The Commander of the Faithful, Mighty is His Might, said to it: "Then describe your condition, who you were, and who was transformed with you."

It said: "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful. We were twenty-four groups from the Children of Israel. We had rebelled, transgressed, and waxed proud. We abandoned the cities and did not inhabit them; we acted as tyrants and traveled through the wilderness out of a desire to be far from waters and rivers. Then, a Caller came to us—and you, by Allah, know him better than we do—into the courtyard of the house. He let out a great cry at us, gathering us into one assembly, though we had been scattered throughout those deserts and wastelands.

He said to us: 'Why have you fled from the cities, the rivers, and the waters to inhabit these wildernesses?' We intended to say: 'Because we are superior to the world in pride and might.'

He said to us: 'I already know what is in your souls. Is it against Allah that you show pride and might?' We said to him: 'No.' He said: 'Has the covenant not been taken from you that you shall believe in Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah the Meccan?' We said: 'Indeed.'