[Machine] We were by a great body of water on the side of the road, and travelers would come to us, so we would ask them, "What does this man say?" They would mean the Prophet Mohammed, ﷺ , and they would say, "He says so and so, and he commands them to do this, and he forbids you from doing that." I was a boy of six years old, and I did not hear anything except as if it were written in my heart. And the people would say, "Look at what the people of this man do." So when Mecca was conquered, the people sent their delegations to the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ . And my father was one of the delegations of his people. So he came to them and said, "I come to you from the Messenger of Allah, who commands you to do this and forbids you from doing that. And when the prayer is due, let the one with the most Quran among you lead the prayer." So they looked and did not find anyone with more Quran than me, so they made me lead and I prayed with them. I had a cloak or a shawl. An old woman said, "Don't you cover your reciters?" So I bought a garment from Bahrain and a woman from the neighborhood made it into a shirt for me. I have never been so happy with anything after Islam as I was with that shirt.
كُنَّا بِحَاضِرِ مَاءٍ عَظِيمٍ عَلَى ظَهْرِ الطَّرِيقِ فَيَأْتِينَا الرُّكْبَانُ فَنَسْأَلُهُمْ مَا يَقُولُ هَذَا الرَّجُلُ؟ يَعْنُونَ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فَيَقُولُونَ يَقُولُ كَذَا وَيَأْمُرُهُمْ بِكَذَا وَيَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْ كَذَا وَأَنَا غُلَامٌ ابْنُ سِتِّ سِنِينَ لَا أَسْمَعُ شَيْئًا إِلَّا كَأَنَّمَا كُتِبَ فِي قَلْبِي وَكَانَ النَّاسُ يَقُولُونَ انْظُرُوا مَا يَصْنَعُ قَوْمُ الرَّجُلِ فَلَمَّا فُتِحَتْ مَكَّةُ بَعَثَ النَّاسُ وُفُودَهُمْ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ وَكَانَ أَبِي وَافِدَ قَوْمِهِ فَأَتَاهُمْ فَقَالَ «أَتَيْتُكُمْ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِكَذَا وَيَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْ كَذَا وَإِذَا حَضَرَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَلْيَؤُمَّكُمْ أَكْثَرُكُمْ قُرْآنًا» فَنَظَرُوا فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا أَكْثَرَ قُرْآنًا مِنِّي فَقَدَّمُونِي فَصَلَّيْتُ بِهِمْ عَلَيَّ بُرْدَةٌ لِي أَوْ شَمْلَةٌ لِي فَقَالَتْ عَجُوزٌ أَلَا تُغَطُّونَ عَنَّا اسْتَ قَارِئِكُمْ؟ فَاشْتُرِيَ ثَوْبٌ مِنْ مَقْعَدَةِ الْبَحْرَيْنِ فَقَطَعَتْهُ لِيَ امْرَأَةٌ مِنَ الْحَيِّ قَمِيصًا فَمَا فَرِحْتُ بِشَيْءٍ قَطُّ بَعْدَ الْإِسْلَامِ فَرَحِي بِذَلِكَ الْقَمِيصِ