to combat him in this matter .
What is his trait?, he said.
He is a man neither tall nor short, there is redness in his eyes. He rides camels, wears a frock and his sword on his shoulder . He does not heed anybody he meets whether it is a brother, a cousin, or even an uncle, till he delivers his message, he said.
There is no way out for this county, and its destruction would not be in my hand, Tabba’ said and left taking the road to Yemen.»
On the authority of his father, Yussuf bin Abdullah bin Salaam said:
«Tabba did not die till he believed in the Prophet (peace be upon him) due to what the Jews of Yathrib used to tell him . He died a Muslim. »
Muhammad bin Sad said:
«On the authorities of Abdul Hameed bin Jafar and his father, Muhammad bin Omar told us that al-Zubayr bin Bata- the most knowledgeable of the Jews- used to say:
” I found a scroll my father hid away from me. It contained the mention of an Ahamd, a prophet that will emerge from the land of al-Qarz. His traits are such and such. “
After the death o f his father, and before the emergence of the Prophet (peace be upon him ), al-Zubayr talked about it. Soon afterwards, he heard about the Prophet’s emergence in Makkah; he took the scroll and erased it, and kept secret the prophet’s mention. Then he said that this scroll did not mention the Prophet and his trait.»
Muhammad bin Omar said:
«On the authorities of Makhramah bin Sulayman, Kurayb, and ibn Abbas, Al-Dhahhak bin Uthman told us that the Jews of Qurayza, Nadheer, Fadak, and Khaybar were aware of the traits of the Prophet (peace be upon him ) before his emergence , and that Madinah was the place he would migrate to. When the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) was born, the learned men of the Jews said:
Tonight Ahmad is born; this planet has appeared.
When the prophet was given his message, they said:
Ahmad became a prophet, the planet has shown up
They know that and they used to acknowledge him; but envy and disobedience held them back.»
Muhammad bin Sa’d said:
«Ali bin Muhammad told us on the authorities of abi Ubaydah bin Abdullah, Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ammar bin Yasser and others, Hishaam bin Urwah and his father, that Aishah said:
A Jewish merchant dwelled in Makkah. The night the Messenger of God was born, he said in one of the councils of Quraysh:
* Is there a newborn in your midst this right?
Not that we know of. they replied .
(O people of Quraysh ! pay attention and remember what I teach you. Tonight Ahmad the prophet of this nation is born . He has got a mole between his shoulders with few slender strands of hair in it).
In their council the people were struck by wonder and were mystified by his speech. When they returned home, they consulted with their families . Some of them were told that during the night time the boy was born to Abdullah bin AbdulMuttalib and that he was named Muhammad . They went out to see the Jew in his house and said to him:
Did you know that a boy was born in our midst?
Was this before I told you or after?, he said.
Before, and his name is (Ahmad) , they said.
Let us all go and see him!, he said .
They went out till they reached his mother . She showed him to them . The Jew saw the birthmark (mole) on his back; he passed out and then woke up . They said to him:
What is the matter with you! Woe unto you !
The prophethood has gone from the people of Israel, the Book has been taken away from their hands ; the Arabs have triumphed in the prophethood. Are you happy O you people of Quraysh ! , they are going to govern with every authority they can, from the East to the west.
lbn Sa’d said:
«On the authorities of Ali bin Mujahid , Muhammad bin Ishaq, Salem Mawla Abdullah bin Mutte ‘ , and abu Hurayrah; Ali bin Muhammad told us that:
The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) went to the house of Madaaris and asked (The people inside) to come out to him to teach them. They mentioned the name of Abdullah bin Surya. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) had a private audience with him. He earnestly appealed to him through his religion and by what God bestowed upon them of manna and quails (Salwa) , and by the shade of clouds He gave them (to protect them from the heat of the sun):
«Do you know that I am the Messenger of God?, the Prophet said.»
By God yes! and the people do know what I know. Your trait and name are clearly mentioned in the Torah; but they envied you , he replied.
What prevents you?, the Prophet asked.
I hate to go against my people. Perhaps they follow and embrace Islam! If they do I will embrace Islam as well.
