He was directed to meet a man at ‘ Amuriah in Byzantium. So he went off to Byzantium and stayed with the man, earning his living there by rearing cattle and sheep.
Then death approached the man, and he asked him( the man), ” To whom should I go?” He ( the man) said, “O my son, I know no one anywhere who is on the path we have been on so that I can tell you to go to him. But you have been overtaken by an epoch in which there will appear a Prophet in the pure creed of Ibraahim( Abraham). He will migrate to the place of palm trees.
If you can be sincere to him, then do so. He has signs which will be manifested. He does not eat of charity yet he accepts gifts, and between his shoulders is the seal of prophethood. When you see him , you will know him.”
He asked a caravan that passed by him that day where they had come from and learnt that they were from the Arabian peninsula. So He told them, ” I give you these cattle and sheep of mine in return of your taking me to your land”.
They agreed. So they took him in their company until they brought him to Wadi at Quraa and there they wronged him. They sold him to a Jew. He saw many palm trees and cherished the hope that this must be the land that had been described to him and which would be the future of the the advent of the prophet, but it was not.
He stayed with this Jew who bought him until another from Bani Quraidhah came to him one day and bought him from him. He stayed with him until they came to Al Madiinah Al munaawwarah.
He hardly seen it when he knew that it was the land described to him.
He stayed with the Jew, working for him on his plantation in Banu Quraidhah until Allaah sent His messenger, who later migrated to Al- Madiinah and dismounted at Qubaa’ among Banu ‘Amr BN Awf.
One day, He was at the top of a palm tree with his master sitting below it when a Jewish man came. He was a cousin of the his and said to him, ” May Allaah destroy Bani Qubaa'” they are spreading a rumour about a man at Qubaa’ who came from Makkah claiming that he is a Prophet” he had hardly said it, when he was seized by a tremor, and the palm tree shook until he almost fell on his master. He climbed down quickly saying, ” what are you saying? What news? “
His master gave him a nasty slap and said, ” what have got to do with this! Return to your work!” So he returned to work. But at nightfall, he gathered what he had and went out until he came to the Prophet SAW at Qubaa’.
To be continued…
