Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) asked ‘Utbah bin Rabee‘ah, “O Abul Waleed! Have you said what you wish to say?” When ‘Utbah replied in the affirmative, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “Very well, now listen to what I wish to say. I neither crave for your riches and wealth nor do I have any inclination towards your leadership and rule. I am the Rasul of Allah Ta‘ala whom He has sent to you with His divine message. He has revealed a divine book unto me and has commanded me to give you glad tidings of His reward and warnings of His punishment. I have conveyed His message to you, and as a form of good counsel and wishing good for you, I have cautioned you. If you accept this message, it will be a source of success for you in both the worlds. However, if you fail to accept this message, I am willing to exercise patience until Allah Ta‘ala passes judgment between us.”

(To be continued)

(Extracted from Seeratul Mustafa 1/186)