The Tribes to which Islam has been Introduced

the following is a resume of aspects relating to the prophet’s appeals as regards the new faith he was preaching:

1. he visited a sept of banu kalb known as banu ‘abdullah. he called them to allâh’s message and entreated them to accept it for the sake of allâh who had chosen a beautiful name for their father, but without avail.
   
2. he called on bani haneefah in their habitation, but received very repugnant treatment.
   
3. he addressed bani ‘amir bin sa‘sa‘ah in their encampment, calling them to abandon idolatry and join him. one of them called buhairah bin firras, answered him back: "should we give you allegiance and allâh give you power over your opponents, will you give us right to inheritance and succeed you in power?" the prophet replied: "the whole affair lies in allâh’s hands. he gives the power to whomever he desires." the man commented: "do you expect us to incur the wrath and vengeance of the arabs without the least hope of leadership? we can in fact readily dispense with your offers."

when banu ‘amir returned to their habitations, they narrated the story to an elderly man who had lingered behind because he was too old. they told him, "a young man of quraish of bani ‘abdul muttalib, claiming that he is a prophet, contacted us, asked for support and invited us to embrace his religion." the old sheikh was struck by the news, and wondered if there was no way of making amends for the loss of that opportunity and swore, "he is really ishmaelite (he descends from ishmael). he is the truth (he is a real prophet). how did it happen that you misjudged his words?"