Chapter on the Discovery of the Image of Our Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, Linked with the Images of the Prophets Before Him in Shaam

The Sheikh Abu Al-Fath [may Allah have mercy on him] informed us, from his lineage, saying: Abdul Rahman ibn Abi Shuraikh Al-Harawi told us, who said: Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Sa'id told us, who said: Abdullah ibn Shabib, known as Abu Sa'eed Al-Rabiee, narrated to me, saying: Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Sa'eed ibn Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut'im told me, saying: Umm Uthman bint Sa'eed ibn Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut'im narrated to me from her father Sa'eed ibn Muhammad ibn Jubayr, from his father, saying: I heard my grandfather Jubayr ibn Mut'im say: When Allah - Glorified and Exalted - sent His Prophet, peace be upon him, and his matter became known in Makkah, I went to Shaam. When I was in Busra, a group of Christians approached me and asked: Are you from the Sacred Mosque? I said: Yes. They said: Do you recognize the one prophesied among you? I said: Yes. They took me by hand and brought me to a monastery where there were statues and images, and they said to me: Look, do you see the image of this Prophet who was sent among you? I looked but did not see his image. I said: I do not see [the image].

Visions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and His Companions

In this passage, the narrator describes being shown images and statues of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his companion Abu Bakr. He recognizes them both and affirms their identities when questioned by others. The narrator also recounts a conversation with a man from the People of the Book, who asks about a prophet among them and shows him images of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The man affirms the prophet's status and mentions he is the last prophet. This story is narrated through a chain of narrators, highlighting the significance of recognizing the Prophet and his companion.

(Tareekh al-Kabeer, 1:179; Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3:568)

Translation of Classical Arabic Text

Al-Baladi reported: Abd al-Aziz ibn Muslim ibn Idris narrated to us, saying: Abd Allah ibn Idris narrated to us, from Shurahbil ibn Muslim, from Abu Umamah al-Bahili, from Hisham ibn al-As al-Umawi, who said:

"I was sent along with another man from the Quraysh to [Heraclius], the ruler of the Romans, to invite him to Islam. We went until we reached the Ghauta - meaning Damascus. We camped at Jabilah ibn al-Ayham al-Ghassani. We entered upon him and found him lying on a bed. He sent us a messenger to speak to us. We said to him: 'By Allah, we do not address a messenger; rather, we were sent to the king. If he permits us, we will speak to him, otherwise, we will not address the messenger.' The messenger returned to him and informed him of that."

"He then permitted us, and said: 'Speak.' Hisham ibn al-As addressed him and invited him to Islam. The ruler was wearing black clothes, so Hisham asked him: 'What is this garment you are wearing?' He replied: 'I put it on and swore not to take it off until I eject you from the Levant.' We said: 'By Allah, we will take it from you and we will take the dominion of the greatest king, if Allah wills.'

Our Prophet (peace be upon him) informed us, saying: 'You are not of them, rather they are a people who fast during the day and break their fast at night. How do you fast?' We informed him, and his face turned black. He said: 'Go away.' He sent a messenger with us to the king. When we were close to the city, he said to us: 'Your mounts will not enter the king's city. If you wish, we can carry you on camels and mules.' We said: 'By Allah, we will only enter on them.' They sent to the king: 'They refuse.' We walked into the city on our feet, holding our swords until we reached a room of his."

The Encounter with King Solomon

Narrative of the Prophet's Encounter with Various Prophets

The First Room - The Encounter with Prophet Noah (peace be upon him):

A man with a fair complexion, cat-like hair, red eyes, prominent physique, and a handsome beard, whom they did not recognize until he was identified as Prophet Noah.

The Second Room - The Encounter with Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him):

A man with intense fairness, beautiful eyes, high forehead, long cheeks, and a white beard, resembling a smiling figure, identified as Prophet Abraham.

The Third Room - The Recognition of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):

A white figure resembling the Messenger of Allah in appearance caused them to recognize him, and they wept in reverence.

The Fourth Room - The Revelation of Other Prophets:

• One resembling Moses
• One resembling his brother Aaron
• One resembling Lot

The Fifth Room - The Encounter with an Unrecognized Figure:

A man with a white complexion, reddish tinge, gray eyes, thin eyebrows, and a handsome face, asked if he was recognized, but the reply was in the negative.

Visions of Prophets

Isaac (Peace be upon him)

He then opened another door and extracted a white silk garment with a picture resembling Isaac, except for a mole on his lower lip, he said: Do you know this? We said: No. He said: This is Jacob, peace be upon him.

Adam (Peace be upon him)

He opened another door and took out a black silk garment with a picture of a man white in complexion, handsome faced, with a straight nose, of good stature; with light shining from his face, recognized for piety, cheeks reddish, and he said: Do you know this? We said: No. He said: This is Isma'il the grandfather of your Prophet.

Joseph (Peace be upon him)

He opened another door and brought out a white silk garment with a picture like that of Adam, as if his face was the sun, he said: Do you know this? We said: No. He said: This is Joseph, peace be upon him.

David (Peace be upon him)

He then opened another door and extracted a white silk garment with the image of a red-skinned man, with fine shins, big eyes, a large belly, the size of four; holding a sheathed sword, and he said: Do you know this? We said: No. He said: This is David, peace be upon him.

Solomon (Peace be upon him)

He opened another door and took out a white silk garment with the picture of a man whose bow legs were large and whose legs were long, riding a horse, and he said: Do you know this? We said: No. He said: This is Solomon son of David, peace be upon him.

Jesus (Peace be upon him)

He opened another door and extracted from it a black silk garment with a picture of a white man, young and with a black beard, abundant hair, beautiful eyes and face, and he said: Do you know this? We said: No. He said: This is Jesus son of Mary, peace be upon him.

We asked him: Where did you get these images from when we know that prophets were not portrayed?

The Story of Daniel and Danyal as Narrated by Abu Bakr al-Siddiq

Once, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, was told the story of Daniel and Danyal. It was mentioned that Adam, peace be upon him, asked Allah to show him the prophets from his offspring. So, Allah revealed their images to him, which were kept in Adam's treasury at the time of sunset. Dhu al-Qarnayn retrieved them and passed them on to Daniel.

Abu Bakr cried upon hearing the story and remarked that if Allah had willed good for him, He would have done so. The narration continues with the mentioning of the Jews finding the description of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, amongst their scriptures.

In another narration from Sheikh Abu Abdullah, Abu Bakr narrated a story about a Christian named Nu'aym, who originally had a book and later embraced Islam, leading to a total of forty-two priests converting to Islam during the reign of Mu'awiyah.

Translation of Classical Arabic Text

Hammam said:

Farqad claimed that Abu Tamimah told him that Umar wrote to al-Ash'ari to wash Daniel with lote-tree leaves and water of basil, and to offer prayers for him because he was a prophet who supplicated his Lord that only Muslims would succeed him.

Hammam continued:

Sitam ibn Muslim informed me that Muawiyah ibn Qurra said, "We discussed a certain book until month Ibn Hawshab passed by us. We invited him, and he said, 'You have stumbled upon the knowledgeable ones! The book was with Ka'b. When he was on his deathbed, he said, 'O man, I have completed it as a trust to be fulfilled.' Month said, 'A cousin of mine known as Abu Labid handed the book to him. Ka'b instructed him to throw it into a certain place, indicating the sea. Abu Labid narrated the incident, criticizing the man, and Ka'b knew that he had not done it. But later when it happened, the water parted, and he threw it there. Ka'b then acknowledged the truth and said, 'This is the Torah as Allah, the Exalted, revealed it.'"