The Signs of the Awaited Prophet

But then this man was approaching death too — you see, this is a dying breed; they are dying one after another, and they're leaving no one behind them to carry on the torch. He went to the teacher in Naṣībīn, he spent time with him, and he was dying, and when he was dying he said, "I don't know of anyone who's following our way except a man in ʿAmmūriyyah" — in Byzantium, Turkey. So now Salmān is travelling all the way to Turkey. Over there in ʿAmmūriyyah, Salmān, in addition to his studies and participation in the worship services, started a business, and he accumulated enough wealth to purchase some sheep and cows.

When death was approaching his teacher in ʿAmmūriyyah, Salmān told him, "Who do you recommend me to study with?" He responded and said, "My son, I don't know anyone who is, as we were, to whom to send you — but the time is near for a prophet being sent with Ibrāhīm's religion, who will come forth in the land of the Arabs. He will move to a refuge in somewhere with date palms growing between two scorched rocky plains. He has signs that are unmistakable: he eats things given to him as gifts, but not alms, and between his shoulders there is the seal of prophethood. If you can go there, do so."

So now the teacher of ʿAmmūriyyah is saying that there is no one living today who is following the same path — the ones who believed in the true message of ʿĪsā have all passed away. Therefore, it is time for a new message to come, because now the world is void of guidance, so now it is time to fill that void. So a prophet will come, and he is approaching, and his time is near, and he has unmistakable signs, and these are his signs: number one, he will take refuge in a place that grows palm trees, and it is between two rocky tracts of volcanic rock. He doesn't eat ṣadaqah, charity, but he accepts gifts, and there is the seal of prophethood, a sign, between his shoulders on his back.