"When it became clear to us that we should go to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, we travelled until we were in sight of our destination. We were met by a man on a young camel. He greeted is and we returned the greeting. Then he stopped and asked, 'Which tribe are you from?' We replied, 'We are the delegation of 'Abdu'l-Qays.' The man said, 'Welcome. I was looking for you. I came to give you good news. Yesterday the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, looked towards the east and told us, "Tomorrow from that direction (i.e. the east) there will come the best delegation of the Arabs." I spent the night preparing to leave. This morning I rode long and hard on my camel until dawn rose. Then I thought of returning, but I caught sight of the heads of your mounts.'

"The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) entered Mecca during the Visitation of Fulfillment ['Umrat al- Qada'], and Ibn Rawaha walked in front of him, saying [in poetic verse]: “Clear away from his path, O sons of the unbelievers! Today we shall prevent you from bringing it to a halt, with a blow that removes the owls from its way station, and distracts the bosom friend from his bosom friend!” 'Umar then said: “O Ibn Rawaha, you dare to utter poetry before Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) and in Allah’s Sanctuary!” But he said (Allah bless him and give him peace): “Leave him alone, O 'Umar, for it will strike them down more quickly than a shower of arrows!’”