Abu al-Sheikh al-Isfahani said :
« On the authorities of Sahl bin Uthman , Ali bin Musheer, Dawood, and al-Sha’bi; abu Yahya al-Razi narrated to us that:
I used to sit with the Jews when they were studying the Torah, and I used to admire the agreement of the Torah with the Qur’an and the Qur’an with the Torah. They said:
O Omar! there is no one more beloved to us than you because you visit us.
I only come to admire the agreement of the Books of God with each other.
One day when I was visiting them, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) passed by. they said:
Here is your companion!
I earnestly appeal to you by God , and by what He sent down upon you of the Book! Do you know that he is the Messenger of God?, I said.
He earnestly appealed to you by God, tell him ! , their leader said to them.
You are our leader, you tell him, they replied.
We all know that he is the Messenger of God, he said.
I would destroy you if you know that he was the Messenger of God and you did not follow him, I said.
We have an enemy from the angels as well as a favourite from among them : our enemy is Gabriel (Jibreel) and our favourite is Michael for he is the angel of Kindness and leniency, they said.
I bear witness that it is unlawful for Gabriel to be hostile to whom Michael is not , nor for Michael to be hostile to those to whom Gabriel is not hostile to.
Then I left and the Messenger of God (peace be upon him ) received me. He said:
I am going to recite to you some of the verses (from the Qur’an) that were sent down upon me before.
He recited the (following) verse:
“Say: whoever is an enemy to Gabriel- for be brings down the (revelation) to thy heart by God’s will, a confirmation of what went before, and guidance and glad tidings for those who believe “(al-Baqarah: 97)
And I said, «I swear by him who sent you with the truth , I will come to tell you of what the Jews have said .»
Abu Na’eem mentioned an account on the authority of Amr bin Absah, he said:
«I turned away from the gods of my people during the era of Ignorance ( Jahili-yah) . I knew they (gods) were false. They (people) worshipped stones (stone-made idols) which did neither bad nor good. I met a man from the people of the Book and I asked him about the best of the religions and he said:
A man will emerge from Makkah and turn away from the gods of his people . He will bring forth the best religion . If you hear about him, follow him.
No other place was left for me to go to except Makkah. Off I went and started asking about any news happening in the area. The answer was no . one time I was resting, a riding man passed by. I asked him:
Where did you come from?
From Makkah, he said.
Did you hear about any unusual happening that took place over there?
Yes ! A man turned away from the gods of his people and is preaching about another.
I said to myself, «he is the man I am waiting for.»
I set out, went to see him, and I embraced Islam.»
Abdul Ghani bin Sa’eed said:
«On the authorities of ibn Joraij , Ataa ‘, ibn Abbas, Muqatil, al-Dhahhak; Musa bin AbdulRahman narrated to us that:
Eight of the bishops of Najran visited the Messenger of God (peace be upon him ). One of them was al-Aqib , another was al-Sayyid. Hence God Most Sublime sent the following verse:
“If any one disputes in this matter with thee, now after (full) knowledge bath come to thee, say: «come! Let us gather together, – our sons and your sons, our women, and our women, ourselves and yourselves; then let u s earnestly pray, and invoke the curse of God on those who lie!» ,(al-Imran: 61 )
They said:
(Give us three days.)
They went to bani Qurayza, bani Nadheer, and bani Qaynaqa and consulted with them . They pointed out to them to reconcile with him (the Prophet) and not to utter imprecations against him because: (he is the Prophet whom we find mentioned in the Torah and the Bible) . They reconciled with him with a good will token of one thousand vestments delivered in the month of Safar (the name of the second month of the Islamic calendar), and another lot of one thousand vestments delivered in Raj a h (the seventh month of the Islamic calendar), and a sum of money.»
On the authorities of Qays bin al- Rabee’ , Yunis bin abi Salem, Ikrimah; Yunis bin Bakir told us that some of the people of the Book believed in Muhammad (peace be upon him) before his emergence, and that when he emerged, they disbelieved in him; hence the saying of the Most High:
“On the Day when some faces will be (lit up with) white, and some faces will be (in the gloom ot) black: to those whose faces will be black, (will be said) : Did ye reject Faith after accepting it? taste then the penalty for rejecting faith.” ( al-Imran: 106)
By Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziah
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