194 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMADthe Persian heard of the arrival of the Messenger of God (SAAS) to Medina, he
came and brought him something that he laid before him while he was at Quba',
saying, "This is a donation." But the Messenger of God (SAAS) refrained from
eating it and told his Companions to do so and they did eat it. Salmnn then came
a second time with something he presented saying, "This is a present." The
Messenger of God (SAAS) then ate some of it himself and told his Companions
to do the same, which they did. We gave the tradition earlier at length.Section: On the acceptance ofIslam by 'AbdAlliih b. Saliim, may God be pleased
with him.
Im%n Ahad stated, "Muhammad b. Ja'far related to us, quoting 'Awf, from
Zuraa, from 'Abd Allnh b. Salam, who said, 'When the Messenger of God
(SAAS) arrived in Medina, the people ran away scared, as I did myself. But as I
learned more about him I realized that he was no liar. The first thing I heard him
say was, Y3pread peace, feed others, pray at night while others sleep, and you
will achieve paradise in peace."'"
Al-Timidhi related this, as did Ibn Mnja, by various routes, from 'Awf
al-A'r~bi, from Zumra b. Abii 'Awfa. Al-Tirmidhi stated that it was authentic.
This tradition requires that 'Abd Allah b. Salam had heard of the Prophet
(SAAS) and saw him directly following his arrival at Qub~', when he dismounted
there among the Bana 'Amr b. 'Awf.
It is given above in the account of '14bd al-'Aziz b. Suhayb, from Anas, that he
met him when the Messenger of God (SAAS) dismounted at the home of Aba
Ayyiib following his arrival from Qub2 to the quarters of the Bana al-Najjar as
told above. It is possible that be did see hi for the first time at Qubn' and then
met with him after his arrival with the Bana al-NajjPr. But God knows best.
In the account of al-Bukhai, through 'Abd alLCAziz from Anas, the last-
mentioned stated, "When the Prophet (SAAS) arrived, 'Abd Alhh b. Salm
came to him and said, 'I hear wimess that you are the Messenger of God and that
you bring the truth. The Jews recognize me as their leader and the son of their
leader, their most learned man and the son of their most learned man. Summon
them and ask them about me before they know that I have embraced Islam,
because if they know I have done so they will say of me things that are untrue.'
"The Messenger of God (SAAS) then sent for the Jews and when they came
he asked them, '0 Jews, woe upon you! Fear God! For, by God other than whom
there is none, yon certainly know that I am the Messenger of God, in truth, and
that I bring you the truth. Therefore accept Islam!' They replied, 'We do not
know it.' Three times this was repeated. Then the Messenger of God (SAAS)
asked, 'Which of your men is 'Abd Allnh h. Sal%n?'
"They replied, 'That is our leader, and the son of our leader, our most learned
man and the son of our most learned man.' He then asked, 'What would you thmk
if he accepted Islam?' They replied, 'God forbid! He would never accept Islam!'