Acceptance of Islam
Yazid bin Rumaan relates that once, Hazrat Uthman (ra) and Hazrat Talha (ra) bin Ubaidullah followed Hazrat Zubair bin Awwam (ra) and when they reached the Holy Prophet (sa), he conveyed the message of Islam to them and recited the Holy Quran before them, informed them of the rights within Islam and promised them the honour they were to receive from God Almighty. Hazrat Uthman (ra) and Hazrat Talha (ra) then accepted Islam and testified to the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet (sa). Hazrat Uthman (ra) then said, “O Messenger (sa) of Allah, I have just returned from Syria. When, on my return, I reached my intended place of stay between Ma‘an (this is the name of a place situated just before Mautah; it was at the time of the battle of Mautah that the Muslims reached this place when they came to realise that the Byzantines had prepared an army 200,000 strong to combat them and so, the Companions (ra) stayed there for two days) and Zarqah (this too is a place near Ma‘an), we set up camp there. As we were sleeping, we heard a caller announce, ‘O ye who sleep, awaken! Ahmad has appeared in Mecca!’ We then returned [to Mecca] from and heard news regarding you.”
(al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 40, Uthman bin Affan, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2012) (Farhang Sirat, p. 279, Zawwar Academy Publications, Karachi, 2003) (Mu‘jamul Buldan, Vol. 3, p. 173, al-Zurqaa al-Maktabah al-Asriyyah, Beirut, 2014)
Hazrat Talha (ra) bin Ubaidullah relates, “I was in Busra (which is an ancient town of Syria where the Holy Prophet (sa) also stayed when he went there to trade goods with his paternal uncle) when a monk was proclaiming from his Sawma‘ah (i.e., synagogue), ‘Find out if there is anyone from among the travelling merchants who has come from Mecca.’ I told him that I was from there, so he asked, ‘Has Ahmad really appeared?’ I replied, ‘Which Ahmad do you refer to?’ He said, ‘The son of Abdullah bin Muttalib. This is the month in which he is to appear, and he will be the final Prophet; his advent will be in Mecca and his migration will be to a place with date-fields, where the land would be rocky, barren and saline. Do not forsake him.’” Hazrat Talha (ra) states, “Everything he said deeply affected me, so I departed swiftly and reached Mecca. I asked the people if anything new had transpired, to which they answered, ‘Yes, Muhammad (sa) bin Abdullah, the Ameen [trustworthy] (the title given to the Holy Prophet (sa) by the Meccans) has made a claim to prophethood and Ibn Abi Qahafah (the title of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)) has accepted him.’ Hence, I left and went straight to Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and asked if he had truly become his follower. He answered, ‘Yes, and you should also go to him and accept him as he calls towards the truth.’”
Hazrat Talha (ra) then related to Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) everything the monk had stated, subsequently he took Hazrat Talha (ra) to the Holy Prophet (sa). Hazrat Talha (ra) then accepted Islam and informed the Holy Prophet (sa) in regard to what the monk had said. The Holy Prophet (sa) was pleased to hear this.
(al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 161, Talha bin Ubaidillah, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990)