The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 1 of 4

158 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
His death occurred in a part of Syria contiguous to the land of Iraq; and God
alone knows the truth about Sarih and what became of him.
Ibn Tamr al-Jariri relates that he lived 700 years. Others say he lived 500; yet
others 300. But God knows best.
Ihn 'Askir related that a king once asked Satih about the family origin of a
young man about whom there was some disagreement. He therefore informed
him of the facts at lengtb and with wit and eloquence. The king then asked Sagh
to tell him about how he knew all that. Sagh replied, "This knowledge of mine
does not come from me, not by guesswork or by thought; I took it from a brother
of mine who heard inspiration on Mt. Sinai." The king then asked, "Have you
seen your brother, this genie; is he with you and won't he depart from you?"
Satih replied, "He will cease to exist when I do. I only ever pronounce what he
says."
As stated previously, he and Shiqq b. Mus'ab b. Yashkur b. Rahm h. Basr h.
Wqba, the other diviner, were both horn on the same day. They were carried to
the fortune-teller, Tarifa, daughter of al-Husayn al-Hamidiyya, and she spat
into their mouths. And so they inherited divination from her. She died that very
same day. Satih was half-human. It is said that Khalid b. 'Abd Allah alqusri
was of his progeny. Shiqq died a very long time before Satih.
Reprding 'Abd al-Masih b. 'Amr h. Qys b. Hayyzn b. Buqayla al-Ghassxni,
the Christian, he was very long-lived.
The ha$?: Ibn 'As& gave his life story in his history, saying therein that it
was he who made the peace treaty for al-Hira with Khalid b. al-Walid; he gave
at length the story of their contact. Also he reported that 'Ahd al-Masih once ate
by his own hand some rapid-acting poison, but that no harm came to him. This
was because as he took it he spoke the words, "In the name of God; and by God,
Lord of the earth and the heaven, who (ensures that) no harm will come when
His name is invoked." He then ate it, swooned, and beat his hands on his chest.
He poured with sweat and then, God bless him, recovered. Verses other than
those previously quoted are also attributed to 'Ahd al-Masih.
Abii Nu'aym said that Mhammad h. m a d b. al-Hasan related to us, quoting
Muhammad h. Wthmzn h. Aha Shayba, quoting Wqba b. Makrarn, quoting
al-Musayyab h. Sharik, quoting Muhammad b. Sharik, all on the authority of
Shu'ayh b. Shu'ayh, from his father and from his grandfather, as follows, "At
Marr al-Dhahra there was a certain monk from Syria named 'Ay~a. He was
under the protection of &'As b. Wa'il. God had given him great knowledge and
placed in him many qualities for the people of Mecca, qualities of goodness,
kindness, and learning.
"He kept to a cell he had and came down to Mecca every year to meet the
people and to say to them, '0 people of Mecca, soon there will be born among